2009 Batard Montrachet

The 2009 Batard-Montrachet is rich, deep and layered. There is a centeredness to the fruit that is highly appealing here. The wine blossoms beautifully on the mid-palate and finish, with expressive perfume that threads all of the elements together nicely. This beautiful, seamless wine impresses for its fine balance and personality. Anticipated maturity: 2012+. I tasted all of these wines with Michel Niellon in his huge warehouse facility just outside of Chassagne. The 2009s are made in a style that emphasizes freshness. Niellon thinks wines peak at 6-7 years after releases and he is clearly going for an accessible style. That said, I found all the wines all shows better with air, except for the Chevalier, which unfortunately remained stubborn throughout my visit. I hope to have a chance to retaste it in the future. The 2009s saw 25% new oak. The wines are racked in July, after the malos, and were bottled before the 2010 harvest. Niellon told me he might pursue longer elevage for some of his wines now that space is not a constraint. Importer: Diageo Chateau and Estate Wines Company, New York, NY; tel. (212) 419-1400

Pale yellow. Deeper-pitched on the nose than the Chevalier, offering aromas of passion fruit, lemon, clove and menthol; less obviously stony. Then plump and sweet in the mouth, but with its thickness leavened by fairly strong acidity. This, too, saturates the mouth with flavor. Denser and weightier than the Chevalier but with no shortage of lift. These wines are really quite classically dry.

The 2009 Batard-Montrachet is rich, deep and layered. There is a centeredness to the fruit that is highly appealing here. The wine blossoms beautifully on the mid-palate and finish, with expressive perfume that threads all of the elements together nicely. This beautiful, seamless wine impresses for its fine balance and personality. Anticipated maturity: 2012+. Aug 2011, www.robertparker.com