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  • Country ranking ?

    538
  • Producer ranking ?

    13
  • Decanting time

    2h
  • When to drink

    now to 2035
  • Food Pairing

    Salads

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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.

 

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Wine Information

Vintage 2006
 

The weather

  • Winter took a long time coming. Autumn was mild, but a bitingly cold weather set in for Christmas. 
    Frequent snowfalls as from January and it continued snowing regularly during the winter, and heavily (15 - 20 cm) in first week of March. 
  • Spring began at the end of March with heavy rainfalls. Despite often showery and unstable weather conditions (storms in May), the vines started off well and grew regularly and homogeneously.
  • The mildew pressure was high, and the weather conditions did not help make the treatments easier.
  • The fine weather returned for the flowering season, which began on June 10th to end towards the 18th, and took place in excellent conditions.
  • The summer started with a scorching period in July, but continued with a particularly cool and showery month of August. 
  • Rather generous hours of sunshine in September allowed the grapes to reach good maturity.


The Harvest

Several days before the official ban de vendange (harvest date), the whites showed perfect maturity. We therefore solicited a special dispensation from the INAO to begin harvesting on the 14th September.

 

  • Thursday 14th September : Clos de la Barre, 2004 young vines and Petites Perrières
  • Friday 15th: Charmes young vines
  • " Saturday 16th: Perrières in the morning, Charmes Vieille (old vines) and beginning of Charmes Jeune (young vines) in the afternoon
  • " Sunday 17th: Young vines in Clos de la Barre, Puligny Champgain, and then Genevrières
  • " Monday 18th: En la Barre, then the rest of the young vines in Charmes and beginning of Clos de la Barre Vieille (old vines)
  • " Tuesday 19th: finished picking Clos de la Barre Vieille, and other vines in the Clos (Jeune and Pointes)
  • " Wednesday 20th: Monthélie Blanc, Goutte d'Or, En Luraules
  • " Monday 25th: Petite Montagne, Montrachet in the morning, beginning of Volnay Santenots in the afternoon (Philippe's young vines and the 2002 young plants)
  • " Tuesday 26th: Clos des Chênes, Volnay Champans in the morning; continuation of Volnay Santenots in the afternoon
  • " Wednesday 27th: Volnay Santenots (Les Pointes, Les Philippes, Les Jacquous)
  • " Thursday 28th: Remainder of Volnay Santenots, then Monthélie-Les-Duresses

 

Vinification
Red wines : We had to wait for optimum maturity, with the risk of an important onset of botrytis. In fact, at the end of August, the botrytis infection had already taken hold, but no longer evolved. 

  Between 5% and 10% of the crop required a meticulous sorting through. 

Alcoholic fermentations began gradually, after 5 days of cold soaking, and took place gently, without overheating. 

We alternated between pigeage (treading down) and remontage (overpumping) in order not to grind up the skins too much and work on the fineness of the tannins. Devatting took place after 3 weeks of fermentation.

 

White wines: : Very early harvest - 5 days before the ban de vendanges - by special dispensation from the INAO.
Exceptional maturity of the grapes (13.2° to 13.8°) in all the appellations; grapes in perfectly healthy condition.
Whole cluster pressing; Light racking. The alcoholic fermentations started spontaneously after 4 days and were rather dynamic. By 23rd November, two thirds of the wines had finished their sugar/alcohol conversion, and the rest still had 3 - 4 g of sugar which finished quickly.

The wines
The reds : 

They are lighter than the 2005s, very elegant and with very pure fruit flavours, with hints of red fruit (raspberries, cherries).
The tannins are fine, sensual, and with a good balancing acidity. They will make very pleasant wines, which can be compared to the 2000s, but more serious.

The whites :
Despite the naturally high alcohol contents, the fruit is fresh (citrus fruit; bush peaches) with good acidities.

Intense but without being heavy, these wines look very promising.

 

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Vintage 2006

2006 VINTAGE in Burgundy

The personality of Burgundy wines makes the difference

A charmer. Such is the epithet most frequently employed when Burgundy's newest vintage is evoked. Nearly two months after the grape harvest, and following a year typified by rather fantastical weather, Burgundy is finally catching its breath. The 2006 vintage, a preoccupying one which never allowed an idle moment, both in the vineyards and in the cellars, excels in its whites and surprises with its reds.

"Like the flowering of the vines which was concentrated over only a few days, the grape harvest did not follow its habitual course throughout the vineyards of Burgundy, " confided Michel Baldissini, President of the B.I.V.B. 

Indeed, organizing the grape harvest was no simple undertaking, and choosing the optimal dates was particularly challenging as September's sunshine suddenly ripened grapes which had been previously languishing throughout August. 

Even though a careful sorting of the harvest was required the result is now promising, particularly thanks to the knowledge and expertise of the winemakers. As such, even more than with other years, the choices made in the vineyard and during the vinification process were primordial for the creation of the wines of 2006. 

2006 is a year that has never stopped surprising us, from its metrological conditions through to the wine that has finally been obtained. This wine is still being patiently worked with, and now shows the promise of many pleasant and memorable tastings. 

The white wines
With their seductive nature, these wines promise to be excellent. Supple and fresh, they are already proving to be expressive and fruity in the mouth and boast considerable richness. Their aromas conjure up citrus fruits, white fruits and their flowers, with notes of sugared and stewed fruits at the more elevated degrees. Chablis expresses its typical minerality marvellously. We have noticed a very agreeable uniformity of quality from Chablis to Mâcon, as well as respect paid to the specificity of different wine districts. 

The red wines
Burgundy globally presents high quality wines with nevertheless more uniformity in the Côte de Nuits and in the Auxerre district.
The wine boasts beautiful, intense colours. Indeed, thanks to analyses performed on the grapes to find out their "anthocyanes" quotient (this is the molecule contained in the grapes' skin which confers its red colour) and their extractability, the winemakers benefited from valuable indications which allowed them to choose the techniques best adapted to revealing the grapes' full potential. Just before the grape harvest, the longevity of the tannins was relatively high, but regular tasting during the maceration period allowed for the adjustment of these tannins so that more balanced wines were produced. The careful sorting of the grapes at harvest time, a determining factor this year, undeniably created the parameters of the red wines' quality. 
Some are delicate and elegant, while we have found others to be robust and full-bodied, which indicated a fine capacity for ageing. Their aromas flirt equally with red fruits (raspberry, red currant) as with cherry, spices and cocoa. 

As such, we find a concrete recompense for all the efforts made in the name of quality by the entirety of the players in the Burgundian wine industry.

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Written Notes

Opened nine days! Still minerals, lime, apples, quite refreshing, feels like decanted for a few hours only. Fresh acidity, lively and playful, stunning length.... Must have been amazing to follow during those days. 96

  • 96p
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Information

Origin

Beaune, Burgundy

Other wines from this producer

Meursault

Meursault Charmes

Meursault Clos-de-la-barre

Meursault Desiree

Meursault Genevrières

Meursault les Gouttes d'Or

Meursault Perrières

Meursault-Porusots 1er Cru

Monthélie les Duresses

Puligny-Montrachet Champ Gain

Volnay Clos des Chenes

Volnay Les Champans

Volnay Santenots

Volnay Santenots du Milieu

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