2007 Bienvenues Batard Montrachet

Boudot’s 2007 Bienvenues-Batard Montrachet – from septuagenarian vines – reminds me of the ability of this small cru to offer a grander and yet more rarified version on the character of its northern neighbor Les Pucelles. Heady of honeysuckle, iris, anise, heliotrope, rowan, and white peach lead into a silken, lushly-fruited, liquidly floral palate that caresses yet enlivens. Suggestions of ginseng and almond paste add to the complexity of a lingering lift-off of a finish. I was completely carried away by this wine, but only when I returned to it after tasting the great Sauzet Montrachet of this vintage did I become fully aware of the amazing clarity, subtlety, refinement, and buoyancy it delivers. I would like to think this will be worth following for a decade or more, but for heaven’s sake – if you are lucky enough to acquire some bottles – do not neglect to relish it in its youth as well! Gerard Boudot harvested the majority of his fruit during the first week in September, after what he considered to have been one last, critical week of ripening, and believing that it was more important to retain ripe acidity than go for a bit more potential alcohol. He reports having chaptalized selectively – largely at village level and to a very small degree – but the wines top out below 13% finished alcohol. Boudot did a rigorous selection not, he claimed, to remove rot but to cull any under-ripe berries and bunches. All of his 2007s were bottled by March, 2009 after their having spent 5-6 months assembled in tank, a period of passive watchfulness that is among diverse aspects of Boudot’s regimen to have been adjusted in recent years in response to high incidence of wines from the late ‘90s that displayed excessive oxidization after a half dozen years. The regimen of new oak here, incidentally, is 20-25% for the premier crus (with the exception of a bit more on Combettes), and never stands out as a factor detectable in itself. (The wines of this domaine legally belong to two entities, that of Domaine Etienne Sauzet and the company consisting of Boudot and his wife. In addition fruit is acquired for a few bottlings on long-term contract. I have not attempted to call attention to these differences in my notes, and in fact numerous crus represented here have multiple official owners.) Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel. (205) 980-8802