Domaine Ramonet's Montrachet 2003 comes from a quarter-hectare of the Montrachet grand cru, bought by Pierre Ramonet in 1978. 2003 was the great heatwave year, and this is a broad, powerful Chardonnay now at full maturity.
About This Wine
Ramonet's parcel is 0.26 hectares on the Puligny side of the Montrachet, just north of the Bouchard holding, on limestone and reddish marl facing east and south. The whole grand cru covers just under 8 hectares, split between Puligny and Chassagne. In 2003 an early spring and a frost were followed by flowering three weeks ahead of normal, then hail in Chassagne and Puligny. From June the heat set in, with little rain through a long, scorching summer, and the harvest came exceptionally early.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Ripe pear, peach and baked apple, with honey, toasted hazelnut and a smoky, stony note.
- Palate: Broad and rich, with a creamy, almost oily texture, modest acidity and real weight.
- Finish: Savoury, with nuts, honey and spice that linger.
Serving & Food
Serve at 12 to 13°C, not colder, in a large white Burgundy glass, and let it open for 20 minutes in the glass. It is mature and best drunk over the next few years. Serve it with lobster in butter sauce, turbot with beurre blanc, or roast chicken with morels and cream.
How to Enjoy
A special dinner around rich shellfish or white meat, and drinkers curious about fully mature grand cru white Burgundy.
Product Details
Producer: Domaine Ramonet
Country: France
Region: Côte de Beaune, Burgundy
Appellation: Montrachet Grand Cru
Vintage: 2003
Grape Variety: Chardonnay
Estate Holding: 0.26 ha (acquired 1978)
Volume: 750mL
About the Domaine
Pierre Ramonet came to Chassagne-Montrachet in the late 1920s with very little to his name. He began by buying grapes and making wine, then slowly acquired vineyards of his own. In 1978 he bought his share of Montrachet, the high point of that slow build-up.
His grandsons Noël and Jean-Claude, the third generation, took the estate on. It now covers about 17 hectares in Chassagne, Puligny and Saint-Aubin, plus Bouzeron and Pernand-Vergelesses, and produces roughly 70% white wine to 30% red. The domaine works its soils and farms with a reasoned, low-intervention approach.