Critic ratings
vinous
2011
Rating:
94
–94
Pale, bright yellow. A meaty nuance mostly blew off to reveal complex scents of orange peel, dried apricot, almond, caramel and spicecake. Rich and sweet but with excellent acid cut to the dense flavors of citrus fruits, spices and crushed-stone minerality. Really echoes and builds on the back end, saturating the palate without leaving any impression of heaviness. Give this some time in a decanter or, better yet, lay it down for five or six years. An outstanding showing.
vinous
2011
Rating:
93
–95
Paler yellow than the regular Chevalier-Montrachet, showing a distinct green tinge. Precise aromas of lime and crushed stone. More reserved and opulent than the Chevalier today but purer and higher-pitched, boasting outstanding precision to its citrus and floral flavors. Really superb energy here. Best today on the very long, saline finish, which saturates the palate with liquid stone.
vinous
2012
Rating:
92
–95
(just four barrels produced, vs. a normal seven): Very pale, slightly cloudy yellow. Lime, lemon and dusty herbs on the nose. Larger-scaled and showier than the regular Chevalier-Montrachet, with a lovely sugar/acid equilibrium to the rich peach flesh and saline mineral flavors. For such a powerful wine, this shows lovely early balance. Very long on the finish. This was made without any new oak, according to Philippe Prost, who noted that the best barrels for both this wine and the Chevalier-Montrachet are usually two years old.
vinous
2017
Rating:
93
–95
The 2017 Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte Grand Cru is from the upper part of Montrachet, a 0.2-hectare monopole. It has a very harmonious bouquet with touches of brioche, orange pith and apricot blossom, all very pretty and refined. The well-balanced palate features clementine and white peach notes. A little more mineral-driven than the regular Chevalier, with a very persistent finish. An excellent Chevalier-Montrachet that should give two decades or more of drinking pleasure.
vinous
2017
Rating:
92
–94
Deeper-pitched and less expressive today than the regular Chevalier-Montrachet, but hinting at floral and herbal high notes. Then richer, deeper and chewier in the mouth, conveying an almost aggressive quality to its flavors of ripe yellow fruits (pineapple?), citrus peel, menthol and saline minerality. Larger-scaled and more backward, finishing with a tannic impression and serious weight. This doesn't offer the early sex appeal of the estate's other Chevalier-Montrachet but then it's a bit more Montrachet than Chevalier in style this year. A finishing note of iodine extends the dry, classic finish. (13.9% alcohol)
robert_parker
2020
Rating:
95
–97
The 2020 Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte Grand Cru is brilliant, bursting with aromas of orange oil, nutmeg, crisp orchard fruit, white flowers and peach. Full-bodied, satiny and concentrated, it's layered and multidimensional, with striking depth and intensity, concluding with a long, resonant finish. It's a brilliant wine in the making.
robert_parker
2019
Rating:
94
–96
The 2019 Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte Grand Cru is showing brilliantly, bursting with aromas of pear, citrus oil, honeycomb, buttered toast and struck match. Full-bodied, deep and concentrated, it's long and multidimensional, with racy acids and a penetrating, saline finish. From a small terrace above Montrachet, "La Cabotte" has been bottled separately since 1997.
robert_parker
2018
Rating:
95
–95
Revisited in bottle, Bouchard's 2018 Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte Grand Cru has turned out beautifully, mingling aromas of crisp green orchard fruit, fresh peach, citrus oil, honeycomb and buttered toast—much as it did a year ago. Full-bodied, satiny and incisive, its textural attack segues into an ample, youthfully tightly wound mid-palate girdled by racy acids and underpinned by chalky structuring extract.
robert_parker
2018
Rating:
94
–96
The 2018 Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte Grand Cru is a terrific wine in the making, wafting from the glass with scents of crisp green pear, citrus oil, white flowers and blanched almonds. On the palate, it's full-bodied, racy and multidimensional, with terrific concentration, texture and structural tension, concluding with a long and penetrating finish. The Cabotte can almost match the amplitude and voluminousness of the Montrachet this year—and it's racier and more vibrant—so it gets my nod as Bouchard's finest white wine this year. Only four barrels were produced.
robert_parker
2017
Rating:
94
–96
There are four barrels of the 2017 Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte Grand Cru, a superb wine that unfurls in the glass with aromas of lemon oil, mandarin orange, pastry cream and blanched almonds. On the palate, it's full-bodied, satiny and incisive, with a layered, concentrated mid-palate, tangy acids and lovely purity and definition, concluding with a long finish.
