2017 Chevalier Montrachet Grand Cru Henri Boillot

Pale, bright yellow-green. Pungently pure scents of lemon oil and crystalline crushed-rock minerality, with a soupçon of spicy oak. Penetrating, sharply chiseled and tight yet utterly seamless, with its citrussy cut accentuated by minerality. The rising, palate-staining finish is almost painful today. Incidentally, this was the only one of Boillot's grand crus that was not affected by frost in 2016, and partly for this reason the yield in 2017 was a fairly low-for-the-vintage 35 hectoliters per hectare.

A background touch of wood sets off a perfumed and intensely floral nose of acacia blossom, lilac, spice, lavender and green apple-scented aromas. There is excellent power and drive to the intense and tension-filled large-scaled flavors that possess a succulent mouth feel before culminating in a sneaky long and overtly mineral-inflected finish. This is an unusually powerful Chevalier that is presently shaped by a very firm acid spine and I would recommend buying this with the express intent of forgetting it at the back of your cellar.