2004 Le Montrachet
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Tasting notes
($1; 200; bottled three weeks) Nose offers great purity: stone fruits, iodine, marzipan, hazelnut. Sweet and lush but at the same time gripping, communicating a powerful impression of soil character. Quite full but not exactly fleshy. The strong acidity makes itself felt on the back half, where the lemon and stone flavors mount slowly and go on and on. A wonderfully solid, beautifully balanced wine with great grip and verve. But this will need a decade of aging to express itself fully. May ultimately merit an even higher score.
Critic scores
Average Score
Allen Meadows, Burghound
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Pineapple, iodine and charry, smoky oak on the nose. Dense, powerful and chewy but given vibrancy by lively citrusy acids. Wonderfully solid without being at all heavy. Builds extremely slowly, then finishes with an exhilarating whiplash of pineappley fruit. Stunning, utterly complete wine, with a three-dimensional texture and great persistence.
As usual, this is the only wine that is not transferred to a holding tank at the time of my usual February visit, displaying an incredibly layered nose of floral, spice, pear, green apple and citrus that combines with huge, rich and powerful flavors that retain a real sense of finesse and elegance despite the obvious muscle. This is a wine of enormous depth and if the Chevalier has another dimension relative to the prior wines, the Montrachet has yet another as well, particularly on the explosive finish that is breathtaking. A stunning, palate staining effort blessed with massive dry extract that should permit a very lengthy cellar slumber. Allen Meadows, Burghound , 2006
About the producer
Domaine Leflaive is arguably Burgundy’s most famous white wine producer, setting the benchmark for top-quality Chardonnay in the Côte de Beaune and the world. The property is the largest land-owner in Puligny-Montrachet, with extensive holdings in the village and five hectares of Grand Cru vineyards