Bouchard Pere & Fils Montrachet Grand Cru 2018

Bouchard Père & Fils Montrachet Grand Cru 2018 is a monumental white Burgundy from one of the most celebrated vineyard sites in the world.

The estate holds a significant 0.89-hectare parcel of this Grand Cru, situated on the Puligny-Montrachet side of the slope. Bouchard's philosophy for this prestigious bottling focuses on capturing the 'sumptuous and dramatic' power of the terroir while maintaining the legendary precision associated with the house. The wine is vinified with extreme care, often transitioning from barrel to foudre to refine its structure and ensure the oak remains a supporting frame for the intense fruit concentration.

Wine Description

This 2018 Grand Cru presents a clean and pure light colour in the glass. The aromatic profile is expansive and multifaceted, bursting with scents of honeyed peaches, toasted nuts, white flowers, orange oil, and fresh bread. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, textural, and enveloping with a satiny mouthfeel. It features a 'massive bench' of white fruit and orange zest flavours, balanced by lively acidity and a frame of aromatic, vanilla spicy oak. It is characterized by its incredible poise, masterfully defined structure, and a sublime, persistent finish where subtle nuances continually emerge.

The wine is 100% Chardonnay, sourced from East/South-East facing vines grown in thin, stony soils over limestone. It is hand-harvested and aged for 12 to 13 months in French oak, with up to 100% new oak used depending on the vintage to match the wine's significant extract. This 2018 release has an ABV of 14.5% and is recognized for its immense power and scale.

Accolades

• 98 Jasper Morris: 'Racked from barrel to foudre. Clean pure light colour. Great tension on the nose, clearly very high class, no detail to speak of, and nor should there be. A massive bench of white fruit, suggests the nose. This completely masters the palate but brilliantly cleanly defined, nothing heavy. Sublime length and now the little nuances do start to appear. Barrel Sample: 95-98'

• 95 Decanter: 'Bouchard Père have a substantial 0.9ha of the Grand Cru on a slope on the Puligny-Montrachet side. This is certainly at the riper end of the scale in 2018, but the class and poise of the terroir shine through, with orange zest and lemon tart flavours, plenty of extract and concentration and a frame of aromatic, vanilla spicy oak.'

• 95 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: 'Sumptuous and dramatic, Bouchard's 2018 Montrachet Grand Cru bursts with aromas of honeyed peaches, toasted nuts, white flowers, orange oil and fresh bread. Full-bodied, textural and enveloping, it's satiny and gourmand, with lively acids and a rich, expansive finish. If this year's Cabotte is more tightly wound and incisive, the Montrachet is irresistible for its power and scale.'

Food Pairing

The extraordinary depth and richness of this Montrachet require equally sophisticated pairings, such as lobster with ginger butter, sea bass in a salt crust, or Bresse poultry in a cream sauce. It is a magnificent match for pan-seared foie gras or scallops with black truffles. For a cheese course, it pairs beautifully with aged, nutty cheeses like a 24-month Comté or a delicate Brillat-Savarin.

Vintage Quality

The 2018 vintage in Burgundy was characterized by a very warm and dry growing season, which resulted in an early harvest and high sugar levels. While the conditions led to a riper style of wine, the best Grand Cru sites like Montrachet were able to translate this warmth into impressive concentration and 'dramatic' scale while retaining the necessary acidity for balance. The vintage is noted for producing generous, accessible white wines with significant mouthfeel and immediate appeal.