robert_parker
2017
Rating:
95
–95
The 2017 Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte Grand Cru is also showing very well from bottle, opening in the glass with a lovely bouquet of crisp green orchard fruit, citrus oil, white flowers, blanched almonds and wheat toast. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, satiny and incisive, with a deep and layered core, racy acids and a long, penetrating finish. While this can't quite match the mid-palate volume of the Montrachet, it certainly nods to Montrachet in style. Readers able to track down a few bottles should plan on exercising at least a decade's patience.
robert_parker
2015
Rating:
93
–95
The 2015 Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte Grand Cru comes from their 0.2 hectares of vine. Comparing it directly with the regular Chevalier-Montrachet, it feels more nuanced at first, but then repays aeration and offers gorgeous praline and even subtle marzipan scents seamlessly integrated with the citrus fruit. The palate is very well balanced with crisp acidity, more cohesive and harmonious than the regular Chevalier, with superb tension and nervosité on the finish considering the growing season. This is an exquisite white Burgundy 2015 that should represent one of the very few with ageing potential.
robert_parker
2015
Rating:
94
–94
The 2015 Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte Grand Cru offers up a youthful but expressive bouquet of hazelnut, apple, preserved citrus, pear and almond paste. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, intense and racy, with a lovely line of succulent acidity, and a penetrating, chalky finish that lingers on the tongue. While this is beautifully fresh and vibrant for a 2015 white Burgundy, it's also quite structurally giving and should drink very well on release.
robert_parker
2014
Rating:
92
–92
Tasted blind at the annual Burgfest tasting, Bouchard's 2014 Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte Grand Cru has a much more tropical-driven bouquet with scents of mango and nectarine developing in lieu of the mineralité you would expect from this vintage. The palate is well balanced with a tropical-tinged entry and well-judged acidity, but maybe a Chevalier that was picked a bit too late like that of Olivier Leflaive? It needs more mineralité and race on the finish to be up there with the best.
robert_parker
2013
Rating:
93
–95
The 2013 Chevalier-Montrachet la Cabotte has more intensity on the nose than the regular Chevalier, perhaps you could say more “exotic,” with heightened white peach and candied orange-peel scents neatly interwoven with the cold wet pavement scents. The palate is tighter and more reticent than the regular Chevalier-Montrachet, which comes as a surprise. But there is intensity locked inside this Grand Cru, a sense of purpose here and it finally (belatedly?) fans out gloriously on the finish. Superb.
robert_parker
2012
Rating:
96
–96
The 2012 Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte Grand Cru has been vinified separately since 1992 and bottled separately since 1997 (apart from a few magnums.) It sees 20% new oak and just 1,500 bottles are produced. Judging them side-by-side, the La Cabotte is similar personality to the “regular” Chevalier, but there is a little more mineralite and delineation. The palate is slightly viscous on the entry and a touch spicier. Good depth in the mouth and very persistent on the finish, this is a very fine, vivacious grand cru. Drink 2016-2030+
Although I tasted the wines of this Burgundy grand maison in London, I spent a morning with winemaker Philippe Prost to go through at least part of their large portfolio to get an insight into Bouchard Pere & Fils. Ever since Michel Bouchard established the house in 1731, it has been a permanent fixture in Burgundy, surviving seizure by the State after the Revolution, phylloxera, two World Wars and periods when the world simply was uninterested in Burgundy. Today they own 130 hectares of vines, more than any Bordeaux chateau, including 12 grand crus and 74 premier crus.
Importer: Henriot Inc. and John E. Fells in the UK.
robert_parker
2012
Rating:
95
–95
Tasted blind at the Burgundy 2012 tasting in Beaune. The 2012 Chevalier Montrachet la Cabotte Grand Cru from Bouchard Père & Fils has a slightly more exotic bouquet within this flight with touches of white chocolate and almond originating from the more generous and conspicuous use of new oak. It needs time to fully integrated. The palate is concentrated and lightly honeyed, the acidity nicely judged but there is a nagging feeling that it was picked a little too late, reminiscent of some of those 2006s on the finish that is missing some delineation. Returning to the glass it actually becomes more refined and elegant, with a saline tang on the finish. This must represent one of Bouchard's finest contributions to the vintage.
