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  • Country ranking ?

    638
  • Producer ranking ?

    106
  • Decanting time

    -
  • When to drink

    2020-2035
  • Food Pairing

    Salads

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

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The Story

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.

 


 

 

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Wine Information

2002 Harvest

A national daily ran today as a headline : « Sumptuous harvest in Burgundy ». It is true indeed that the end of the Summer was glorious with sunny days that we no longer expected and that fulfilled the most demanding dreams of the vignerons.
Never more than this year have we felt how much a vintage in Burgundy can depend on two or three days only : if these days are rainy, there will be an explosion of botytris, complete maturity will never be reached and the harvest will be doomed to mediocrity ; but on the contrary, it they are fine, they will open the door to a great vintage.
This is what happened this year. In the calm of the ‘Indian summer', that creates a wonderful setting for the vineyards whose colours are changing to purple red and gold, it is a pleasure to the senses to walk in the village streets, to stand in front of the wineries and to smell the intoxicating fragrances revealing the richness of the great wine that is being made.
Let's have a quick look at this year's story, that was once again chaotic, and let's try to find the elements that can be considered the factors that gave rise to the vintage :
The bunch setting was very early and abundant. Spring, in general, was not very rainy, nor very sunny, but with significant temperature changes.
The flowering began with cold weather causing some coulure (flowers that had not been fertilized) and millerandage (small berries). The heat returned on June 10th and most of the flowering was completed in the space of barely three days.

From the beginning, it was clear that the early flowering vines could only produce a reduced crop because of millerandage and coulure.
The late vines whose flowering was perfect, produced bigger and tighter grapes, which formed generous and juicy bunches at the time of the harvest.
The first bore a perfectly balanced crop and this formed the heart of each appellation.
The second, that were often a little too loaded, had to be reduced by removing the excess buds and grapes, and necessitated also a selection at the time of the harvest.
Another important factor : the rainy and sunny periods, the cold and heat that took place over the year, made the skins thicker and the grapes could better resist mildew and rot.
Indeed, in late August rot developed in the vines that were loaded with grapes as it rained a lot in the southern part of Burgundy. However the rains were milder in the Côte de Nuits.
By early September, there was a difference between the old vines that remained perfectly healthy and the others, where rot could be observed in many places. The worst was to be feared : only a few more days or hours of rain would be sufficient. But luckily, early in September, the anticyclone returned and the beautiful weather, that was cool in the morning, clear and warm during the day, set in for good over Burgundy.
As a result, the sugar contents significantly increased, without provoking any drop in acidity, and we witnessed the near-miracle of a crop that was about to sink into mediocrity if rain had lasted, but instead, thanks to this new summer, totally ripened and prepared itself to give an excellent vintage.
Maturation progressed rapidly and some of the young vines were ready to be picked from September 15th. Our real harvest started on September 18th and lasted around 10 days. It was divided into two parts : the differences in maturity, load and consequently quality, that could be seen, as described above, in the vines of a same cru, led us, this year again, to pick the finest grapes only and leave aside for a second picking the grapes that were less fine or lacking in maturity. Our teams of harvesters now have a good experience of very selective harvests and once again they met this challenge with success.
The harvest proceeded in fine weather, sometimes cool, but without rain at all.

Here are the picking dates for each cru :

Echezeaux ..................... September 18th
Grands-Echezeaux ......... September 19th
Romanée-St-Vivant ....... September 20th
Romanée-Conti .............. September 21st
Richebourg .................... September 21st, 22nd
La Tâche ....................... September 22nd, 23rd
Montrachet ................... September 24th

The vinifications were rather rapid. The first devatting shows beautiful colour, the aromas are elegant and in the mouth one can already detect a lot of fruit and fine tannins. What will be the character or the level of quality of this vintage, we don't know yet, but we feel that the year will have "built" a great vintage through difficulties, risk and luck too ! What we know for sure : it is a small crop in quantity.

