2001 Le Montrachet

Standing head and shoulders above the estate’s other 2001s, the Montrachet explodes from the glass with spiced minerals, toast, and crisp pears. Armed with superb balance, it is broad, lush, intensely spicy, and fleshy. This admirable wine’s flavor profile is dominated for the moment by an assortment of flowers immersed in minerals, whose effects linger in its long finish. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2012. To Pierre Morey, Domaine Leflaive’s winemaker, “2001 was not an easy vintage, but it made our work that much more interesting. Our vines faced rot, hail, heat (that burned some grapes), cold, then the onset of botrytis, making us sort grape by grape.” He went on to add, “so we knew on August 3rd, the day after the hail storm, that it was a sorting vintage . . . our next surprise was the acid balance, in which we found we had normal tartaric numbers but high malic acid, making the wines difficult to taste. We opted for an extended elevage, to get the noses to express themselves and the bodies to fill out.” According to Morey, all of the domaine’s Puligny parcels were struck by hail, having lost 20% of their production of Folatieres, slightly less in other parcels. Yields, though lower than in both 1999 and 2000, came in between 40 and 45 hectoliters per hectare, after the work on the sorting tables. When I asked Mr. Morey, a deeply honest man, whether he liked the 2001s, he said, “it’s not my favorite vintage of the last 10 years, but an interesting one, I’m intrigued to see how they will age and when they will be at their best.” Importer: Wilson-Daniels, St. Helena, CA; tel. (707) 963-9661

This still retains the intense and powerful fruit that it displayed from cask though there is noticeable oak influence that continues onto the taut, almost muscular flavors offering remarkable depth and concentration yet no lack of finesse or precision. There is a solid acidic structure that is perfectly integrated and the finish is long and lingering. This exudes breed and it is a lovely combination of power, elegance, depth and the sap both stains and coats the palate. A very fine effort, especially in the context of the vintage and a wine that will reward amply up to 10 years of cellaring and should live for 20. Allen Meadows, Burghound , jul. 2006