robert_parker
2007
Rating:
95
–95
Firstly, there is a definite increase in terms of definition and sense of mineralite compared to the regular Chevalier-Montrachet. So vibrant with wonderful precision, hints of white peach, hawthorn, flint. The palate is beautifully defined with great acidity and poise, building all the time on the palate towards the vibrant taut finish of crushed stones. This is fabulous. Drink 2011-2025+ Tasted January 2009.
robert_parker
2007
Rating:
96
–96
Reflecting a terrace adjacent to Le Montrachet (one of four Bouchard terraces that collectively constitute around one third of this great cru) the 2007 Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte offers a floral bouquet as ravishing as that of its “regular” Chevalier-Montrachet counterpart. Here the scents range from iris through orange blossom, and including that of the flowering vines themselves. This is even more penetrating yet also more rarified than its immediate sibling, with the high-toned floral notes again carrying along with citrus oils all the way into the finish, here characterized by transparency to and a dynamically shimmering interchange with saline, stony, and savory crustacean mineral elements. A hint of white pepper adds invigoration to the litany of luscious fruit and intriguing mineral characteristics of this subtly creamy-textured, uncannily buoyant expression of a great site which – although Bouchard has appealed to the authorities in past for a reclassification as Montrachet – strikes me as distinctively Chevalier in personality, or perhaps in this vintage like a cross between Montrachet and Les Preuses! I both hope and anticipate that this will be worth following for well more than a decade, but anyone lucky enough to acquire some would be crazy not to begin enjoying it young.
Philippe Prost’s late-August starting date for the 2007 white harvest reflects not simply the enormous acreage over which Bouchard holds sway. (In fact, they can muster correspondingly large forces and their gargantuan facility with its battery of presses can handle the harvest in ten days if need be.) It is also a function of assiduous yield control that promotes ripening, and of a professed interest in capturing freshness and vivacity. Furthermore, picking extended for 18 days, until mid-September, and most of the estate’s top sites were brought in near the end. And with the exception of a Pouilly-Fuisse rendered from contract fruit, none of the 2007 whites here were chaptalized. Most came in a bit over 13% alcohol and – as Prost asserts and his wines testify – with excellent phenolic maturity. Prost prefers to avoid sulfuring the fruit or must, letting it darken from oxidation during its period of skin contact and settling because, in his view, not only the color but the flavors bounce back as soon as the juice starts fermenting, and the resulting wine is both more expressive and more stable. “You know,” he says by way of general commentary on the evolution of Bouchard vinification, “a few years ago we were too concerned to be clean and clinical” with the result that “the wines were closed,” especially in their youth. No one could level that charge at the wines now, even if some are subtle and understated. The question now – just as at other Burgundy addresses – is how white wines from the last several vintages will age. Among many recent changes made at Bouchard in the name (dare I interject, “hope”?) of reducing instances of premature oxidation and bottle variation are blanketing the assembled wines in nitrogen, a sophisticated new bottling protocol, and the use of Diam (specially treated composite) corks for village level wines and dense corks from Sardinia for crus.
Importer: Henriot, Inc, New York, NY; tel. (212) 605-6767
vinous
2015
Rating:
93
–93
The 2015 Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte Grand Cru has a tightly wound bouquet with apple blossom, flint, smoke and a touch of orange peel. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, saline in the mouth, and displays moderate depth, though it feels a little conservative on the finish and does not deliver that coup de grâce that is demonstrated in barrel. That said, this is still a serious Chevalier-Montrachet from Bouchard. Tasted blind at the annual Burgfest tasting. (DIAM 10 closure)
vinous
2015
Rating:
91
–94
Pale color. More closed on the nose than the regular Chevalier-Montrachet, with a metallic minerality that calls to mind a dry Riesling. Then very rich, classically dry and youthfully unyielding on the palate, with apple, pear, citrus and dusty stone flavors framed and lifted by terrific acidity. Much less fleshy today than the first Chevalier but equally sappy, and best right now on the slowly building, rising finish. This gripping wine shows no obvious heat despite its 13.8% alcohol.
vinous
2016
Rating:
95
–95
Knockout pure-but-reticent nose melds deep yellow fruits, oak char, baking spices and minerals (this always needs a lot more time than the Chevalier-Montrachet here, notes Frédéric Weber). Wonderfully silky and rich but light on its feet; a serious mouthful of lemon zest, crushed stone and spices with outstanding focus and supporting salty minerality. Really shines today for its inner-mouth tension and explosive palate-dusting finish. Bouchard's Montrachet production was off by more than 50% in 2016 (to around 23 hectoliters per hectare), but the Cabotte was less affected by frost, producing three barrels, vs. four in 2017. This wonderfully plush, fine-grained, concentrated wine is built for a long and eventful evolution in bottle.
