2012 Domaine Jacques Prieur Montrachet Grand Cru

(still in barrel, four out of five of them new; these vines were picked last in 2012, on October 2; 13.8% natural alcohol with a very high 5.4 g/l acidity): Straw-yellow color. Highly nuanced aromas of peach, menthol, botanical herbs and crushed stone suggest a powerful wine. Then hugely rich and densely packed, with strong saline minerality giving this superconcentrated big boy a chewy, savory quality. There's a high-pitched oak element here that does not dominate the wine's other elements. Still tight on the very long aftertaste but already saturates the palate with stone fruit and mineral flavors.

Author: Stephen Tanzer

Issue: September/October 2014