2005 Montrachet, Grand Cru, Louis Jadot, Burgundy

Maison Louis Jadot owns over 60 hectares of vineyard, many of them premier and grand cru, and in Frédéric Barnier has one of the most respected winemakers working in Burgundy today, taking over from the legendary Jacques Lardière in 2010. The wines are made in impressive purpose-built cellars on the road to Savigny-les-Beaune. The house of Louis Jadot was founded in 1859 though the family had previously been vignerons in the region, acquiring their famous Clos des Ursules in 1826. On the vineyard front, there have been purchases in the Mâconnais (Domaine Ferret) and the Beaujolais, notably the Château des Jacques in Moulin-à-Vent and the Château de Bellevue in Morgon. Both the reds and whites are of impeccable quality and reflect the individual terroirs of their respective villages and sites, allied with supreme winemaking skills.

Chardonnay is often seen as the king of white wine grapes and one of the most widely planted in the world It is suited to a wide variety of soils, though it excels in soils with a high limestone content as found in Champagne, Chablis, and the Côte D`Or. Burgundy is Chardonnay's spiritual home and the best White Burgundies are dry, rich, honeyed wines with marvellous poise, elegance and balance. They are unquestionably the finest dry white wines in the world. Chardonnay plays a crucial role in the Champagne blend, providing structure and finesse, and is the sole grape in Blanc de Blancs.
It is quantitatively important in California and Australia, is widely planted in Chile and South Africa, and is the second most widely planted grape in New Zealand. In warm climates Chardonnay has a tendency to develop very high sugar levels during the final stages of ripening and this can occur at the expense of acidity. Late picking is a common problem and can result in blowsy and flabby wines that lack structure and definition. Recently in the New World, we have seen a move towards more elegant, better- balanced and less oak-driven Chardonnays, and this is to be welcomed.