2007 Chassagne Montrachet

The Jadot 2007 Chassagne-Montrachet incorporates all of this year’s fruit from Chenevottes and some of the Morgeot. It smells alluringly of Normandy cider, fresh red currant, and bitter-sweet floral perfume; displays density allied to lift and refreshing apple and pineapple tinged with citrus zest, cinnamon, and red berry; and adds salt and chalk in a vibrant finish. There are 400 cases of this exemplary Chassagne that should provide pleasure for at least 3-4 more years. Jadot is one of those addresses where I confess to having feared that the combination of this vintage’s marked impression of acidity and relative leanness with Jacques Lardiere’s love of precision and merely selective use of malo-lactic fermentation might result in a dearth of sensual appeal. And he is the first to admit that a relatively high proportion of malic acidity was present in 2007, along with a danger of vegetal notes. But Lardiere took most of his 2007s all the way through malo, and my fears were at worst marginally realized. An overarching caveat is that these wines received higher dosages of sulphur (25 versus 15 grams) at bottling than those of other recent vintages, and will – Lardiere opines – take longer to shake off a certain pungency or hardening, but it did not find that alarming. As usual, I could not take time to taste all of Jadot’s many bottlings, which are less numerous this year, in any case, than in 2006. Incidentally, the first vintages of Domaine Ferret Pouilly-Fuisse under Jadot’s ownership and Lardiere’s direction – on which I shall report at a later time – are tremendously successful, preserving and even elevating critical elements of the personality that has long wines from that estate so memorable. Importer: Kobrand, Inc., New York, NY; tel.(212) 490 9300