1995 Chevalier Montrachet

Full copper-tinged yellow-gold. Slightly gamey, wild aromas of yellow peach, apricot, orange zest, marzipan and grilled nuts suggest a fatter wine than the '96. Very powerful, dense and chewy on the palate; in fact, this wine is a bit extreme in its grainy concentration, as much like a solid as like a liquid. Classically dry flavors of very ripe yellow fruits, hazelnut, toasted bread and oatmeal are supported by terrific mineral verve. Not a juicy style of white Burgundy but extract-rich--and still with plenty of gripping acidity to carry it longer. (14% alcohol; 3.23 pH; the harvest began on September 25; the yield for this wine was a very low 25 hectoliters per hectare due mostly to very cool weather during flowering)

Leflaive's 1995 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru is showing well, unfurling in the glass with a complex and rich bouquet of peach, mandarin, confit lemon, honeycomb, saffron and freshly baked bread. On the palate, it's full-bodied, satiny and layered, with a deep and concentrated core, its chewy chassis of dry extract enveloped in fleshy fruit, and it's still lively and vibrant as it approaches its 24th birthday. This was a year of low yields—a cold spell disrupted flowering—and a warm summer, and that's reflected by this muscular, powerful Chevalier.

The 1995 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru, served from magnum, has an intense, overtly marine-like bouquet with hints of oyster shell. Then, just a few swirls of the glass reveal discrete white peach and subtle persimmon aromas, and later a hint of brioche. The palate is underlined by a killer seam of acidity. It feels reassuringly saline and very focused. It certainly delivers the complexity and “confidence” one expects from this Grand Cru and perhaps in larger format it has more vivacity than an equivalent bottle. But I would not be complaining! Tasted at the La Paulée in Beaune.