Chateau de la Maltroye The Leflaive of Chassagne-M Montrachet? By Burgundian standards the Chateau de la Maltroye is a baby. The superb 18th century chateau with its 15th century cellars was purchased by the Cornut family in 1940. In 1995 Jean-Pierre took over from his father Andre and quality has rocketed in line with the domaine’s fine landholdings. In the vineyards chemicals are kept to a minimum and the grapes are harvested and sorted by hand. The chardonnay is pressed by pneumatic press and after low temperature fermentation they are transfered to barrel. the percentage of new oak varies depending on the appellation with regular premier crus seeing around 30% and the top wines Dent de Chien, Ruchottes and La Romanee between 65% and 100%. A variety of high class oaks are used with to complement the style of each vineyard. Today the wines are considered amongst the finest in the village. The style is rich and powerful with discernable oak in their youth and some complexing sulphide character. They are serious and considered wines with excellent distinction between the vineyards. If Domaine Leflaive made Chassagne-Montrachets they could very well taste just like these wines. I tasted a number of the wines at the domaine in February 2011. I was immmediately knocked out by their power and concentration. They uncannily combine both to create a rare feeling of balance with richness of flavour. Best of all we have cherry picked the finest of the domaine’s Premier Crus and have even managed to wrangle a little of the terrific 2007 vintage to introduce you to these exciting wines. They are not cheap but the quality, power and richness (without heaviness) is exceptional. And they are cheaper than the Premier Crus of Domaine Leflaive!
2009 Vintage All serious Burgundy drinkers will have read of the success of the 2009 vintage for red wines. If you have been fortunate enough to taste you will understand why the wines are being compared to 1999 with perfect ripeness and sublime aromas. But what of the white wines? I recall some early reports that the white vintage was rather ordinary. But as time rolls
on, and now that virtually all wines have been bottled, opinion seems to be changing. Certainly the vintage is not as austere and acid as 2007, but like the 2009 reds the whites show great style and purity. Having tasted quite a number of the wines in February I am pleased to see the 2009 whites being praised as I certainly did not see blowsy, tropical wines, soft wines at the domaines. In fact the purity and definition of the better wines was delightfully surprising. The wines have lower acid than in 2008 but have no lack of freshness. Dominique Lafon considers the vintage outstanding for whites. The one consensus, if there is ever such a thing in Burgundy, is that those who picked early were able to make wines from very healthy grapes with plenty of backbone and no sur maturite. The power of certain wine scribes is irrefutable so it is great to read alternative opinions from other experienced tasters. I like what I read in The World of Fine Wine Issue 31 2011 “Some critics have already declared this a supremely red-wine vintage, with the whites being not in the same class, lacking a little acidity. This seems wide of the mark. The best riposte comes from Gilles de Courcel, the master behind the renaissance of the venerable house of Chanson and its exceptional estate in the Côte de Beaune. De Courcel explains that since the flowering of Chardonnays had been quite heterogenous, chemical analysis could not give an accurate picture of the results. “It was only by tasting the heart of the cuvée, produced by the gentle pressing of the fruit, that we were able to clarify the exceptional quality of the must,” he said. “First tastings from the cask have led us to believe that 2009 is an absolutely exceptional vintage [for whites], in terms of both balance and delicacy.” In perfectionist hands like de Courcel’s, acidity is normal, satisfactorily supporting the ripeness.” “The Côte de Beaune whites provide some exquisite bottles. Meursault is a star this year. “The quality and consistency across the appellation hierarchy is better than in 2008,” writes the perceptive Sarah Marsh MW , editor of respected newsletter The Burgundy Briefing.”
