2020 Le Montrachet
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Tasting notes
The 2020 Montrachet Grand Cru has a perfumed nose with orange blossom, crushed limestone and light sea spray scents. It becomes a tad more exotic with aeration. The palate is nicely balanced with a tangy entry, which feels like more extract here, and there are hints of mandarin and walnut. The finish has a pleasant bitterness, though I would have liked more persistence. A fellow taster observed something almost Sémillon about this wine, making me pause to consider whether I wanted to drink Sémillon. It's not the first Montrachet from Dominique Lafon to fly below my estimation from barrel at this point, but perhaps it's just a phase, hence the plus-sign against my score. Tasted blind at the annual Burgfest tasting.
Critic scores
Average Score
Matthew Hayes, jancisrobinson.com
Neal Martin
More reviews and scores
Soaring from the glass with aromas of buttered orchard fruit, honeycomb, orange oil, peach and nutmeg, the 2020 Montrachet Grand Cru is full-bodied, rich and satiny, with a layered, muscular mid-palate that's girdled by lively acids and a long, resonant finish. This is an expressive, dramatic Montrachet that can comfortably keep company with the superb 2017, 2018 and 2019 vintages.
Tank sample. Mid lemon. Huge weight, breadth and depth. Spice and real volume and intensity of flavour. Forceful and immediately imposing simply by the size of its style. Tremendous white wine. Honed, dense and focused. (MH)