LE MONTRACHET

2016 Marquis de Laguiche Grand Cru Joseph Drouhin

EN PRIMEUR

Yikes - the volume is up here! Great electric sparkle to this on the attack. Bright - but not all acid - good weight too. Rich, smooth and deep. Some caramel dabs to the soft white fruit. Long and pure, concentration and intensity is good here and nicely balanced. Good. (This down in quantity by about half, compared to normal, but not as badly hit as some thanks to the northerly position of their vines.)L&S (Nov 2017)

* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.

The 2016 Montrachet Grand Cru has a lucid silvery sheen. The bouquet is quite generous, offering scents of brioche, white peach and almond, all well defined and gaining intensity in the glass. The concentrated palate features notes of peach skin and ginger and a hint of caramelized pear. Quite a feisty Montrachet with a spicy, persistent finish. The crop was reduced 50% by frost, and you can feel the concentration here. Excellent. Tasted at the Montrachet vertical in London. Drinking range: 2026 - 2060 Rating: 94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Oct 2020)

The complexity and sheer magnitude of Montrachet is on full show here. A powerful expression of the largest holdings in the Puligny side of the vineyard. Grilled hazelnuts, grilled peaches, grapefruit and lemon citrus, as well as a layer of spiced nougat-like aromas. There’s a very long, concentrated and dense palate that starts out cloaked in flavors of rich peaches and glossy fruits. The flavors then peel away in layers as it sits on the palate, revealing a very focused, refined and essence-like citrus core with tremendous elegance and intensity. Drink or hold through the next decade. Or even longer if you desire. Rating: 99 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Feb 2018)

Richer and riper than the Corton-Charlemagne Propriétés, almost a little oily. Powerful and sweetly fruited with ripe citrus and some spice. Deep and incredibly long and an almost savoury complexity on the finish though the fruit purity – citrus and pear – comes back on the long finish. Stunning. Endless. (JH) Drink 2022-2031 Drinking range: 2022 - 2031 Rating: 18.5 Julia Harding MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Feb 2018)

The 2016 Montrachet Grand Cru (Marquis de Laguiche) felt very closed and taciturn on the nose when I tasted it, despite rigorous coaxing. The palate is well balanced with a lightly honeyed, spicy opening, more saline than the Corton-Charlemagne with a long aftertaste carried by a tang of ginger that leaves the mouth tingling. It will deserve 5 or 6 years in bottle, but it will be worth the wait. Drinking range: 2020 - 2045 Rating: 93-95 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Dec 2017)

(production here was less than 50% of a normal crop but Drouhin benefited by being on the Puligny side of this grand cru as the Montrachet vines in Chassagne were decimated by frost): Pale bright yellow. Aromas of ripe apricot, pear, smoke and iodine along with a trace of apple from a lot that finished its malo late. (Drouhin began with three cuvées, one picked very early, one in the middle of the harvest and one later on.) Thick, sweet and voluptuous in the mouth, but with its intense stone fruit flavors nicely framed by integrated acidity. Almost creamy in texture and harmonious from the start. Finishes with firm, dusty tannins and terrific palate-staining length. This really saturates the mouth and leaves the taste buds quivering. Rating: 92-95 Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar (Sept 2017)

Despite the size of their vineyard holding, not all Drouhin's wines come from their own domaine, but most of the other wines do come from long-term contracts, such as exists with the Marquis de Laguiche wines. In all but name these wines are 'Domaine' wines, and the vineyards are cared for and the wines vinified with exactly the same care.

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Wines bought en primeur are scheduled to arrive in the UK over the course of the next eighteen months. If you do not wish to take home delivery, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our primeurs team for more information.

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BURGUNDY EN PRIMEUR FAQ

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