2009 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot Vignes Blanche Usual Price $115.00 Pre-Arrival Price $99.00 Jean-Pierre Cornut considers the Vignes Blanches section to be the best part of Morgeot so he bottles it separately from his Morgeot Fairendes. The vines are almost 60 years old producing a rich wine of serious depth. Jasper Morris says “It is backward in its youth, tightly wound, yet with multiple dimensions waiting to emerge with age”. Tanzer: Perfumed aromas of white peach and stone. Pure, sappy and energetic; this boasts excellent clarity and intensity for Morgeot, especially from a warm vintage. Finishes juicy and long. Has the balance to age but this tastes awfully good right now. 90 Points
2009 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos du Chateau de la Maltroye Monopole Usual Price $125.00 Pre-Arrival Price $109.00 From a 1.37 ha site in front of the chateaux. Vine age is over 50 years. Remington Norman “This fine, south-east facing slope gives a beautifully balanced wine with fresh honeyed fruit aromas, generous fruit on the palate and crisp finish”. Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy “A softer, gentler version of Chassagne yet always impeccably balanced. Supple, gently nuanced wine combining weight and minerality without being extreme in either. Only this producer is allowed to spell Maltroye with a ‘y’ instead of an ‘i’ (in theory).” Tanzer: Very pale color. Reticent nose hints at oak spice. At once sweet and penetrating, with ripe acidity giving shape and grip to the youthful stone fruit and mineral flavors. This, too, offers lovely balance. 90 Points
2009 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Grandes Ruchottes Usual Price $159.00 Pre-Arrival Price $139.00 A 0.29 ha holding with vine age approaching 60 years. Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy “This wine tends to be relatively discreet at first but develops exceptional richness of flavour towards the back of the palate. There is no feeling of oakiness despite the use of two-thirds new wood.” Tanzer: Sexy, musky ginger and stony reduction on the nose. Very sweet and rich, but with no shortage of energy thanks to the wine's stony underpinning. A lot of dimension for premier cru. Finishes impressively long, with a continuing crushed rock quality. 91 Points
2009 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru La Romanee Usual Price $169.00 Pre-Arrival Price $149.00 0.26 ha with vine age of 36 years. There is almost no topsoil in Maltroye’s parcel and the vines grow into fragmented, heavily fissured rock. Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy “The longest lasting of the Chateau’s Premier Cru vineyards thanks to its exceptionally intense minerality, which for Jean-Pierre Cornut brings to mind Corton-Charlemagne.” Tanzer: Aromas of white peach flesh and crushed stone. Sweet, broad and rich but with a light touch. This really saturates the mouth with perfume. Cornut likes to use a good percentage of barrels from the Tonnelerie du Val de Loire in this and some of his other wines. The same wine from a Stephan Chassin barrel showed musky peach and brown spice aromas; a suave, seamless mouthfeel; and terrific length. This should be a beauty. 91 Points
2009 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru La Dent de Chien Usual Price $210.00 Pre-Arrival Price $189.00 La Dent de Chien adjoins Chevalier Montrachet and Montrachet. The vines were planted in 1936. Remington Norman “...give a wine both rich and honeyed whilst still retaining a crisp, fresh acidity.” In 1937 much of La Dent de Chien was reclassified as Montrachet, I guess it was a case of who you knew. Chateau de la Maltroye own more than half of this exceptional site. A very serious wine which could easily be Grand Cru. Tanzer: In-your-face aromas of ginger, cinnamon, crushed stone and iodiney minerality. Sweet and supple but less showy than the Grand Ruchottes or La Romanee. Plenty of spicy oak apparent today, but has the sheer concentration to support it. This very dense and suave but backward wine will require at least a few years of bottle aging to reveal the full force of its personality. Finishes very long, with a repeating element of crushed stone. 92 Points
2008 Vintage Whilst I am a fan of the minerally, lean 2007 white burgundies it is fair to say that not everyone agrees. Certainly those looking for shorter term pleasure often find them a little to restrained, or just simply too austere and acid. Tanzer describes 2008 as “Minerally too, with greater density and richness than 2007, occasionally with a glyceral or even exotic quality due to some botrytis; a thicker and more accessible version of “classic” than 2007”. Burghound says “2008 – Another Classic Vintage that is Essentially a 2007 Redux but with Better Concentration.....2008 is more concentrated, slightly riper and will be more agreeable young.....2007 is perhaps more for the hardcore traditionalist whereas 2008 will please most enthusiasts”.
