2009 Bienvenues Batard Montrachet

The 2009 Bienvenues-Batard-Montrachet is a step up in quality from the Criots. It is a beautiful, expansive wine that flows with considerable personality and class. Layers of perfume fruit take shape beautifully as the wine shows of its pliancy and intensity. The finish retains tons of energy and nuance. Anticipated maturity: 2015+. This is a beautiful set of wines from Henri Boillot’s negociant line. The entry-level wines in particular offer fabulous value. If anything, those are the most interesting wines here. When tasting Burgundy it is tempting to assume that premier crus are better than villages, and grand crus are better than the premiers, but that is often not the case, especially in a warm vintage where lesser sites ripened to a greate extent than is typically possible. Shrewd readers will find many jewels in this lineup, but they won’t be in the most likely places. In 2011 Boillot will have several new wines in his range, including Referts and Combettes. The 2009 villages were bottled in November, while the premier crus were bottled in January 2011. Importer: Various US importers, including Massanois Imports, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 470-6769

Very reticent nose hints at crystallized citrus fruits and pineapple. Then sweet, fat, tactile and suave, with a sexy note of honeysuckle. This really fills the mouth with perfume without coming off as weighty. Finishes very long and fine, with real grand cru class. (But it's not better than the Meursault Perrieres.)

The 2009 Bienvenues-Batard-Montrachet is a step up in quality from the Criots. It is a beautiful, expansive wine that flows with considerable personality and class. Layers of perfume fruit take shape beautifully as the wine shows of its pliancy and intensity. The finish retains tons of energy and nuance. Anticipated maturity: 2015+. ||This is a beautiful set of wines from Henri Boillot’s negociant line. The entry-level wines in particular offer fabulous value. If anything, those are the most interesting wines here. When tasting Burgundy it is tempting to assume that premier crus are better than villages, and grand crus are better than the premiers, but that is often not the case, especially in a warm vintage where lesser sites ripened to a greate extent than is typically possible. Shrewd readers will find many jewels in this lineup, but they won’t be in the most likely places. In 2011 Boillot will have several new wines in his range, including Referts and Combettes. The 2009 villages were bottled in November, while the premier crus were bottled in January 2011. Wine Advocate.September, 2011