2010 Le Montrachet

Sadly, I can’t say the same thing about Lafon’s 2010 Montrachet Grand Cru. It shows good depth and power, but is also more advanced than it should be. Again, trying to understand the ‘why’ is not easy.

The 2010 Montrachet Grand Cru is a spectacular wine that fulfills all its potential. The bouquet rivets you to the spot with yellow flowers, hints of honeysuckle and petrichor, with aeration becoming a little petrol-like. The palate is brimming over with nervous energy. There is incredible depth, real "thrust" to this Montrachet that just lacquers the senses, yet it is only just beginning to demonstrate what it can do. Wow. Bravo Mon. Lafon. Tasted at Noble Rot's Xmas dinner.

This bottle was decanted before serving. Relatively closed at first, despite decanting. Yet there is a palpable sense of the exquisite on the nose: poise and power inseparable. On the palate, this is the kind of wine that stops you in your tracks and completely holds your attention. Even if the acid has yet to integrate, the flavours shade imperceptibly into each other: grilled nuts into peach kernel into white peach, to yellow plum, greengage, green apple, lemon, grilled citrus, back to grilled nuts, a perfect circle that encapsulates this great vineyard, all overlaid with a lacy mineral grace. With monumental density yet no trace of heaviness, this is a masterpiece. (AH)