2012 Jacques Prieur, Montrachet Grand Cru 1x75cl

Robert Parker – 92-94

The 2012 Montrachet Grand Cru comes from their 0.5863-hectares (to be exact) of vine, one plot located in the middle of the vineyard and one above located on the terrace. The bouquet takes a little while to start motoring, eventually unfolding to reveal scents of fresh lime, green apple, wet limestone and sea spray. The palate is well balanced with a slight viscous texture on the spicy, rich opening. There is plenty of depth here, with lightly honeyed fruit and that spicy leitmotif becoming more pronounced towards the finish. I can appreciate the persistency and a long saline aftertaste – superb. [01/12/2013]

Vinous – 92-94

(still in barrel, four out of five of them new; these vines were picked last in 2012, on October 2; 13.8% natural alcohol with a very high 5.4 g/l acidity): Straw-yellow color. Highly nuanced aromas of peach, menthol, botanical herbs and crushed stone suggest a powerful wine. Then hugely rich and densely packed, with strong saline minerality giving this superconcentrated big boy a chewy, savory quality. There’s a high-pitched oak element here that does not dominate the wine’s other elements. Still tight on the very long aftertaste but already saturates the palate with stone fruit and mineral flavors. [Stephen Tanzer, 09/01/2014]

Burghound – 91-94

There is enough reduction to reduce the expressiveness of the nose yet curiously it still seems both fresh and ripe. There is outstanding size, weight and richness to the full-bodied and seductively textured flavors that brim with palate coating dry extract before culminating in a superbly long and solidly complex finish. This is not an especially big wine by the standards of the typical Montrachet but the focus and power that one expects are certainly present. [15/06/2014]