Lafon Montrachet vertical with some great champagne and reds.

Four Seasons, Minneapolis, MN
Tasted Friday, October 6, 2023 by rnellans with 200 views

Introduction

A big thank you to Brad England who put together this outstanding tasting. We started with a great '88 Krug en magnum, then a vertical of Lafon Montrachet from 2000 to 2019, including the very rare 2016 L'Exceptionelle vendage des 7 Domaines Montrachet. We concluded with 2 flights of La Tache and Rousseau Chambertin Clos de Beze.

Flight 1 (1 Note)

  • 1988 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut 97 Points

    France, Champagne

    Served en magnum with apps before our vertical tasting of Lafon Montrachet 2000-2019. One of my favorite champagnes ever. Fortunately, I've had this wine several times due to gracious hosts. This was a great bottle. Golden, bright, fresh, some caramel and biscuits. Lingering finish.

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Flight 2 (4 Notes)

Mushroom Tartine

  • 2000 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Montrachet 94 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru

    Vertical tasting of Montrachet 2000-2019: Mature. No sign of advancement. Honeysuckle with nice fruit on nose. Medium structure and pleasant finish. Holding up well but in lower third of wines.

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  • 2010 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Montrachet 99 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru

    Vertical tasting of Montrachet 2000-2019: Spectacular and my favorite of the tasting. Nose explodes out of the glass from the start. Tropical fruit, honeysuckle. Incredible depth filling the mouth. Rich, great acidity. A long, long finish. Perfection!

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  • 2005 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Montrachet 93 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru

    Vertical tasting of Montrachet 2000-2019: Slightly advanced with baked apple notes. Round and rich. Lower acidity than others. Lower third.

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  • 2011 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Montrachet 95 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru

    Vertical tasting of Montrachet 2000-2019: Great structure. Rich and viscous with some honey notes. Wonderful balance with great length. Middle third rating.

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Flight 3 (4 Notes)

Lobster Bucatini

  • 2012 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Montrachet 95 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru

    Vertical tasting of Montrachet 2000-2019: Darkest of the group. Great nose with some gunflint and honeysuckle. Good acidity and energy. Improves with air. Nice balance. Middle third rating.

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  • 2013 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Montrachet 94 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru

    Vertical tasting of Montrachet 2000-2019: Lots of matchstick up front. Dissipated with air. Full bodied, rich and very good wine. Fine finish. Unfortunately, strong competition and in my lower third rating.

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  • 2014 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Montrachet 97 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru

    Vertical tasting of Montrachet 2000-2019: Some matchstick initially that dissipates with air. Pear, honeysuckle, beeswax, and minerality. Exploding palate so rich but with precision acidity and freshness. Perfect balance. Finish is never ending. My third favorite of the tasting behind the '10 and '19.

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  • 2015 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Montrachet 96 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru

    Vertical tasting of Montrachet 2000-2019: Some matchstick that blows off. Big honeysuckle and beeswax on the nose. Viscous, rich, more 'fat'. Not the acidity of some of the others. Voluptuous and delicious. Top third rating for me.

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Flight 4 (4 Notes)

Bransino A La Plancha

  • 2016 Domaine Leflaive Montrachet L'Exceptionnelle Vendanges des Sept Domaines 96 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru

    What a treat to be able to taste this very rare wine. 7 producers made one barrel in a very difficult vintage. Include in our vertical tasting of Lafon Montrachet 2000-2019: Some matchstick. Big honeysuckle nose jumps out of the glass. Very rich and balanced. If a fault, I would say it falls a bit short on the finish. Top third rating.

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  • 2017 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Montrachet 96 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru

    Vertical tasting of Montrachet 2000-2019: Citrus and mineralogy. Very fresh. Balanced, elegant style with perfect balance. Excellent finish. Not as flamboyant as several of the others, but a very solid Montrachet. Top third rating.

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  • 2018 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Montrachet 95 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru

    Vertical tasting of Montrachet 2000-2019: Citrus, spice and minerality. Not as flamboyant as some of the others, but solid.

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  • 2019 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Montrachet 98 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru

    Vertical tasting of Montrachet 2000-2019: Some matchstick that dissipates with air. A beautiful young wine and second favorite of the tasting. Lots of tropical fruit, rich, but still good tension leading to perfect balance. Lingering long finish.

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Flight 5 (3 Notes)

Chicken Galantine

  • 2009 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche 95 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, La Tâche Grand Cru

    Tasted alongside the '93 and '10. Dark color. Less structured than the '93. Asian spice, some tobacco, stems. Soft mouthfeel. Long pleasant finish. Is there enough structure for long term aging??

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  • 2010 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche 97 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, La Tâche Grand Cru

    Tasted alongside the '93 and '09. My favorite of the flight. Beautiful balance. Power, structure yet so well balance and silky. Very approachable now, but should cellar beautifully.

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  • 1993 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche 96 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, La Tâche Grand Cru

    Beautiful color with no browning. Perfect bottle cellared since purchase in my cellar. Very expansive nose that keeps getting better with time in the glass. Sous bois. Complex. Asian spice and floral notes. Some stems. Tannins are softening ( it has taken a long time with this vintage). Very long finish. This wine kept getting better and better with time in the glass. No hurry on opening the next one.

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Flight 6 (3 Notes)

Braised Beef Cheeks

Closing

What an evening. The setting was perfect in a private room in the Four Seasons. All wines were sound. The dinner and service were spectacular and the camaraderie was bar none...Thank you Brad for organizing and providing many of the wines.

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