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Viinin Kuvailu
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.
Vuosikerta 1993
In Burgundy 1993, an early flowering in the month of June, was followed by a wet early July before a hot dry August. The reds of 1993 are outstanding. They are powerful and concentrated with a firm backbone of ripe tannins. The whites although austere to begin with and slow to evolve have developed into magnificent well structured, powerful wines. A vintage that produced wines built for ageing.
Once again, expectations were high in Burgundy for the 1993 harvest. The flowering was as early as that of 1990 (from 6-11 June) and August was very hot and dry . Despite the bad weather during the second half of June and first ten days of July, with rain and notably hail in the Meurault 1er Cru vineyards of Genevrères, Charmes and Perrières. Burgundy was looking forward to an early harvest of high quality.
The 'ban des vendanges' was set for the 15th September in the Côte de Beaune and 17th in the Côte de Nuits.
As has so often been the case, it was extremely important to undertake a crop thinning in 1993; for those domaines which did not, yields were high and sugar levels mediocre.
The intensity of colour in the red wine and a correct balance between acidity and tannins allow us to hope for wines of an above average quality. The vineyard which were harvested before the rains are particularly rich and elegant. Fortunately, the small berry size of the grapes meant a greater resistance to grey rot which could so easily have been a problem, with the wet weather.
For the whites, the deterioration of the weather in the Côte d'Or prevented the Chardonnay grape from reaching perfect maturity but the wines will nonetheless be pleasant.
