- 2008 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru white NR
- 2008 Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru white (91-94)
- 2008 Chassagne-Montrachet “Caillerets” 1er white (91-93)
- 2008 Chassagne-Montrachet “Grande Montagne” 1er white (89-92)
- 2008 Chassagne-Montrachet “Grandes Ruchottes” 1er white (90-92)
- 2008 Chassagne-Montrachet “Morgeot” 1er white (88-90)
- 2008 Chassagne-Montrachet “La Romanée” 1er white (90-92)
- 2008 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru white (91-94)
- 2008 Corton Blanc Grand Cru white (90-93)
- 2008 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru white (91-94)
- 2008 Meursault “Chevalières” 1er white (88-91)
- 2008 Meursault “Genevrières” 1er white (90-92)
- 2008 Meursault “Perrières” 1er white (91-94)
- 2008 Meursault “Poruzots” 1er white (89-91)
- 2008 Montrachet Grand Cru white (92-95)
- 2008 Le Montrachet Grand Cru white (93-95)
- 2008 Nuits St. Georges “Les Terres Blanches” 1er white (87-90)
- 2008 Pernand-Vergelesses “Sous Frétille” 1er white (87-89)
- 2008 Puligny-Montrachet “Champ Gains” 1er white (89-92)
- 2008 Puligny-Montrachet “Enseignères” white (87-89)
- 2008 ???? Puligny-Montrachet “Folatières” 1er white (90-92)
Mounir and Rotem Saouma established their two-person micro-négoce in 1999. They describe the 2008 vintage as one where the élevage was critical to each wine achieving its full potential. A very limited amount of sulfur (and in some cases, none at all) was used and that clearly played an important role because despite having ice cold cellars, the malos finished relatively early whereas in most cellars, they were late to finish. They stressed however that despite having malos that finished early they didn’t touch the wines so as to allow them to develop without intervention. One other key point that Mounir made was that “you can’t use essentially zero sulfur for such a long period unless you are absolutely sure that your wines are impeccably clean. This was ultra important as we really focused on working with the lees in 2008.” Readers should be aware that there will also be two versions of Montrachet, one from the Puligny side and the other from the Chassagne side; the Chassagne cuvée will be denoted as Le Montrachet on the label. One other point bears mentioning, which is that the wines always have noticeable residual CO2 in them and thus they should absolutely be decanted.
2008 Pernand-Vergelesses “Sous Frétille”: A cool floral, green fruit and lemon peel nose set off by a hint of wood toast
precedes the nicely rich and round yet well-detailed middle weight flavors possess fine intensity and punch on the notably dry finish. (87-89)/2013+
2008 Nuits St. Georges “Les Terres Blanches”: (100% chardonnay). Moderate reduction renders the nose difficult to
evaluate though the rich, delicious and lightly mineral-suffused flavors are tangy and possess plenty of personality.
Interestingly, this reminds me a bit of a pinot blanc based wine. (87-90)/2013+
2008 Meursault “Chevalières”: A strong leesy note dominates the nose at present though the round yet detailed flavors are stony, intense and delicious with plenty of energy and drive on the moderately austere and mineral-driven finish. This is
awkward at the moment but it appears to have the underlying material and balance to be quite good. (88-91)/2013+
2008 Meursault “Poruzots”: Mild lactic fermentation aromas detract from the clarity of expression for the otherwise pretty
citrus, peach, apricot and hazelnut aromas that introduce round and very rich flavors that are powerfully built, delivering
excellent depth and length if not necessarily great elegance on the sappy finish. I like the dry extract levels though and this
should reward 5 to 8 years of cellar time. (89-91)/2014+
2008 Meursault “Genevrières”: A highly refined and super pure white flower, exotic fruit and lemon zest nose introduces
precise, stylish, intense and stony middle weight flavors that are palate staining and wonderfully long on the notably dry finish. This is essentially a wine of finesse yet at the same time, it’s quite serious and if it can add depth with time in bottle, it’s possible that my range could be conservative. (90-92)/2015+
2008 Meursault “Perrières”: An ultra elegant, restrained and notably cool white flower and citrus-suffused nose merges
seamlessly into fine, precise and intensely stony flavors that explode onto a bone dry finish that, interestingly, exhibits both a vaguely saline and noticeable iodine character. The nose isn’t at all like Chablis but the finish could pass for one. A knock out that is built to age and should provide at least 6 to 8 years of upside development. (91-94)/2015+
2008 Chassagne-Montrachet “Morgeot”: A somewhat vegetal and moderately earthy nose also features yellow orchard
fruit aromas that merge into complex but rustic medium weight plus flavors that are quite serious, even brooding before
culminating in an austere finish. Interestingly, this chewy effort does a convincing impression of a red wine. (88-90)/2014+
2008 Chassagne-Montrachet “Grande Montagne”: Mild reduction cannot completely hide the cool and layered citrus fruit
notes hiding beneath the funk. By contrast, there is good freshness and energy to the delineated, racy and notably finer
