Reviews & Scores
Domaine Leflaive’s 2010 Bâtard-Montrachet is also brilliant, with the supreme elegance of the vintage translating into one of the most seamless and electric young examples of this great grand cru that I can ever recall tasting. The stunning nose soars from the glass in a refined mélange of apple, lemon, tangerine, crystalline minerality, orange blossoms, lemon zest and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, pure and very tight, with a rock solid core, snappy acids and a rapier-backend of racy structure and profound minerality. This wine sizzles across the palate like a bolt of Chardonnay lightning.
JG97
Not as subtle as the Bienvenues but very concentrated. Rich and sweet and a bit of a blob for the moment. More vitality than many Bâtards but difficult to read at the moment. Still raw. Mass.
JR18+/20
(bottled two weeks before my visit; 13.4% alcohol, vs. 13% for the Bienvenue): Bright, green-tinged yellow. Captivating aromas of white peach, pineapple, curry powder, medicinal herbs and musky lees. Sappy, chewy and dry, but completely locked up following the bottling and showing much less personality than the nose suggests. But this wonderfully tactile, fine-grained wine finishes with outstanding tangy persistence. This, too, will need a decade in the cellar.
ST94
The 2010 Batard-Montrachet covers every inch of the palate with fruit. In 2010, the Batard is towering, statuesque and simply impeccable. Today the aromas and flavors are not at all developed, rather the wine is really all about textural elegance and finesse, and there is plenty of that here. A huge, explosive finish rounds things out in style. The Batard is a wine of contrasts. At times it is quite bold and extroverted, at others it possesses admirable restraint. Either way, it is magnificent. - WA
WA97
In this great year for white Burgundy, Bâtard-Montrachet shines out as the epitome of balance between superb fruit and intense mineral and terroir characters. Its subtle touch of wood highlights the unctuous surface texture while just hinting at the steel sharpness of the structure beneath. Age this superb wine for at least 10 years.
WE99