Very good colour. Still fresh. Less evolved and no lighter than the 1989. Lovely nose. Ripe, balanced, relaxed and very classy. Fullish on the palate. Lovely fresh fruit. Very elegant, very harmonious and subtle. Long. Just about ready. Very fine indeed for the vintage. Quite delicious. (Clive Coates - The Vine - Dec-2002)
"This vintage produced the highest sugars I have ever seen; the '71 is a very powerful wine though not necessarily the best balanced. I particularly like the combination of power and finesse and it's ready now" - Aubert de Villaine; Meadows: 1971 produced a great many extremely rich and ripe wines of excellent concentration because there was so much millerandage or very small berries that deliver a very high proportion of dry extract relative to the amount of juice.
The 2005 Montrachet Grand Cru has quite a deep color for a ten-year-old Montrachet. The nose feels a little forward with hazelnut and brioche scents, a touch of warm gravel. The palate is medium-bodied with a touch of shaved ginger, then later rosewater and apricot. This does not have the verve and the nervosité I was expecting and frankly, it is blown away by Jean-François Coche's 2005 Corton-Charlemagne