flavors that evidence a subtle mineral streak on the solidly persistent backend. (89-92)/2014+
2008 Chassagne-Montrachet “Grandes Ruchottes”: A very strong leesy note completely dominates the nose though the
full-bodied, generous, rich and very powerful flavors possess ample amounts of dry extract that buffer the firm acid spine and confers a seductively textured mouth feel onto the lightly mineral and highly complex finish. (90-92)/2015+
2008 Chassagne-Montrachet “Caillerets”: Vestiges of the malic fermentation render the nose difficult to judge. The refined and laser-like flavors possess cuts-like-a knife precision and a borderline aggressive minerality that really forms the essential character of this wine, particularly on the hugely long finish. As good as the other Chassagne 1ers are, there is just another level present here. (91-93)/2015+
2008 Chassagne-Montrachet “La Romanée”: A pungent nose of lactic aromas and exotic fruit leads to big, rich and
concentrated flavors that possess excellent mid-palate concentration due to the ample dry extract that stains the palate on the vibrant, complex and explosive finish. Lovely. (90-92)/2015+
2008 Puligny-Montrachet “Enseignères”: Pretty floral and lemon-lime aromas marry into detailed and delicious flavors
where a touch of pain grillé surfaces on the intense, lingering and attractively sappy finish. This is a perfectly good villages but it’s clear that this is not in the same league as the better 1ers as it just doesn’t have the same depth and class. (87-89)/2013+
2008 Puligny-Montrachet “Champ Gains”: A beguiling and ripe yet cool nose of primarily citrus and green apple aromas
dissolves into pure, sappy and mouth coating medium-full flavors that are seductively textured on the delicious, supple and
nicely complex finish that delivers solid if not sensational length where a touch of wood surfaces on the finish. (89-92)/2014+
2008 Puligny-Montrachet “Folatières”: (from vines of approximately 100 years of age). An exceptionally fresh and airy
nose of white peach and fennel notes is nuanced by hints of wet stone that continue onto the rich, full and generous middle
weight flavors that retain a fine sense of detail and plenty of underlying tension. I particularly like the dry and intense finish as there is a fine sense of harmony and transparency. (90-92)/2015+
2008 Corton Blanc: A restrained and backward nose is ripe, fresh and complex if not especially elegant, offering up notes of white peach and pear before sliding into delicious, full-bodied and tautly muscular flavors that culminate in a tangy and citrusy finish that delivers impressive persistence. A wine of power but not finesse. (90-93)/2016+
2008 Corton-Charlemagne: (from vines in Pernand). Here the nose is even more inexpressive and only aggressive swirling liberates the green fruit, floral and stone aromas. The big-bodied flavors are equally taciturn and while they are rich, round, full-bodied and impressively powerful, this is decidedly focused and linear at present on the hugely long finish where, like a number of wines in the range, noticeable wood influence arrives. (91-94)/2016+
2008 Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet: Wonderfully complex aromas of honeysuckle and spiced pear that are trimmed in
discreet wood toast are also reserved, tight and backward and it takes some aggressive swirling to coax them out of the glass. They complement well the superbly rich, classy and pure full-bodied flavors of almost painful intensity that possess an impressive level of dry extract, all wrapped in a palate staining finish of tremendous length. A stunner. (91-94)/2016+
2008 Bâtard-Montrachet: (from Chassagne vines). Here the nose is very leesy, in fact to the point that it’s impossible to
render an accurate judgment and while the big-bodied flavors are impressively scaled, there is so much gas and post malo nuances present that I am not comfortable saying anything other than this seems promising. Not rated.
2008 Chevalier-Montrachet: A reticent nose of acacia blossom, wet stone and subtly spiced pear aromas is shy to the point of timidity, merges seamlessly with linear and superbly well-focused middle-weight flavors that are akin to rolling small pebbles around your mouth, culminate in a stunningly persistent and explosive finish that exudes a gorgeous inner mouth perfume. A classic Chevalier built on a base of pungent minerality though in 2008, it is more a wine of finesse than power. (91-94)/2016+
2008 Montrachet: (from the Puligny side). A trace of wood spice accompanies backward and still very primary aromas of
floral, peach and mineral notes, all of which continue onto the citrus-infused, naturally sweet and powerful flavors of imposing scale and almost painful intensity are blessed with buckets of dry extract and a driving, bone dry finish. At present, this is an understated and moderately austere Monty that will require at least a decade to fully develop. (92-95)/2018+
2008 Le Montrachet: (from the Chassagne side). Somewhat curiously, this is actually more elegant and refined aromatically as well as more powerful and more concentrated yet despite the jaw dropping size and weight, it remains focused, balanced and harmonious. We’ll see in time but at present, I give the Chassagne cuvée a slight edge. (93-95)/2020+