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Vintage 2002

2002 VINTAGE in Burgundy

A Great Year 

The trade is unanimous: the harvest was exceptional and 2002 is destined to be a great vintage for Burgundy. A dry summer, a sunny September, splendid grapes with highly concentrated sugars - everything came together to produce structured and complex wines with outstanding aromatic potential.
As early as the beginning of September, the sugar content in the grapes was often at exceptionally high levels and they had attained a degree of maturity indicative of a good balance between sugar and acidity in both the Chardonnay and the Pinot Noir, as well as in the Gamay and Aligoté. 

Well-matured grapes have produced - on the evidence of early tastings - deeply-coloured red wines with a garnet tint, and with really well-structured tannins. Depending on degree of maturity, the wines evoke sustained aromas of red and black fruits. Thanks to yield control and careful harvesting, they present a wide diversity of expression. 

The white wines are intense and heady, richly fragrant in their blend of fruit and mineral components. They are rounded, long in the mouth, balanced and harmonious. 

Both reds and whites of the 2002 vintage fully express their respective terroirs and promise fine ageing potential. 

As Hubert Camus, President of the Interprofession and himself a wine-grower at Gevrey-Chambertin, puts it: "In 2002, Burgundy's growers and négociants have every prospect of obtaining remarkable wines." 

Growing conditions during the year were characterised by low rainfall. Maturation took place in warm and sunny weather punctuated by occasional rainstorms. These weather conditions aided concentration in the grapes and kept them healthy. The harvest period enjoyed an ideal combination of sunshine and cool temperatures.

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Tasting note

color

Light and Green-Yellow

ending

Long, Pure and Lingering

flavors

Mint, Toasty, Mineral, Buttery, New-oak and Citrus

nose

Complex, Pure, Fresh and Youthful

recommend

Yes

taste

High in Acidity, Concentrated, Balanced, Complex, Youthful, Medium-bodied, Firm, Focused, Fresh and Dry

Verdict

Well-rounded and Sophisticated

Written Notes

The 2002 DRC Montrachet was clearly more mature, and some were not sure of its purity.  It was nutty and more cloudy, showing more botrytis.  While not past its peak, it clearly wasn’t on the fresher side of the daisy.  There was a lot of lanolin and game in this still impressive white.  It was on the mature side and arguably affected but still outstanding.  I think the freshness and verve of the 2010 altered the perception.  That’s a real thing and why company is so important (96).

  • 96p

The 2002 Montrachet is not especially notable in this tasting, its showing clouded by the memory of a spectacular bottle tasted last year. There is plenty of richness in the orange peel, crème brulée and apricot jam flavors. At the same time, this bottle is a touch evolved and also short on the palate. The 2002 can be epic, but fortune does not smile on this bottle.vIn 2002, the fruit was brought in on September 25, the last day of the harvest.

  • 92p

“Highly reticent but seriously complex aromas of lime- stone, apple, pear and white flowers perfectly comple- ment the big, rich, powerful yet very tight full-bodied fla- vors that possess simply superb detail and cut. This is one muscular, massively constituted wine of profound depth and concentration that possesses near perfect balance and a finish that simply doesn’t stop. This will require at least a decade to come into its own and should live for another 20 years after that. In short, this has that wow factor...”(97pts BH)

  • 97p

Pale yellow-gold color. Superripe aromas of yellow plum, honey and minerals. Fat, sweet and highly concentrated, with great volume and length. At once chewy and smooth, honeyed and minerally. Best today on the dense, soil-inflected aftertaste, which demonstrates outstanding persistence. Not an easy wine today, and in need of a good decade of bottle aging, but this should be among the standouts of this vintage. 94(+?) points

  • 94p

The bright light straw-colored 2002 Montrachet bursts from the glass with spices, white pepper, pears, and flowers. Rich, medium to full-bodied, and lush, its oily-textured character offers broad, ample layers of tangy apples, pulp-laden pears, anise, toasted nuts, and ginger snaps. This wine has superb depth, complexity, and length.

  • 94p
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Information

Origin

Vosne-Romanée, Burgundy

Other wines from this producer

Bâtard-Montrachet

Corton-Charlemagne

Corton Grand Cru

Echézeaux

Grands Echézeaux

La Romanée-Conti Grand Cru

La Tâche

Les Gaudichots

Marc

Richebourg

Romanée Conti

Romanee Saint Vivant

Vosne Romanée

Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Cuvée Duvault Blochet

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