1997 Chevalier Montrachet
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Tasting notes
Pale, copper-tinged yellow-gold. Slightly roasted aromas of peachy fruit salad, crystallized citrus peel and honey, plus a suggestion of redcurrant. Thick on the palate but with a bitter streak running through the middle of the wine and giving it a dusty, slightly edgy finish. Seems a bit simple, if not flat. A second bottle showed a slightly healthier color and a less extreme but still lightly roasted aroma of ripe apricot. While the middle palate offered considerably more energy, this was still a bottle of limited dimension. Flavors of crystallized fruits and honey suggest an element of surmaturité . Finishes with some alcoholic warmth and a dusty note of herbs. This rather phenolic wine appears to be past its peak. (13.95% alcohol; 3.17 pH; made from a very warm harvest, beginning on September 15; Domaine Leflaive did not pick particularly late, but the grape sugars in Chevalier-Montrachet soared in the last three days)
Critic scores
Average Score
Allen Meadows, Burghound
Robert Parker
More reviews and scores
From a warm, ripe vintage, the 1997 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru offers up aromas of dried white flowers, orange rind, confit citrus, iodine and freshly baked bread. On the palate, it's full-bodied, layered and concentrated, with chewy extract and a broad, expansive mid-palate, with ripe acids and a long, subtly exotic finish. If the 1998 Chevalier owes some exotic qualities to botrytis, the concentration and confit quality of the 1997 have more to do with passerillage. By the numbers, the wine attained 13.95% alcohol with a pH of 3.17.
About the producer
Domaine Leflaive is arguably Burgundy’s most famous white wine producer, setting the benchmark for top-quality Chardonnay in the Côte de Beaune and the world. The property is the largest land-owner in Puligny-Montrachet, with extensive holdings in the village and five hectares of Grand Cru vineyards