2014 Batard Montrachet
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Tasting Notes
This is also surprisingly expressive at this early stage with a broad-ranging nose that features notes of apple, pear, white flowers, wood spice and a hint of something mildly exotic. The big-bodied yet refined flavors possess a wonderfully textured mouth feel thanks primarily to the abundance of palate coating dry extract that does a beautiful job of buffering the notably firm but not aggressive acid backbone on the hugely long finish where a hint of wood appears. This is slightly finer than usual with a really lovely sense of overall balance and harmony. Jun 2016, www.burghound.com, Drink: 2026+
Critic Scores
Average Score
Allen Meadows, Burghound
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Pale yellow with green highlights. Deeper and leesier on the nose than the Bienvenues, with ripe peach and hazelnut aromas complicated by sexy reduction. Large-scaled and powerful but not heavy, and totally different in style from the Bienvenues. Thick, plump and adamantly dry, with harmonious acidity giving shape to the wine's very ripe stone fruit and pineapple flavors. In a rather masculine style and not yet explosive, rather like a barrel sample. The phenolic, firmly structured finish leaves behind citrus and mineral notes. 93+ Sep 2016, www.vinous.com, Drink: 2022-2035
The 2014 Batard Montrachet Grand Cru was a wine that did not quite set my world of fire when I tasted it from vat last year when I preferred the Bienvenue-Batard-Montrachet. Reacquainting myself with the wine in bottle, I was not convinced to alter that opinion. Leaving it to open for 5-10 minutes in the glass, the grand cru does open up with fresh pear and white peach scents, overtaken by granitic aromas over several minutes. The palate is clean and fresh on the entry with an attractive spicy, white pepper note in the background that comes forward towards the finish that offers commendable weight. What it lacks is just a bit of tension and energy, while I found just as much persistence but no more than the 2014 Les Pucelles. Perhaps it will improve down the line as Batard-Montrachet always does, but compared not only to its peers but to the 2015 as well, this just falls a little short. Tasted December 2016. Jun 2017, www.robertparker.com
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About the producer
Domaine Leflaive is arguably Burgundy’s most famous white wine producer, setting the benchmark for top-quality Chardonnay in the Côte de Beaune and the world. The property is the largest land-owner in Puligny-Montrachet, with extensive holdings in the village and five hectares of Grand Cru vineyards