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98 By Robert Parker
98 By Wine Spectator
The 2008 Montrachet is simply off the charts. Where to start? Layers of fruit literally explode in the glass as the wine conquers all of the senses. The aromatics alone are breathtaking, while the fruit shows striking nuance and transparency. But those descriptors totally fail to capture what is in the glass. This is one of the most moving young wines I have ever tasted. The 2008 is rich, seductive and powerful, but never heavy. Finely chiseled mineral nuances saturate the palate all the way through to the intensely saline finish. When I think of what I want Montrachet to be, it is this. The 2008 Montrachet is an aspirational wine in the very best sense. Ideally another few years in bottle will help the wine become even more expressive and several decades of profound drinking seem likely. Wow! Anticipated maturity: 2018+.
Producer
Domaine de la Romanée Conti
Not only the most iconic domaine in Burgundy, but also possibly in France and even in the world. With a monopoly of the two greatest vineyards - Romanée-Conti and La Tâche - and with a generous handful of some others within Vosne-Romanée and beyond, it secured its revered position all while being completely discreet and even modest. It is co-owned by the Villaine and Leroy-Roch families, with Aubert de Villaine guiding the ship since 1974. But it can trace its roots back to the 13th century, when its first vines were planted by the monks of Saint-Vivant. They have been organic since the 1980s and biodynamic since the 1990s. They are also undoubtedly the most famous domaine in the region that uses (and has always used) whole cluster fermentation, an established technique that was eschewed by Henri Jayer, but has inspired many others in recent years. Allen Meadows, arguably the most knowledgeable Burgundy expert and critic in the world, has only given one wine a perfect score - the 1945 Romanée-Conti.