Chevalier Montrachet 2015

Chevalier Montrachet / Colin, Philippe

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Tasting Notes
The 2015 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru has a rather austere bouquet, reticent but with fine mineralité. The harmonious palate has good depth and a lovely saline lick on the entry. This is a sophisticated and somewhat effortless Chevalier-Montrachet, not powerful but extremely poised, with lip-smacking salinity gracing the persistent finish. Superb. Tasted blind at the annual Burgfest tasting. Score: 95 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2021-2040 01 November 2018
The 2015 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru has a very well-defined bouquet this year, taut and minerally, hints of grilled walnut and hazelnut emerging with time. There is a sense of energy and focus. The palate is very well balanced with an elegant, subtle opening for a Chevalier-Montrachet: citrus peel, white pepper and a touch of blackberry leaf, fanning out gently with quite a persistent saline aftertaste. This constitutes a rather aristocratic Chevalier-Montrachet with breeding, class and sophistication. Keep an eye on winemaker Philippe Colin because I feel he has really started to make some special wines in recent vintages. "The growing season started early and we expected to harvest mid-August," he told me when I visited his domaine just outside Chassagne, "but after the summer [the weather] was not as good as we expected and it delayed the cycle by 2 weeks. It was an easy vintage in the vineyard and we did not need to do many treatments. It was easy compared to 2016 [the domaine was hit hard by the frost and hail damage this year]. It was important to be ready to harvest very early - that was the key to the vintage. We started on 28 August, which is the first time we have begun before 1 September. The quantity is reasonable, around 50hl/ha for the whites, but for the reds it was low. I think we have a good balance in the wines. In the beginning I was afraid that we would not have enough energy and that the wines would be too heavy. Maybe it would be difficult to find the character of each vineyard, but that turned out not to be the case, and we kept the acidity and the balance. I did not do any bâtonnage as the wines were rich enough. The malolactic started in January and we just stirred once or twice after the harvest, but stopped in December. We will bottle most of the wines in January and the Chevalier-Montrachet in the spring." Score: 93 - 95 Neal Martin, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2019-2035 30 December 2015
Tasted blind, this was an extraordinary showing for Philippe Colin's 2015 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru, a stunning wine that wafts from the glass with aromas of crisp yellow orchard fruit, ripe citrus and spring flowers. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, pure and racy, with an elegantly satiny attack, superb concentration and brilliant cut and underlying structural tension. Tangy but textural, this is a superb Chevalier-Montrachet that went head to head with the vintage's best. Score: 96 William Kelley, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2020-2035 31 October 2018
Starts out with an alluring smoky aroma, with lemon and stone notes underneath. A racy style for the vintage, this white feels a little nervous and unsettled today. Shows fine intensity and length on the refreshing finish. Best from 2019 through 2028. Score: 95 Bruce Sanderson, Wine Spectator Maturity: 2019-2028 30 November 2017
(13.8% alcohol; this wine was bottled in March, while the premier crus were finished in January and February): Bright, green-tinged yellow. Brisk aromas of pineapple, mint and crushed stone. Concentrated, tactile wine with noteworthy mineral power to its juicy flavors of lemon, lime and crushed rock. Among the highest in acidity of these 2015s, which is not typically the case for Chevalier-Montrachet. Finishes quite backward, with lingering notes of citrus peel and wet stone. This thick wine will need time to soften. (93+ Points) Score: 93 Stephen Tanzer, Vinous.com 01 September 2017
This also possesses a touch of matchstick character on the much more floral-scented nose that is trimmed in moderate oak. There is excellent drive and an abundance of both sap and minerality where the former coats the palate and the latter adds a bit of lift to the clean, dry and even firmer finale. This is also a big wine, even in the context of what is typical for Chevalier, and one that is going to need extended cellaring if you wish to experience it at its peak. Score: 93 Allen Meadows, Burghound Maturity: 2025+ 11 June 2017

Tasting Notes

The 2015 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru has a rather austere bouquet, reticent but with fine mineralité. The harmonious palate has good depth and a lovely saline lick on the entry. This is a sophisticated and somewhat effortless Chevalier-Montrachet, not powerful but extremely poised, with lip-smacking salinity gracing the persistent finish. Superb. Tasted blind at the annual Burgfest tasting.

Score: 95

Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2021-2040 01 November 2018

The 2015 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru has a very well-defined bouquet this year, taut and minerally, hints of grilled walnut and hazelnut emerging with time. There is a sense of energy and focus. The palate is very well balanced with an elegant, subtle opening for a Chevalier-Montrachet: citrus peel, white pepper and a touch of blackberry leaf, fanning out gently with quite a persistent saline aftertaste. This constitutes a rather aristocratic Chevalier-Montrachet with breeding, class and sophistication. Keep an eye on winemaker Philippe Colin because I feel he has really started to make some special wines in recent vintages. "The growing season started early and we expected to harvest mid-August," he told me when I visited his domaine just outside Chassagne, "but after the summer [the weather] was not as good as we expected and it delayed the cycle by 2 weeks. It was an easy vintage in the vineyard and we did not need to do many treatments. It was easy compared to 2016 [the domaine was hit hard by the frost and hail damage this year]. It was important to be ready to harvest very early - that was the key to the vintage. We started on 28 August, which is the first time we have begun before 1 September. The quantity is reasonable, around 50hl/ha for the whites, but for the reds it was low. I think we have a good balance in the wines. In the beginning I was afraid that we would not have enough energy and that the wines would be too heavy. Maybe it would be difficult to find the character of each vineyard, but that turned out not to be the case, and we kept the acidity and the balance. I did not do any bâtonnage as the wines were rich enough. The malolactic started in January and we just stirred once or twice after the harvest, but stopped in December. We will bottle most of the wines in January and the Chevalier-Montrachet in the spring."

Score: 93 - 95

Neal Martin, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2019-2035 30 December 2015

Tasted blind, this was an extraordinary showing for Philippe Colin's 2015 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru, a stunning wine that wafts from the glass with aromas of crisp yellow orchard fruit, ripe citrus and spring flowers. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, pure and racy, with an elegantly satiny attack, superb concentration and brilliant cut and underlying structural tension. Tangy but textural, this is a superb Chevalier-Montrachet that went head to head with the vintage's best.

Score: 96

William Kelley, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2020-2035 31 October 2018

Starts out with an alluring smoky aroma, with lemon and stone notes underneath. A racy style for the vintage, this white feels a little nervous and unsettled today. Shows fine intensity and length on the refreshing finish. Best from 2019 through 2028.

Score: 95

Bruce Sanderson, Wine Spectator Maturity: 2019-2028 30 November 2017

(13.8% alcohol; this wine was bottled in March, while the premier crus were finished in January and February): Bright, green-tinged yellow. Brisk aromas of pineapple, mint and crushed stone. Concentrated, tactile wine with noteworthy mineral power to its juicy flavors of lemon, lime and crushed rock. Among the highest in acidity of these 2015s, which is not typically the case for Chevalier-Montrachet. Finishes quite backward, with lingering notes of citrus peel and wet stone. This thick wine will need time to soften. (93+ Points)

Score: 93

Stephen Tanzer, Vinous.com 01 September 2017

This also possesses a touch of matchstick character on the much more floral-scented nose that is trimmed in moderate oak. There is excellent drive and an abundance of both sap and minerality where the former coats the palate and the latter adds a bit of lift to the clean, dry and even firmer finale. This is also a big wine, even in the context of what is typical for Chevalier, and one that is going to need extended cellaring if you wish to experience it at its peak.

Score: 93

Allen Meadows, Burghound Maturity: 2025+ 11 June 2017

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