2010 Louis Jadot Domaine des Heritiers Chevalier-Montrachet Les Demoiselles Grand Cru

A gorgeously elegant if highly restrained nose of citrus, acacia blossom and pungent wet stone aromas trimmed in just enough wood to notice is stunning. Not surprisingly, the medium-bodied flavors are much finer than those of the Bâtard or Corton-Charlemagne though not quite as big or powerful. The strikingly intense, lingering and impeccably well-balanced finish radiates minerality and the overall sense of harmony is flat out superb. A knockout, even by the incredible standards of this wine.

Pale, bright yellow. Sappy aromas of lemon peel, powdered chalk, fresh herbs and tobacco (Lardiere identified "green hazelnut bark"). Utterly silky and seamless, but with superb energy to the flavors of ripe citrus peel and wild herbs. Gains in power and thickness as it opens in the glass. Really outstanding inner-mouth tension here. The rising finish features a whiplash of exotic citrus peel and oils. This should be long-lived.

A huge, complete wine, the 2010 Chevalier-Montrachet Les Demoiselles boasts stunning inner perfume and layers of expressive fruit, all supported by veins of minerality that occasionally appear hidden by the wine’s sheer stuffing. In 2010, the Demoiselles impresses for its verticality, fabulous overall balance and completeness. It is another wine that should handsomely repay cellaring. Anticipated maturity: 2020. Once again, I tasted with Jacques Lardiere and Frederic Barnier during a marathon session that lasted several hours. Lardiere has been on a whirlwind tour celebrating his last year at Jadot before his long-announced retirement, but I will believe he is stepping down when I see it. Lifers like Lardiere simply don’t retire. As for the wines, Jadot’s 2010s are unqualified successes across the board. Of course, the wines from the most prestigious appellations are often compelling, but frankly I find just as much joy in discovering the many fabulous Burgundies from unheralded villages that are sprinkled throughout this portfolio. Lardiere and Barnier first thought 2010 was better for reds than whites, but that gap has narrowed recently in their opinion. Yields were down 15-20% for the whites (less than the reds), because of the December, 2009 frost and irregular flowering the following spring. A number of wines were chaptalized approximately 0.5%. The 2010 whites were bottled between February and March 2012. I also tasted a handful of 2009s and 2008s, which I have included here as part of my goal to revisit wines from bottle on a regular basis. I continue to be thrilled by the Jadot 2009 whites, while the 2008s I tasted are mostly equally succesful. Jadot fans know that this venerable winery is composed of several brands; Maison Louis Jadot, Domaine Louis Jadot, Heritiers de Louis Jadot, Domaine Duc de Magenta and Domaine Gagey. In the interest of simplicity, I have listed all of the wines in this section under Domaine/Maison Jadot. There are two cases in which a wine is made by more than one of the labels, in which case the corresponding tasting note indicates which wine was tasted; they are the Chassagne-Montrachet premier cru Garenne and the Puligny-Montrachet premier cru Folatieres. Importer: Kobrand Corp., Purchase, NY; tel. (914) 253-7756