2008 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot Vignes Blanche Usual Price $115.00 Pre-Arrival Price $99.00 Tanzer: Pungent aromas of white peach, pear, minerals and white flowers; very Chassagne. Then suave and juicy in the mouth, with nicely integrated acidity giving the wine a light touch. Conveys an enticing impression of sweetness but this is bone-dry (Cornut claims that most of his 2008s finished below 0.5 gram/liter r.s., which is extremely low). Strong and brisk on the long finish. 91 Points Burghound: A classic Chassagne nose of yellow orchard fruit, resin and an herbal/earth character that carries over onto the generous, plump and solidly well-concentrated flavors that possess a good level of dry extract that serves to buffer the firm acidity and add a bit of flesh to the linear and moderately austere finish. This is less fine than the Chenevottes but compensates with its superior length. A qualitative choice. A Sweet Spot wine. 91 Points, Drink: 2013+
2008 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos du Chateau de la Maltroye Monopole Usual Price $125.00 Pre-Arrival Price $109.00 Tanzer: Pale, bright yellow. Aromas of ripe peach and pear, lifted by a floral perfume. Lush, soft and sweet but with good minerality giving shape and finesse to the peach and floral flavors. In the rich, ample style of Morgeot yet maintains very good freshness. A lovely, long 2008. 92 Points Burghound: A somewhat more elegant nose of primarily dried rose petal and freshly cut citrus zest trimmed in a hint of wood toast leads to rich, full-bodied and utterly delicious flavors that retain focus and precision on the still tight, racy and distinctly austere finish. This is very much built on its minerality and is really quite stylish. Recommended. A Sweet Spot wine. 92 Points, Drink: 2014+
2008 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Grandes Ruchottes Usual Price $159.00 Pre-Arrival Price $139.00 Tanzer: Pale yellow. Pear and crushed stone on the nose. Quite ripe but serious and classically dry, with pear and stone flavors lifted by an almost peppery element. Really spreads out and lingers on the youthfully austere back end. This needs some time. 92 Points Burghound: A subtle trace of pain grillĂŠ adds nuance to the perfumed ripe peach and apricot aromas that express a bit less citrus influence than usual. The fresh, naturally sweet and unusually refined middle weight flavors are really quite sophisticated compared to the flavor profile that one typically finds in a classic Ruchottes, all wrapped in a mouth coating, admirably intense and bone dry finish. This is a very serious, even brooding wine but if you have the patience and like the mix of a sweet midpalate with old school acidity, it is recommended. A Sweet Spot wine. 92 Points, Drink: 2014+
2008 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru La Romanee Usual Price $169.00 Pre-Arrival Price $149.00 Tanzer: Vibrant aromas of pear, flowers and minerals. Fat and sweet but less accessible and perfumed in the middle today. Quite pure and stony, but with fruit very much in the background. Finishes quite backward, with a dominant element of wet stone. Hands off this for a while. 91 Points Burghound: Discreet oak notes don't compromise the expressiveness of the white peach and subtly exotic fruit aromas that introduce concentrated, naturally sweet and textured medium plus weight flavors that possess excellent complexity and fine intensity. This is certainly very pretty and unusually fine as well as slightly more mineral-driven than the typical example of La RomanĂŠe. In a word, terrific. A Sweet Spot wine. 93 Points, Drink: 2015+
2008 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru La Dent de Chien Usual Price $210.00 Pre-Arrival Price $189.00 Tanzer: Musky, precise aromas of citrus fruits, quinine and iodiney minerality. Surprisingly rich and layered following the refined nose but this very suave wine boasts plenty of energy and lift to its flavors of pear, white flowers and crushed stone. Really echoes on the long, scented back end. 93 Points Burghound: A reserved, pure and refined citrus and acacia blossom nose displays secondary nuances of pear and white peach aromas that merge into rich, concentrated and very powerful full-bodied flavors that possess a superb level of dry extract plus a strikingly long and explosive finish that really stains the palate. This too finishes bone dry and will require extended cellar time to reach its apogee. Impressive. A Sweet Spot wine. 93 Points, Drink: 2015+
