2006 Montrachet, Marquis de Laguiche, Grand Cru, Joseph Drouhin, Burgundy

Cask sample

Competent rather than exciting. Alcohol is 13.5 so not outstanding – all in the finish. Long. Certainly would not disappoint. Spicy finish.

Reticent, pure aromas of stone fruits, crushed rock, minerals and violet, plus a whiff of dried fruits. Large-scaled, rich and sweet, with lovely inner-mouth floral character lifting the flavour of perfectly ripe peach. A thick, broad, wonderfully harmonious wine with very well-judged oak one-third new) for its fruit. The long, perfumed finish throws off notes of minerals and spices. This was bottled in April of 2008, whereas the previous wines were all bottled last fall.

A vestige of wood still frames the overtly exotic aromas that are mostly secondary in character, though still attractively fresh. I like the sense of energy in the impressively scaled yet detailed broad-shouldered flavours that possess an opulent mouth feel on the mid-palate, though the finish is clean, attractively dry, and impressively long. My sole reproach is that the complexity of the finest vintages is not present, though this is still a more than delicious Montrachet. For my tastes, this has arrived at its apogee, though it should continue to hold. I have tasted this multiple times over the years with consistent notes, and, in contrast to several other vintages, I have yet to encounter any premixed examples.

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