2011 Chevalier Montrachet
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Tasting notes
Tasted blind, the 2011 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru is a vintage that I omitted during my Burgundy tasting. I missed out because here it out-flanked the Montrachet from Sauzet. It has developed a complex bouquet with apple blossom, hazelnut and a soupcon of cold granite. I appreciate the drive and intensity of the Chevalier-Montrachet. The palate is lively with superb precision, offering the crescendo you expect from this vineyard. It is still primal yet there is impressive energy and nervosité that will stand it in good stead for long-term aging. This is an excellent Chevalier-Montrachet from Sauzet that should repay bottle aging. Tasted October 2016.
Critic scores
Average Score
Allen Meadows, Burghound
Neal Martin
More reviews and scores
(from white soil that produces fruit with a higher pH and lower acidity, according to Boudot): Good pale yellow. Ripe, highly perfumed nose combines pineapple, flowers, mint and humid fern. Less obviously powerful than the Batard but offers insidious intensity and a more pliant texture to its yellow fruit and mineral flavors. Tightens up considerably on the back end, finishing subtle and long, with fresh minerality and a strong chalky character.
The 2011 Chevalier-Montrachet comes across as a bit airy and ethereal at this stage. It will be interesting to see if the 2011 blossoms in bottle. Today, the Chevalier is intensely floral and subdued, with lovely nuances but not quite as much persistence as I had hoped. Hints of orange peel, jasmine and petrol inform the soft, caressing finish. Ultimately, this is a very pretty, if somewhat restrained Chevalier-Montrachet.
Pale yellow. Subtly complex nose offers pineapple, crushed rock, white flowers and a whiff of yellow rose ("completely ripe but without surmaturite," notes Boudot). Intensely flavored, saline and energetic; full but with a light touch. Wonderfully silky grand cru lifted by floral and mineral nuances. More taut on the back end than the Batard. In an elegant, feminine style, but this will need time in bottle to express itself fully.