2007 Vintage Burghound: “As the scores and comments suggest, I was highly impressed with Cornut's results and every wine in the range is worthy of your consideration. I have pointed this out before but it's worth repeating. The style is modern but it's modern with the highest quality raw materials. I have also found the style slowly becoming more traditional and 2007 is perhaps the purest vintage that I have seen here. The wood treatment is not invisible but neither is it dominant with new wood running around 60% for the upper level 1ers. If you're not familiar with the wines, you owe it to yourself to take a look. Further, I asked Cornut what his present policy was regarding pre-bottling free SO2 levels and he shoots for around 32 ppm.�
2007 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos du Chateau de la Maltroye Monopole Usual Price $125.00 Pre-Arrival Price $109.00 Tanzer: Less expressive and fruity on the nose than the Vigne Blanche, showing menthol and stone notes. Supple on entry, then rather backward in the middle palate, with lovely cut to the citrus and crushed stone flavors. Finishes broad and quite dry, especially following the Vigne Blanche. Both of these parcels are always picked early, noted Cornut, but this one is always more minerally. 91 Points Burghound: A very pure, fresh, airy and more elegant nose features notes of white flower, mineral hints and orange peel that also characterizes the delicious, sappy and concentrated flavors that are equally pure, textured and precise, all wrapped in an explosive, long and impeccably balanced finish. Excellent quality. A Sweet Spot wine. 92 Points, Drink: 2012+
2007 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Grandes Ruchottes Usual Price $159.00 Pre-Arrival Price $139.00 Tanzer: Very tight on the nose. Quite taut in the mouth, conveying an almost saline impression of strong dry extract to its high-pitched floral and stony flavors. This has almost Chablis-like cut. At once aromatic and powerful on the classically dry back end. Seemed to gain in breadth with aeration and calls for aging. This should make an ideal shellfish wine. 92 Points Burghound: This is notably finer aromatically though not necessarily purer with freshly cut lemon, dried rose petal and spice hints merging into detailed, superbly intense and beautifully precise medium full flavors brimming with dry extract and a striking underlying tension on the energetic and almost painfully intense finish that goes on and on. Highly recommended. A Sweet Spot wine. 93 Points, Drink: 2014+
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2007 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru La Romanee Usual Price $169.00 Pre-Arrival Price $149.00 Tanzer: Pale color. Subtle aromas of fresh pineapple, stone and minerals, lifted by a note of hawthorn. Sweeter and suppler than the Grandes Ruchottes, but still quite broad and dry. Offers a compellingly fine-grained texture and mounts impressively on the very long finish, which displays strong minerality without any impression of hardness. 93 Points Burghound: At present, this offers the most complex nose in the range with notes of wet stone, white flower, yellow orchard fruit and citrus notes that complement the intense, pure and detailed flavors that culminate in a powerful and hugely long finish that completely coats and stains the palate. A classy and deep effort. A Sweet Spot wine. 93 Points, Drink: 2012+
And One out of the Bag! 2009 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos du Chateau de la Maltroye Monopole ROUGE Usual Price $89.00 Pre-Arrival Price $75.00 A 1.37 ha holding in front of the chateau. Vine age is almost 50 years. Chassagne rouge is not a wine I set out to purchase. But Jean-Pierre insisted I try a couple of his reds which were still in barrel. I have to say I was stunned at the quality and concentration of this wine. It has great deep colour with serious fruit weight. It was very impressive indeed!
Mixed 14-Bottle Case Offer Including a Free 2009 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos du Chateau de la Maltroye ROUGE! Like to try the wines? We offer a Pack containing one of each of the 13 Different Whites in this Offer plus a FREE bottle of the 2009 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos du Chateau de la Maltroye Monopole ROUGE. These are great wines so don’t miss this opportunity.
Usual Price $2,009.00 Pre-Arrival Price $1,767.00