Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.1

I’ve had this cuvée a few times before, mostly at a reception before a dinner. I’ve never had the opportunity or time to really pick it apart. Well...as Phil Collins sang, “Tonight’s the Night!”

The nose reveals; a nice splash of sea spray immediately as you put your nose to the glass. Oysters shells, grey volcanics, profound but, subtle, soft, chalkiness, lemon meringue, grapefruit, lime pulp with skin, slightly, liqueur lemons, ripe pineapple, stone fruits, vanillin, melted caramel, bread dough, some yeastiness, cream to cream soda, butterscotch, ginger notes, nougat with almonds, yellow flowers/lilies framed in a field of spring flowers.

The body is in the rich realm. Mouthfeel is beautiful, rich & round. It’s an easy sipper with micro-oxygenation & gentle acidity. Lemon meringue, grapefruit, slightly, liqueur lemons, ripe pineapple, pear, green & golden apple, lime zest to candy, ripe, green melon, stone fruits, vanillin, melted caramel, bread dough, yeastiness, cream to cream soda, understated butterscotch notes, ginger notes, nougat with almonds, oysters shells, grey volcanics with a sharp edge, profound but, subtle, soft, chalkiness, a touch of white spice, yellow flowers/lilies framed in a field of spring flowers. The rich, polished, well balanced finish is delicious & persists nicely with some lightly heated spice on the long set.

Excellent Champagne & value for just under $35. Just misses 9.2.

Photos of; their Grand Cru Vineyard on the slopes of Avize...amazing perspective of the soil structure. All that chalkiness & sea fossils that were left when the sea level receded a long time ago. Iconic signage that visitors stand behind & get their picture taken, Owner/Winemaker-Olivier Bonville and the Champagne House of Franck Bonville.

Producer note; The House of Bonville was started in the early 1900’s just after Phylloxera had ravaged Europe. It’s been passed on in the same family for three plus Generations. — 5 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

I bought my first vintage from this producer & terroir beginning with the 2010 vintage and what a vintage to start. I bought four bottles for right around $50 or a little less. They were so amazing, I drank through them in no time at all. For those of you that read my posts, that’s not normally what I do. I like to drink one & age the rest. Since then, I have looked & looked for more. I’d finally given up hopes of finding more until recently I struck gold. I should have bought all nine bottles but a calmer head prevailed. It’s definitely changed since having it fresh. On the nose, the fruits are slightly macerated. Heather honey, beeswax, golden & green apple, pineapple upside down cake, slight orange citrus blend, mango, glazed nuts, soft, delicate, chalky minerals, a touch of jasmine & yellow lilies. The body is much rounder & thicker than when it was young. Waxy. So, beautifully layered across the palate. Much of the palate matches the nose. Heather honey, beeswax, golden & green apple, apricots, peach, pineapple upside down cake, slight orange citrus blend, mango, slight molasses character & glazed nuts with citrus blossoms, yellow lilies & jasmine. The minerals are much more grippy & bold as they cut across and set on the palate. The acidity round & phat. The texture is amazing as is the length, balance & beautiful, rich, long finish that lasts two-minutes plus. So glad I found more of this wine! Hubert Lamy seriously over deliver the terroir & the price point by a country mile. If you are not buying this wine on pre-arrival, you are missing great wine and excellent value. Can’t say enough good things about it. Especially, the 2010. I expect the 15 to hold similar quality. Photos of; Olivier Lamy, Olivier working in this vineyard, barrel room and their Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet Vineyard. Producer notes and history...There have been Lamy’ s growing vines in St-Aubin since 1640, today it is run by Olivier Lamy. Olivier is a new breed of Burgundian grower keen to progress. He trained Méo-Camuzet & made a number of vintages before taking over in 1996 from his father Hubert. Hubert Lamy used to sell fruit to négociants, but that stopped in 1997. He grubbed up and sold off peripheral vines, keeping only the best and oldest sites. Currently he is experimenting with different planting densities in a quest to capture even greater expression of terroir. The Domaine produces both reds and whites and now has 16.5 hectares of vineyards, mostly in St-Aubin but also own a few parcels in Chassagne-Montrachet and a tiny plot in the Grand Cru Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet. Yields are kept low and recent innovations have been introduced with selection tables in the cuverie to ensure that only the healthiest and ripest grapes are used. His more recent move to reduce the amount of new oak with the introduction of demi-muids 300-600 liter barrels have also helped to improve the wines. Vinification is traditional and the wines are matured with only 20-30% new oak for 12 months before minimal filtration and then bottling. The quality is very high and is often superior to many wines from much more prominent villages that sell at twice the price or more. — 7 years ago

