1996 Domaine Michel Niellon Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
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Tasting notes
One of my predecessors awarded the 1996 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru an almost perfect score when he tasted it just after bottling, although here it did not match up, not by a long way (and I am writing this as a fan of Michel Niellon's wines in the 1990s). It is fully mature with almond, orange peel and brioche aromas. The palate is ripe on the entry with layers of spicy, quite honeyed fruit. What is missing is a sense of terroir and place, also a lack of tension and "bite" on the finish. Perhaps this is just over the hill, but to be honest, I was anticipating much more from this grand cru, even after two decades. Tasted November 2016.
Critic scores
Pierre Rovani
Neal Martin
More reviews and scores
This grand cru is unbelievable, possessing everything I could hope for in a white wine. Is this a candidate to merit a perfect score? The Batard-Montrachet is produced from 49 year old vines. This benchmark setting wine has such deep richness on the nose as to almost instill awe in both the taster's heart and palate. Super-ripe fruits, white flowers, mulling spices and sweet toast soar from the glass. This massive wine is a powerful, broad-shouldered, expansive, and mouth-coating monster that managed to retain extraordinary elegance and delineation - a rare combination to achieve. This full-bodied wine offers of layers hazelnuts, roasted peaches, liquid minerals, and candied pears as well as a seemingly unending finish. It is a grand-slam home run! Projected maturity: 2003-2012. Wine Advocate.February, 1998
One of my predecessors awarded the 1996 Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru an almost perfect score when he tasted it just after bottling, although here it did not match up, not by a long way (and I am writing this as a fan of Michel Niellon's wines in the 1990s). It is fully mature with almond, orange peel and brioche aromas. The palate is ripe on the entry with layers of spicy, quite honeyed fruit. What is missing is a sense of terroir and place, also a lack of tension and "bite" on the finish. Perhaps this is just over the hill, but to be honest, I was anticipating much more from this grand cru, even after two decades. Tasted November 2016. Mar 2017, www.robertparker.com
More reticent yet even more complex nose hints at spice, peach, lime and licorice; shows amazing purity for a young Batard. Sweeter and fatter than the Chevalier; extraordinarily tactile and thick. Great expanding finish. A showstopper.
About the producer
From the heart of Chassagne-Montrachet, Domaine Michel Niellon embodies generations of craftsmanship and Burgundian finesse, producing elegant, terroir-driven wines from just 8 hectares.