WHITE WINE OF THE YEAR 2012 ! Bienvenue Batard-Montrachet 2006, Domaine Ramonet

GF 11.5.12  White Wine of the Year:

Grønt skjær, urter, streng og mineralsk. Flere var på Corton. En veldig "her er jeg" vin, opulent med strøk av smørbukk. Noe bitter ettersmak, som en påfugl i munnen iht. Are. Fattanniner, men ikke skjemmende. Deilig vin og flere mente dette var en vin fra Ramonet. Floral, oljeaktig fet i konsistensen, mye eik, men vellykket. Denne ble kåret til den beste vinen med 96 poeng. WHITE WINE OF THE YEAR 2012 !

Denne var med i 2005 årgangen ifjor 20.5.11;

WWOY 1; Grønt ferskt preg med citrus, lime og dyp eiket frukt. Veldig Grand Cru i stilen med fet og konsentrert, røykfull munnfølelse. En rik vin med touch av bitter ettersmak som bør lagres ytterligere. Overraskende lite utviklet i den typiske litt grove Ramonet-stilen. 91 poeng. Flere skoret denne høyere enn meg.

Pierre Ramonet,W or "Pere Ramonet" as he was known to locals, established himself as a winemaker in Chassagne-Montrachet in the late 1920's with little more than the shirt on his back and the desire to make wine. As his grandson put it, "He started from nothing, with horses." From his start making wine in makeshift facilities with purchased grapes, Ramonet gradually assembled an estate from scratch, buying a piece of Chassagne-Montrachet here, a piece of Puligny-Montrachet there. His first purchase in 1934 was a small piece of the "Les Ruchottes" vineyard which he and his son Andre would go on to make famous.

It's worth noting that the process of scraping together vineyard plots in what is arguably France's most famous white wine appellation is not just something that scrappy, up-and-coming winemakers did in the early part of the 20th century. The total acreage in the Grand Cru Montrachet appellation is about 20. Yes, a mere 20 acres, which is currently split among roughly 16 producers.

The Ramonets have been making wine in the region since grandpa Ramonet kicked off the operation in the late Twenties, and it has been in the family ever since. Pierre Ramonet's son Andre achieved near legendary status as a winemaker (hence the use of his first name when people speak of the domaine), and it's not untypical to hear words like "genius" "mythic" and "pinnacle" thrown around when he comes up in conversation. Now Andre is the grandfather, and the estate is being run by his sons. These two continue to run the estate in the tradition of their father and grandfather. The average age of the vines in their vineyards, especially the Grand Cru vineyards is about 60 years. There are areas, however that are planted with younger vines, but in a strict regimen, fruit from vines under 18 years old is excluded from the Domain's cuvees. Yields are kept extremely low, and the wines are vinified using traditional techniques. The wines are aged on their lees (with all the seeds and pulp from pressing) in varying proportions of new oak depending on the wine for between 12 and 15 months.