Jeremy Shanker

Sommelier at RN74

9.4

Grand cru in my book — 8 years ago

with Eddy and Austin

DD

9.0

Light drink. — 9 years ago

with DAD and Mic

Devendra Amin

9.1

Excellent warm buttery, classic PM. Excellent for a non Premier or Grand Cru — 10 years ago

with Adeeti

Michel Ringuet

9.4

Un Charme qui porte très bien son nom. — 10 years ago

Adam Baker

9.0

Bought in 2004 at Cleveland Park wine store in Wash DC. Signed by wine maker: "To Elissa, Olivier Humbrecht" — 11 years ago

with Elissa

Joao Lopes Alves

8.9

Muito bom ! — 12 years ago

Jeremy Gordon

9.5

Delicious! — 6 years ago

Alex Hughes

9.3

Needed an hour to open up. I really enjoyed this wine. Very well balanced. Finely grained tannins that after an hour softened. Not sure if it was the vintage, the bottle or something else but it had a pronounced lavender or even curry aroma. It made for a very interesting wine. — 6 years ago

GabWine

9.2

Color : White
Wine estate : Château Olivier
Designation : Pessac-Léognan
Name : Blanc Grand Cru Classé
Country : France
Vivino : 4.5/5
Note : Beautiful Chateau Olivier with 75% Sauvignon, 23% Semillon and 2% Muscadelle. The golden color with some yellow and green chips gives us a very aromatic nose. A freshness with notes of almonds, citrus and white flower. In the mouth, quince appears with some vanilla flavors. A beautiful length, greedy, round, excellent.
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Magnifique Château Olivier avec 75% de Sauvignon, 23% Sémillon et 2% Muscadelle. La robe dorée avec quelques éclats jaune et vert nous présente un nez très aromatique. Une fraîcheur avec des notes d’amandes, agrumes et de fleur blanche. En bouche, le coing fait son apparition avec quelques saveurs vanillées. Une belle longueur, gourmand, rond, un délice !
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👍🏻Vivino, FB : GabWine | IG : gabriel_dvl 🥂 — 7 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.1

Lemon, pear, chalk & wet rock. Good acidity with a clean finish. — 7 years ago

Hordé

9.2

Nous l'avons bu avec mon beau-père, mon grand cousin issu de germain à Buxy avec un rôti de bœuf dans la poire : magnifique ! — 8 years ago

Gary Westby

Champagne & Sherry buyer K&L Wines

9.5

What a comparison... 2009 reserve vin clair vs 2009 Champagne! Thanks Olivier for making one of the most complete wines from this vintage! — 8 years ago

Gaetan Ciampini

9.3

Took a while to come together (was served too cold) but overall very pleasant with some good acidity. Clearly evolved but has some years left. — 8 years ago

William Mellon

9.2

Only a small amount to sample...and two hours in glass. Pretty special. Merci Olivier & Pennie! — 9 years ago

E Alvelais

9.4

2007 such finesse. The stone/mineral element is so deftly balanced, in this superb creamy and beautiful white burgundy. Terrific! great tasting note @Michael Morgan — 10 years ago

Lewis Chester

9.1

2011 vintage. Intense purple hue. Wonderfully complex nose. Peppery, aromatic and savoury. Pronounced on the nose. Black and red fruit profiles. Milk coffee notes. Oak is quite dominant at this stage and responsible for the savoury spice. More Blackfruits on palate. Acidity is medium plus. Tannins medium minus. Good length. Needs a lot of time but has great potential. — 10 years ago

Richard Grosche

9.8

A real Chardonnay benchmark! — 11 years ago

Mayumi Kusano

9.0

Bought in TOKYU-HONTEN, 2013/3/7, INES-wine-club — 12 years ago

Mark S.

9.2

Aroma has complexity with pear flavor. Rounded. Smooth. Close to room temperature, much better, matured fruits. Good Balanced with comfortable acidity. CHABLIS VAUDESIR GRAND CRU OLIVIER LEFLAIVE 2013 @300/g, 3500, T Enoteca, 190727 — 6 years ago

Severn Goodwin

9.3

Confrerie Des Chevaliers du Tastevin Sous-Commanderie d'Albany, Pauleé Dinner; 27 January 2019 at Lake Ridge Restaurant, Round Lake, NY — 6 years ago

Andrea Watt

9.6

Vibrant and bright with floral notes and light mineral citrus. — 7 years ago

with Kim

Ira Schwartz

9.1

A big hit of wood on the nose with butterscotch, hazelnuts and cloves. Lots of weight in the mouth with the wood competing with the fruit.. — 8 years ago

David Melton

9.4

10ft separates it from the grand cru designation...fantastic — 9 years ago

Leslie Glen

9.0

AOC Chablais Grand Cru, Chasselas Combaz-Gelin 2010 par Olivier Christinat. Excellent- croustillant, avec les fleurs blanches typiques du Chasselas, vif et fini minérale. Petit vote vert qui fait semblant à goûter un peu la vigne. — 9 years ago

Scott Newman

8.9

Full bodied white. Sweet but not overpoweringly so — 10 years ago

with Carrie

Nick Pagoria

8.9

Obviously young, but very pretty nose, good power on the palate — 11 years ago

Timothy Cheung

9.0

It is not Olivier le Flaive
It's domaine le Flaive — 12 years ago