vinous
2016
Rating:
92
–94
(just two barrels produced, vs. a normal three or four; almost finished with its malolactic fermentation): Pale, bright yellow. Musky, deeply pitched aromas of smoky oak and Montrachet-like iodiney minerality (La Cabotte is the northeastern section of Chevalier-Montrachet, which was part of Montrachet until early in the 20th century). Big, rich and deep, with savory minerality currently dominating ripe stone fruits. This very tactile, salty wine may be less energetic in the early going than the regular Chevalier-Montrachet but then it's in more of a Montrachet style, like the 2015 version: large-scaled but quite dry and classic and not expressive today. Also more tannic on the back end, and still with a malic note of spiced apple, along with an intriguing suggestion of peony remaining in the empty glass.
robert_parker
2022
Rating:
95
–97
If this year's regular Chevalier could be mistaken for La Cabotte in a blind tasting, so the 2022 Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte Grand Cru might be mistaken for a Montrachet. Offering up youthfully reductive aromas of pear and peach mingled with hazelnuts, white flowers and orange oil, it's full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, with broad structural shoulders and an unctuous core of fruit, concluding with a long, saline finish.
robert_parker
2023
Rating:
94
–96
The 2023 Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte Grand Cru gets my nod for king of the cellar chez Bouchard this year, wafting from the glass with aromas of pear, honeycomb, white flowers, buttery pastry and freshly baked bread. Full-bodied, satiny and layered, it's suave and seamless, with a concentrated core of fruit, lively acids and a long, mouthwateringly mordant finish.
robert_parker
2013
Rating:
91
–91
Tasted blind at the annual “Burgfest” tasting in Bouilland. The 2013 Chevalier Montrachet la Cabotte Grand Cru has an intense bouquet with clear honey, yellow flower and subtle passion fruit notes that gradually recede and then are replaced with beeswax and honeysuckle. The palate is straightforward on the entry with fresh lime, citrus fruit and a dab of spice, although it does not quite carry through to the finish that dips before the finish line. Not bad, but it does not quite justify its strong performance from barrel, at least not yet. Tasted May 2016.
robert_parker
2016
Rating:
92
–94
The 2016 Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte Grand Cru has a similar bouquet to the regular Chevalier-Montrachet this year, albeit with a subtle oyster shell scent that surfaces with time. The palate is very poised and a little nuttier and more saline than the regular bottling, although for me it does not quite deliver the same precision right on the finish. It is a bit broody at the moment and maybe closer in style to the Montrachet. Three barrels produced (since the vines were less affected by frost).
robert_parker
2015
Rating:
94
–94
The 2015 Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte Grand Cru offers up a youthful but expressive bouquet of hazelnut, apple, preserved citrus, pear and almond paste. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, intense and racy, with a lovely line of succulent acidity, and a penetrating, chalky finish that lingers on the tongue. While this is beautifully fresh and vibrant for a 2015 white Burgundy, it's also quite structurally giving and should drink very well on release.
robert_parker
2011
Rating:
90
–90
Tasted blind at the Burgundy 2011 horizontal tasting in Beaune. The Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte 2011 from Bouchard Père has a foursquare, quite austere bouquet with good intensity and definition. This has much more focus than the first two wines. The palate is fresh and vibrant with a slight grassiness on the entry. But the acidity is very fresh here, lending tension and poise to this Chevalier-Montrachet. My only quibble is that it is missing some nobility at the moment – perhaps that will develop with time.
robert_parker
2003
Rating:
91
–91
The 2003 Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte (domaine-white) – produced from a parcel located next to the refurbished vineyard-worker’s hut easily spotted over Montrachet – soars from the glass with sappy mineral richness. Substantially better than this firm’s regular Chevalier-Montrachet bottling, it is medium-bodied, broad, and fleshy. This well-balanced offering has outstanding depth, power, and length. Its concentrated core of fruit coats the palate with liquefied minerals, toast, fresh herbs (sage and thyme), as well as pears. This wine stood in such sharp contrast to everything else I had tasted at Bouchard that I was awestruck. Projected maturity: 2007-2015.
