The Road to Montrachet: Faiveley, Leflaive, Bouchard, Ramonet, Blain-Gagnard & Amiot Guy

Following the small road (D113A) in a westerly direction from the village of Puligny, one arrives at the epicentre of burgundy whites: firstly, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet on your left, followed by Bâtard-Montrachet whilst across the road lies Les Pucelles 1er on your right, and then the twin pillars of Marquis de Laguiche on your left marking the northerly aspect of Montrachet Grand Cru while across the road on your right would be Le Cailleret 1er, and just upslope further to the west would be the huge swathe of Chevalier-Montrachet. I don’t think one could ever be tired of being there to absorb all that tranquil splendour, knowing the magic that these grapes are capable of imparting to your senses. The next best thing to being there would be to drink these wines with good company, which was exactly the case at a dinner kindly hosted by Vic, Sanjay and Dr Ngoi at Jia He restaurant on 21 August 2023. All the Puligny grand crus were represented, plus a couple of blinded spoilers that turned out to be U.S. chardonnay but it shows that the best New World whites can match burgundy almost every step of the way. Many thanks, Bros, for your generosity.

2016 Domaine de Montille Puligny-Montrachet Le Cailleret 1er. Ripe tropical fruit on the nose, a tad forward, matched by an explosion of fruit that imparted great verve and exuberance, exerting lovely tension and intensity with a deeper minerally vein. Great value, as not many would know that de Montille’s plot of Le Cailleret 1er lies immediately adjacent to the Montrachet of Marquis de Laguiche, separated by the D113A.

2017 Domaine Blain-Gagnard Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru, courtesy of Dr Ngoi. Pale luminosity. Distant notes of orchard fruit with a floral lift. Medium-full. Richly layered with a distinct note of bananas and other exotic tropical fruits, imparting lovely mouthfeel with a poised ethereal elegance. Criots-Bâtard lies on the Chassagne side.

2014 Domaine Faiveley Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru, courtesy of Dr Ngoi. Beautifully luminous with a generous expanse of white tones still tinged with vanillin. Medium weight. Very finely balanced with elegant intensity and freshness, developing further notes of dried plums.

1991 Domaine Leflaive Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru, courtesy of Sir Bob. Heavier golden hue. The wine has evolved into a glowing mature chalkiness and rye amid floral characters. Rather plump, rounded and full in the traditional Leflaive manner, still holding up very well with very fine acidity and freshness that display excellent linearity, supported by a deep minerally vein.

2011 Domaine Leflaive Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru, courtesy of Vic. Lovely luminosity. Rounded delicate presence of fresh white fruit supported by refined acidity that has evolved with secondary characters of rye and malt, fleshing out further with subtle floral characters. Very finely balanced, consistent with a previous encounter only last month.

2005 Domaine Jean-Claude Ramonet Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru, courtesy of CHS. Pale luminosity. This wine opens with the signature glow of Chassagne (half of Bâtard lies there) tinged with nutmeg, leading to a classic Ramonet palate of chamfered white tones cut with excellent precision and definition, carrying superb integral verve with further notes of distilled capsicum and green elements.

2017 Domaine Bouchard Père et Fils Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru. Pale luminosity. Delicately poised even as it exudes a perfumed profusion of dense orchard fruit, highly alluring in its elegant intensity and deep controlled power that deliver fine attack.

2010 Domaine Amiot Guy et Fils Montrachet Grand Cru, courtesy of CJ. Pale. Somewhat restrained on the nose, displaying a bright high-toned acidity that imparted a sleek even presence of white fruits and clear citrus, cutting through with refined precision and excellent clarity. From a miniscule 0.08-ha on the Chassagne side.

2005 Aubert Chardonnay, courtesy of LF. Tasted blind. Golden luminosity. Delicious glow of icing and mature chalk and nectarine within a layered density of white tones from the ample expanse of fruit, developing further notes of green capsicum and nutmeg even as it still remained relatively tight. Very burgundian in character, such was its tonal balance even in the wake of all the preceding great whites.

2006 Kongsgaard “The Judge” Chardonnay, courtesy of LF. Tasted blind. Light luminosity. Effusive bouquet of peaches and orchard fruit, just a tad forward with a tinge of sweet vanillin that was its only tell-tale New World signature. Still wonderfully fresh, beautifully layered and elegant with great refinement and understated sophistication, finishing in a peppery glow.