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The whites : at the moment they show the same kind of fruit as in '92, with higher intensity and fat and the same acidity. It is too early to tell before malo but it could be a great vintage, equal to, or higher than '92 and, probably with a great potential for laying down.
Wine Description
The Story
The vines were planted in two stages by Auguste and Pierre Morey. They are old, weak vines producing little (between 20 and 35 hl/ha). Badly affected by fan-leaf degeneration, they have improved considerably since the application of biodynamic preparations. The parcel is situated at the far south of Montrachet also facing south. The soil is fairly dark, quite deep and stony. It consistently produces wines rich in alcohol, balanced out by their marked acidity. A great deal of substance, these are wines to keep for a long time.
The Montrachet family consists of grand five Grands Crus grown in the two villages of Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet. These two share the Montrachet and Bâtard-Montrachet appellations. Chevalier and Bienvenues belong to Puligny, Criots belongs to Chassagne. These Grands Crus are the most southerly of the Côte-d'Or, and lie between Meursault in the north and Santenay in the south. Their origins go back to the Middle Ages - the work of the Cistercian abbey of Maizières and the Lords of Chagny. The wines of Montrachet (pronounced Mon-rachay) came fully into their own in the 17th century. There is no argument : this is the finest expression of the Chardonnay grape anywhere on earth. The Grand Cru appellations date from 31 July, 1937.
The underlying rocks date from the Jurassic, 175 million years BC. Exposures lie to the east and the south. Altitudes: 265-290 metres (Chevalier) ; 250-270 metres (Montrachet) ; 240-250 metres (Bâtard, Bienvenues, Criots). In the " Climat " of Montrachet, the soils are thinnish and lie on hard limestone traversed by a band of reddish marl. In Chevalier, the soils are thin and stony rendzinas derived from marls and marly-limestones. In the Bâtard " climat " soils are brown limestone which are deeper and, at the foot of the slope, more clayey.
The power and aromatic persistence of these lofty wines demands aristocratic and sophisticated dishes with complex textures : « pâté » made from fattened goose liver, of course, and caviar. Lobster, crawfish, and large wild prawns, with their powerful flavours and firm textures, pay well-deserved homage to the wine and match its opulence. Firm-fleshed white fish such as monkfish would be equally at home in their company. And let us not forget well-bred and well-fattened free-range poultry whose delicate flesh, with the addition of a cream-and-mushroom sauce, will be lapped up in the unctuous and noble texture of this wine. Even a simple piece of veal, fried or in sauce, would be raised to heavenly heights by the Montrachet's long and subtle acidity.
Serving temperature : 12 to 14 °C.
Wine Information
The Weather/ Interesting points of note are :Cold spring, vegetation progressed in stages. First two weeks of May were hot and growth developed rapidly.
- 13th and 14th May: rain, snow and cold, hard frost in the vineyards at the bottom of the hillside. Our vines did not freeze but suffered from the stress, particularly the Chardonnay which was further ahead than the Pinot Noirs.
- Flowering started around June 10th for Chardonnay under difficult conditions; crop loss was heavy; millerandage. The early Pinot Noir sectors were also hit, but to a lesser degree. In the early parcels, flowering finished around June 16th so were able to calculate that harvesting would begin on September 25th, 100 days later.
- Lovely weather in July allowing the vines to catch up.
- The first 3 weeks of August were hot and sunny, veraison was fairly early (the first indication of cluster ripening).
- Perfect sanitary conditions at the end of August, little pressure from disease this year.
- Cold and wet at the end of August until September 20th, slowing down ripening.
- Return of the sun and cold from 21th September allowing the grapes to ripen rapidly.
The Harvest
We began with the young Chardonnay vines on 25th September. In 4 days, ripeness progressed by 1° to 1.5° potential. A fairly common phenomenon with Chardonnay as rain develops the skin and with the effect of the sun one can witness a rapid concentration of juice, with a risk of rapidly developing botrytis.
We harvested on :
- 25th September:
- The young vines in Charmes: potential 13°, yield 15 hl/ha
- Meursault Goutte d'Or: potential 14°, yield 35 hl/ha
- Meursault Perrières: potential 14°, yield 25 hl/ ha
- 26th September:
- Meursault Charmes old vines: potential 13.5°, yield 15 hl/ha
- Montrachet: potential 14°, yield 18 hl/ha
- Puligny Champgains: potential 13.1°, yield 18 hl/ha
- 27th September :
- Meursault Genevrières: potential 13.7°, 17 hl/ha
- Meursault villages: potential 13.3°, yield 22 hl/ha
- Last of Meursault Charmes: potential 13.5°, yield 22 hl/ha
- 28th September :
- Meursault Désirée: potential 13.3°, yield 25 hl/ha
- Meursault Clos de la Barre: potential 13.3°, yield 25 hl/ha
- 29th September:
- Last of Meursault Clos de la Barre
Sanitary conditions were good, between 5% and 10% botrytis maximum, very good ripeness, and thanks to the cold weather, we managed to sustain high acidity. The yield of the whites was extremely low.
We began harvesting the reds on:
- 29th September :
- Volnay Champans 12.5° potentiel, rendement 25 hl/ha
- 30th September :
- Volnay Santenots du milieu: yield 22 hl/ha
- 1st October :
- Volnay Santenots du milieu: yield 22 hl/ha
- 2nd October :
- Monthélie les Duresses: potential 11.8°, yield 35 hl/ha
- Volnay Clos des Chênes: potential 12.5°, yield 28 hl/ha
- 3rd October :
- Last of the Volnay Santenots du milieu
The sanitary condition of the Volnays was good, with between 5% and 10% botrytis maximum which we sorted in the vineyard. In the Volnay Santenots vats one showed 13° natural and the other 12.6°.
In 10 days the potential degrees increased by 1.5° to 2°. A sample taken on the 20th September (the date permitted to begin harvesting the red) showed a potential 10.5° to 11°.
The sanitary condition in the Monthélie was less good (20 to 25% botrytis) and thorough sorting was necessary.
Red yield was low.
The entire crop was harvested in fine weather.
Vinification
The reds were easy to handle. Very good colour extraction. We chaptalized by 0.5° in the Volnay (just one tank of Santenots was not chaptalized), and 1° in Monthélie. Monthélie.
The juice remained in the tanks between 14 and 16 days. The tannins extracted were very fine.
The whites had finished alcoholic fermentation by 20th December. The wines pose no particular problems and malo began around 15/01/96.
The Wines
The reds : a very lovely colour, reminiscent of '93, fruit which is intense and elegant (summer red fruits) the tannins present are fine and smooth and acidity is very good. They remind one of 1993 in colour, fruit, balance and acidity but they are a little more fat and the tannins are softer. I hope this will be a great vintage. As good as '93.
The whites : at the moment they show the same kind of fruit as in '92, with higher intensity and fat and the same acidity. It is too early to tell before malo but it could be a great vintage, equal to, or higher than '92 and, probably with a great potential for laying down.
Vintage 1995
A small crop of high quality for long ageing. As in 1985, the acidity in the white wines is hidden behind the ripe fruit.
An early frost and cool June weather severely reduced the size of the 1995 crop. July and August were fine, dry and warm, but cooler conditions arrived in September, bringing showers and overcast skies. Fortunately the rains were more spread out and did not do as much damage as in 1994. The harvest took place in cooler but dry weather. Careful selection was essential. The 1995 wines showed great potential in barrel, the silky tannins and fine acidity giving the wines a soft mouthfeel.
Very attractive white wines, with creamy structure balanced by fine-tuned acidity.