Importer: Clicquot, Inc., New York, NY; tel. (212) 888-7575
robert_parker
2006
Rating:
93
–94
Reflecting a terrace adjacent to Le Montrachet (and for which Bouchard has in fact appealed the classification), the 2006 Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte sacrifices some of the brightness and elegance of the “regular” bottling for the sake of even more enveloping richness, amplitude, and sheer density. A bitter-sweet amalgam of over-ripe peach, plum, litchi, fruit pits, candied citrus, and toasted nuts is noticeably marked by the vanilla of new wood, and while the finish is formidable, it lacks the refinement, elegance, or mineral intrigue of its immediate sibling. Time will probably continue to take these two Chevalier Montrachet bottlings ever-further apart, with the Cabotte displaying the kinship with its yet more famous neighbor. Certainly a comparison any time over at least the next dozen years would prove fascinating for those few wine lovers who can afford it.
In keeping with what he says are his usual intuitions, Philippe Prost picked early – bringing in Chardonnay ahead of Pinot Noir for the first time at Bouchard since 1989 – so as to retain freshness as well as what he termed “the sense of minerality in a vintage of very ripe fruit. But in 1989,” he hastens to add, “yields were perhaps overly generous, whereas in 2006 they are quite reasonable.” The results are consistently impressive. New barrels are generally “seasoned” here through use in wines of lesser appellation (other portions of which are frequently raised in tank), as Prost prefers to employ second year barrels for most of his crus. Injections of inert gas at bottling are among the techniques being used to protect the young wines here from oxidation.
Importer: Henriot, Inc, New York, NY
robert_parker
1998
Rating:
90
–93
The highly impressive 1998 Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte exhibits dense, ripe fruits in its expressive aromatics. This medium to full-bodied, plump, and compelling wine is layered with pears, apples, hazelnuts, and minerals. Highly focused, yet thick and rich, it is a profound 1998. Projected maturity: 2002-2010.
Importer: Clicquot, Inc., New York, NY; tel (212) 888-7575.
robert_parker
1999
Rating:
91
–94
The 1999 Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte (Domaine bottling) has extraordinary aromatic depth to its nut cake, floral, and super-ripe pear-laden nose. Medium-bodied, powerful, and intense, this is a concentrated, refined, and focused wine, with outstanding depth, precision, and muscle. Its mineral, spice, and candied apple flavors last throughout its extraordinarily long, crystalline finish. Anticipated maturity: now-2012.
Importer: Clicquot, Inc., New York, NY; tel (212) 888-7575.
robert_parker
2000
Rating:
91
–93
The medium-bodied 2000 Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte boasts minerals, spices, and creamed nuts in its aromatics as well as its flavor profile. It is fresh, broad, layered, and concentrated. This densely packed wine is ample, harmonious, and displays an admirably long, delineated finish. Projected maturity: 2004-2012.
Importer: Clicquot, Inc., New York, NY; tel. (212) 888-7575
robert_parker
2001
Rating:
88
–90
Zesty lemons and minerals are found in the aromas and flavors of the light to medium-bodied 2001 Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte. A wine of outstanding depth and purity, its ultimate quality will be determined by whether it fleshes out in the final weeks of its elevage. Its crystalline purity and ethereal style are impressive, but a wine of this price should have more volume. Projected maturity: 2005-2010.
Importer: Clicquot, Inc., New York, NY; tel. (212) 888-7575
robert_parker
2002
Rating:
93
–94
Sap-laced minerals, nutmeg, and ginger dominate the nose of the 2002 Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte (domaine). This super-concentrated, powerful, profound wine is medium-bodied and armed with magnificent purity. Fresh, loaded with flavors reminiscent of pears, resin, and gravel, it is long, expressive, and complex. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2015.
Importer: Clicquot, Inc., New York, NY; tel. (212) 888-7575
james_suckling
2013
Rating:
98
–98
White apricots, flint, salted lemons, pastries and almonds here. Hints of white truffle. Still so youthful, sleek and powerful, with a full body and bright acidity, all balanced and in tune. Sophisticated, and yet immensely drinkable. Drink or hold.
james_suckling
2022
Rating:
99
–98
In the nose this has the subtle floral quality of Chevalier-Montrachet, but on the powerful and concentrated palate you have deeper bass notes (think of J.S. Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Major). Huge power at the finish, but no sense of heaviness. Historically, this was the upper part of the Grand Cru Montrachet.
james_suckling
2023
Rating:
97
–97
Purity of fruit rings out in a subtle way with flowers, sliced al dente apples and a citrus undertone. Showing hints of stones and fresh herbs on both the nose and palate, it’s full-bodied with so much depth and focus. Tight center palate and a long, intense finish. Needs time to open. Best after 2027.
