A fun night of 04 Chevalier Montrachets and Leflaive Batards

WINE TALK
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Got together with a few of the guys to pop some bottles. Had a little mini tasting of some fine Chevalier Montrachets from the 04 vintage and a side by side comparison of 01/04 Leflaive Batard Monty. Started off with a nice fleshy bottle of 04 Tattinger Comte Rose. Capped off the night with a bottle of sake. Glad we had a taxi.

My wines of the night are

  1. 04 henri boillot chev monty
  2. 01 leflaive batard monty
  3. 04 Niellon Chev Monty
  4. 04 Bouchard Chev Monty
  5. 04 Leflaive Batard monty
  • 2001 Domaine Leflaive Bâtard-Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru (10/9/2012)
    I really gotta say, Leflaive knocked it the F out of the park in 2001. Their batard is wonderfully balanced and borders on pretty and masculine and just teeters the edge of both (leaning a bit broader). Long intense flavors of juicy lemon and apple with waves of acid as it all blends into this soft waxy texture.
  • 2004 Bouchard Père et Fils Chevalier-Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru (10/9/2012)
    Clean pure (albeit a touch lean) stone fruit flavors flow softly on the palate. Initially showed a touch of oak on the nose but it opened up to pretty white flowers and peaches. Finish was decent and the wine was enjoyable but it was overshadowed by the other two Chev Monty’s on the table as it was pretty moderate in all of its flavors.
  • 2004 Domaine Leflaive Bâtard-Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru (10/9/2012)
    When it first opened it was throwing off all kinds of notes of reduction and over use of sulfur. The bottle had to sit over 2 hours to really bring out the power that 04 leflaive typically delivers. Powerful tropical fruit mixed in with slight reductive flavors, the palate is pretty intense, but the reductiveness throws it off a bit. Not sure how it’s gonna evolve.
  • 2004 Domaine Michel Niellon Chevalier-Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru (10/9/2012)
    My goodness, if you’re looking for softness in texture and purity in fruit, this wine has it in spades. Stark contrast to the smack you in the face power of the Henri Boillot, this is more a slim sexy gal seducing your tastebuds. A touch of vanilla to give it some intrigue and waves of textured apple and white peach. Very pretty wine.
  • 2004 Henri Boillot Chevalier-Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru (10/9/2012)
    Power, intensity, concentration and balance, hallmarks of what I love in profound white burgundy and definitely apply to this wine. Long zesty finish with a palate full of pineapple, peaches and apples. The attack on the palate is so powerful and concentrated as the flavors slap you inside your mouth and just lingers on the palate. Rich bright texture that livens the taste buds. Incredible wine. my WOTN

Posted from CellarTracker

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Great notes Charlie on a few of my fave white burgs…

Agree on the '04 Boillot, is very good and needs time yet.

The '01 Leflaive Batard is great, but their '01 Chevalier is another level again…

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There it is! Did it take you that long to sober up? [welldone.gif]

Once again thanks for setting this up. What a great learning experience.

My WOTN probably goes:

  1. 2004 Domaine Michel Niellon Chevalier-Montrachet. Maybe I’m just being a homer here but I loved the purity and focus of the nose and the palate. The palate was initially lacking but it eventually picked up. I thought it was a killer pairing with the abalone and truffle spaghettini. It really stood out in style from the others. Pretty and classy as hell.

  2. (tie) 2001 Domaine Leflaive Bâtard-Montrachet was killing it right out of the gate despite the cork being stained all the way up. Great aromas and texture from the get go with no let up. Stellar stuff.

  3. (tie) 2004 Henri Boillot Chevalier-Montrachet. Big and round in texture. Crazy delicious pineapple, sweet caramel and vanilla aromas. It’s a shame I couldn’t stay longer to watch this one develop.

  4. 2004 Bouchard Père et Fils Chevalier-Montrachet. Like you said, nice floral and fruit but also some oak in the beginning. May be really good once/if the oak integrates.

  5. 2004 Domaine Leflaive Bâtard-Montrachet. Cork smelled a bit tainted but the wine smelled like Leflaive with the sulfur. It seemed a bit flat to me all night. Not sure entirely if this was a correct bottle. Hard for me to tell with the sulfur.

Again, a great night. Let’s do this again with Grand Cru Reds one night. Maybe a 2010 Dujac CSD vs CDLR once the loot comes in.

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Thanks for the data points; some really nice wines in there. Was the Bouchard the regular Chevy or the Cabotte? I find I prefer the Cabotte (by miles actually) over the regular Chevy. Also, Paul is correct that the 01 Leflaive Chevy is fantastic, as is the 01 Leflaive Bienvenue.

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Agreed. Like I said in the note, in 2001 Leflaive knocked it out of the park :wink:

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Nice lineup Charlie. Love the 01 Leflaives. Agree with Paul, that as good as the 01 Batard, the Chevy is a step up.

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then there’s montrachet flirtysmile

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regular. I agree that the Cabotte is a big stepup

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Great notes Charlie…thanks.