[中英字幕] 勃艮第專家系列06_蒙哈榭｜Elicité Burgundy S03E06

Montrachet, a name synonymous with fine wine and one that demands some of the highest prices around the world. This name belongs to a tiny Grand Cru vineyard in the south of Burgundy's Cote du Bon subregion, which straddles a hill between the villages of Chassant-Montrachet and Pouligny-Montrachet. Montrachet sits in the heart of the hill, surrounded by four other Grand Crus that also bear the Montrachet title as a suffix. These are Chevalier-Montrachet, Bâtard-Montrachet, Bienvenu-Bâtard-Montrachet and Criot-Bâtard-Montrachet. So why is it that Grand Crus are generally found in the center of the slope? If you look at a topographical map of the Cote d'Or, you find this tenderloin that runs at the same elevation along the slope, pretty much along the whole length, and that's where the greatest vineyards are. And it's a matter of finding the perfect balance between limestone and clay. Every time it rains for millennia, clay has been driven down the hill by rain. At the top of the hill, you're in pure limestone. Your wines are going to be linear. They're going to be very focused. When you're at the very bottom of the hill and you're in heavy, rich soils, your wines are going to be fat and plump and dense and sometimes going towards the blousy. But when you're in the middle, you have the perfect balance of richness and focus. So the wine has power, it has density, it has concentration, and yet it just soars across the palate because it has that focus from the limestone. Exactly when the Montrachet vineyards were first planted is unclear. However, we do know that it dates back at least 500 years. The plot has been divided up over the years, exchanging hands between different families and wine producers. Today, ownership over the eight hectares is split between 16 different producers, with a single hectare holding a market value of over 50 million euros. So the Montrachet is considered the best Chardonnay in the world. Why is that? It goes back to your question about placement on the hill and being in the tenderloin. If you go visit the Montrachet, you see that just above the Montrachet is the Chevalier Montrachet. Just below it is the Batard Montrachet. By the way, Montrachet means the bald hill. And what makes it bald is there are no trees growing over it. So the Batard Montrachet has rich soils with lots of clay, and it makes wines that are powerful and masculine and broad-shouldered and rich and dense. The Chevalier, which is above the Montrachet in predominantly limestone soils, makes crystallized wines, makes crystalline wines, makes wines of focus and delineation and elegance. And in between lies this narrow patch of earth called Le Montrachet. It brings together both the elegance and the linear qualities of the Chevalier with the richness and the power of the Batard together into one place. Now, Le Montrachet is divided in two parts, and the untrained eye has trouble figuring out which is which. One is the piece of Le Montrachet that lies within the commune of Puligny-Montrachet, and the other is the piece of the Montrachet that lies in the commune of Chassagne-Montrachet. And there's no dividing line. However, the difference is the piece that lies in the Puligny side has an east-facing slope, whereas the piece lying on the Chassagne side has a south-by-southeast-facing slope, which provides it with a little bit better sunlight. And the Chassagne side is entitled to the name Le Montrachet, the Montrachet, whereas the Puligny side only bears the name Montrachet. A little insider's info on that one. A single bottle of Montrachet wine can cost anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand pounds, making it the most expensive white wine in the world as well as one of the most sought after. Just one kilogram of grapes from Le Montrachet costs in the region of 200 euros. So what does it taste like? It's so expensive no one knows what it tastes like except billionaires. It's the world's most expensive dry white and has been for over a century now. The French have a word which I love when describing certain wines which is aérien, which means that it's almost ethereal. There's a minerality that is very ethereal. There's also an earthiness. There are spices like nutmeg and things like that that you find as well. And it's a wine of extraordinary length. In the world of wine a lot of people get off on aging wine. Aging wine is only useful if the wine evolves in a positive way. One of the great advantages of Montrachet is that it actually evolves and it evolves in a positive way. The flavors it gives you in its youth change. What can be pear, what can be white flowers turn into almost a liqueur of minerals and herbs. And that is extraordinary. Though many will never get the opportunity to taste a Montrachet wine, it's not impossible to get an idea of what it might taste like by trying wines from the surrounding villages. Look out for the names of Chassin Montrachet and Pouligny Montrachet as well as Saint-Aubin and Meursault. Montrachet is undoubtedly one of the most famous names in the world of fine wine, something which is unlikely to change for many years to come.