TNs: 2009 Montille Christiane, Forey Gaudichots

Domaine de Montille 2009 Vosne-Romanée Aux Malconsorts "Christiane"
The first thing you notice here is the cut. This reminds me of the old Hubert de Montille wines from this domaine, and if you have any preconceptions about the alleged ripeness or softness of the 2009 vintage you’ll have to toss them out the window here. It needs several hours of breathing to compose itself and it’s not until the last glass that you get to experience the enveloping material and exotic spiciness that this wine can offer, which is a relief as the fruit had previously seemed almost surprisingly light-toned and sparse. It doesn’t exactly put on weight, but it does unfurl enough to hint at its potential. As it happens, this is probably the only Burgundy I can say I’ve had every vintage ever made–and partially that was in hopes of reliving the experience of the stunning 2005. None of the vintages since then have pulled it off, and I was hoping the 2009 vintage would be a strong candidate, with the ripeness of the year moderating some of the backwardsness of the Montille house style–but in fact the opposite seems to have happened here, with this Christiane being among the most challenging to get a read on.

Forey Père et Fils 2009 Vosne-Romanée Les Gaudichots
I don’t know whether it reflects the addition of the new parcel or just the vintage conditions managing to produce something that really jives with the Forey style, but this is a spectacular Gaudichots and easily the best one I’ve tasted from Forey back to, and probably including, the 1999. At first it seems tightly coiled but obviously dense in character, with thick, deep-complexioned Richebourg-style fruit material and a characteristic Vosne five-spice dusting. At this point the structure is initially fierce and edgy but it turns out the main culprit there is just a bit of trapped CO2; a few swirls of the glass and shakes of the bottle smooth out the structure to something that’s still muscular but impressively refined, a level of elegance that I’ve never seen any other vintage of this pull off–which also manages to pull the curtains wide on the impressive scale of the fruit, which achieves grand cru palate coverage. In addition to the richness of material, it has a busy, dynamic palate presence–maybe lacking the level of clarity and detail to be called legitimately kaleidoscopic, but the sensation is similar and the kinship with its fancy next-door neighbor is more apparent than ever.

Keith, Thanks for the notes…
I did not read your notes on the 05’ Christiane but you hinted at it’s greatness and am curious about your thought’s since I have two in the cellar.
I am a huge fan of Montille having had several older bottles and really like the house style- a bit more nervy and taught, I have read notes from critics and consumers alike and it seems the perception is that there was a stylistic shift to a riper fuller ‘modern’ style from 02’ on. While I have never really thought there was a shift in style per se, I do recognize a slightly riper set of wines from current vintages, saying that, do you think that 09’ is a more in line ‘stylistically’ with pre 02’ Montille?

Interesting-I have found Montille wines in this millennium to have precious little in common with those made by Hubert, which are now proving to be among the greatest Burgundies ever bottled.

I guess I see all things moving forward. I don’t think that there will be any wines made again that will rival those of the old guard as times have changed, in that context I think Montille’s style really hasn’t changed that much, they still have a purity, balance and crispness to them that set them apart from say… Dugat-py, Perrot-Minot, ect.(neither good nor bad, I like riper Burgs too)

As an example I opened A 03’ Gouges Porret’s the other night and that wine had layers of texture and tannin that Gouges is known for but the 03’ vintage still came out, ripe dark fruit, slightly roasted at the end. I have had older Gouges as well and I wouldn’t say that the house style has changed at all, just the opposite, I get the house style more than ever with these ripe vintages as the restraint amongst the ripeness is still there.

Gods, man, that is a severe task, saddling these raging bottles. Appreciate the notes, thanks.

I found this to be an especially interesting comment, because I certainly know what you mean. But where I find “grand cru” is on the nose, first and always foremost, but on the palate not in coverage, which can be cheaply bought, but in delicacy married to power and sometimes even firmness. A fineness in that ratio is the determinant for me (on the palate). Recently, I experienced this effect in a 2000 Chevillons Vaucrains. Not addressing the nose: it was not a big wine, and yes it coated the palate in flavor, but it was just so light and dancing but full of flavor and character, with a tangy length that just sang your inner Homer back to the rocks. To me, that is grand cru.

Edited to say: it now occurs to me that you were probably speaking to this single element of quality, as opposed to using it as a determinative criterion. Anyhow, the post is what it is.

Would love your thoughts. I read your posts with some diligence! [cheers.gif]

The '05 was pretty much as good as young Burgundy gets for me. You’re lucky to have a few - this was impossible to find in the '05 buying frenzy and I only got to try it by snagging a bottle off a restaurant list. I can’t speak to the '09 style at Montille in general as this is the only one I’ve had - but “nervy and taut” sounds like a pretty good description of this one, and also a pretty good description of the Montille style of yore.

Both sound good thanks Keith.