2023 Bienvenues Batard Montrachet

This is aromatically quite like the Pucelles but with a touch of matchstick character. There is however notably more size and weight to the bigger-bodied that are rich and suave to the point of opulence while displaying evident power on the superbly long finish. Like a number of wines in the range, this too needs to develop better depth but it seems patently clear that the underlying material is so good that more is all but certain to develop if given a chance. In a word, impressive. Drink 2031+

The 2023 Bienvenues-Båtard-Montrachet Grand Cru comprises three barrels this year. This has a sublime bouquet with outstanding delineation: a mixture of white and yellow fruit suffused with crushed stone and light oyster shell scents. The palate is surfeit with energy and just a very slight reduction, Hints of tropical fruit (passion fruit and pineapple) emerge toward the finish. This leans slightly to the exotic side but in a positive way. This will be very seductive. It was an unseasonably warmer late October morning when I made my solitary Saturday visit to Puligny-Montrachet to Philippe Abadie, husband of Alvina Pernot. This is a rare instance of a smooth transition between generations as piece by piece, Alvina taking over the vineyards that belonged to her father, Domaine Paul Pernot. Abadie told me that Pernot is in his mid-60s, too young to retire completely, and so will keep some of the holdings, like Philippe Colin in Chassagne. But vintage by vintage, there will be an expansion of Alvina's portfolio concurrent with some cuvées borne from exchanges in must being phased out, hence small differences between the wines in this report and those of 2022. "There were a few episodes of rain at good moments," Abadie tells me. "The season was generally quite easy. Flowering was OK. It was the inverse of 2024 - very hot in the summer. We began picking on August 26 to maintain acidity. It takes us only three or four days to pick and we only did that in the mornings. We used a vertical press for our own parcels [Paul Pernot uses a horizontal press). It was a little complicated in the cellar as the malolactic sometimes started before the alcoholic fermentation and that can risk some volatile acidity. We don't add SO2 until after the malo. The wines are well balanced because of the good volumes. The whites were bottled just before harvest and there are no reds this year [there was just a solitary Santenay in '22]." Alvina Pernot is going from strength to strength with a strong portfolio built around seven Puligny Premier Crus. These are precise and characterful, each respectful to their terroir. The apex is their brilliant Bätard-Montrachet that eclipses even their Chevalier-Montrachet, with an enthralling Corton-Charlemagne hot on its heels. But there is plenty to savor at all price points and I would refer readers to the pair of excellent Bourgogne Côte d'Or Blancs in this respect.

Pale lemon and lime. Much less is in evidence on the nose. Not the supple come-hither, indeed welcoming style of Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet, but it is nicely presented on the palate, and like the Bâtard grows discreetly. A good fruit-acid balance, with some little slightly riper nuances at the finish. Three barrels made, one new, as for the Bâtard.