Last night, we had a chance to open a ‘Holy Grail’ of white Burgundy and I just had to take the time to express how amazing this single bottle of wine was: 1997 Domaine d’Auvenay Chevalier Montrachet Grand Cru by the legendary Madame Lalou Bize Leroy. Imagine an experience like drinking fresh made popcorn buttered, salted and slightly sweetened to perfection while packed with rich flavors. The powerful minerals dispersed evenly on the tongue holding fort while dense layers of sweet creamed corn, poached pear and dried pineapples coated the palate in the most seamless and sexy fashion. In between all the ripe tones and structured minerality was a cornucopia of flavors that gives this golden liquid a complexity that, dare I say… could possess the mesmerizing powers of lawd baby Jesus! White truffles, dried Meyer lemon zest, candied fennel, yellow field flowers, macadamia nuts, warm nutmeg, vanilla bean, sweet butter, saffron, dried honeycomb and mushrooms and the flavors go on and on. The flavors are beautifully concentrated as each perfect Chardonnay berry is hand-picked in some of the lowest yields of the region, mind you this biodynamic vineyard is all but .16ha, that’s less than half of an acre! Holy Grail indeed! The finish is everlasting reflecting back to that buttered, salty popcorn and briny, haunting minerality. This is how Friday is done right: with a bottle of Lalou Bize Leroy. Thank you MJ.
Bottle Number 139 out of a mere 808!