2007 Chevalier Montrachet Les Demoiselles

Toasted hazelnut, white truffle, fresh lemon, and high-toned almond extract rise from the glass of Jadot’s 2007 Chevalier-Montrachet Les Demoiselles. Citrus zest, chalk dust, and fresh citrus serve for vibratory intensity on a silken palate, and this practically barrels into finish whose breadth high-volume is a bit at odds with many of the best 2007 vintage Chevaliers and their soaring elegance. This is more formidable than fun to drink today, but is already clearly a great wine in the making, which I would plan to follow for at least the better part of a decade. Jadot is one of those addresses where I confess to having feared that the combination of this vintage’s marked impression of acidity and relative leanness with Jacques Lardiere’s love of precision and merely selective use of malo-lactic fermentation might result in a dearth of sensual appeal. And he is the first to admit that a relatively high proportion of malic acidity was present in 2007, along with a danger of vegetal notes. But Lardiere took most of his 2007s all the way through malo, and my fears were at worst marginally realized. An overarching caveat is that these wines received higher dosages of sulphur (25 versus 15 grams) at bottling than those of other recent vintages, and will – Lardiere opines – take longer to shake off a certain pungency or hardening, but it did not find that alarming. As usual, I could not take time to taste all of Jadot’s many bottlings, which are less numerous this year, in any case, than in 2006. Incidentally, the first vintages of Domaine Ferret Pouilly-Fuisse under Jadot’s ownership and Lardiere’s direction – on which I shall report at a later time – are tremendously successful, preserving and even elevating critical elements of the personality that has long wines from that estate so memorable. Importer: Kobrand, Inc., New York, NY; tel.(212) 490 9300