This notches up the ripeness just a touch more yet there are only the barest hints of exoticism to the peach, apricot, pear and acacia blossom aromas that display a top note of citrus zest. This is a classic Bâtard in the sense of being big, bold and powerful with imposingly-scaled flavors that coat the palate with dry extract before terminating in a massively long and borderline painfully intense finish. To be sure, this is a big wine yet it remains light on its feet with no undue sense of being top heavy. Indeed the balance is perfect though note that patience will be required. Marvelous.

Score: 96 Allen Meadow (AM), Bourghound (BH), June 2013

(bottled two weeks before my visit; 13.4% alcohol, vs. 13% for the Bienvenue): Bright, green-tinged yellow. Captivating aromas of white peach, pineapple, curry powder, medicinal herbs and musky lees. Sappy, chewy and dry, but completely locked up following the bottling and showing much less personality than the nose suggests. But this wonderfully tactile, fine-grained wine finishes with outstanding tangy persistence. This, too, will need a decade in the cellar.

Score: 94+ Stephen Tanzer (ST), Vinous Media (VM), September 2012

The 2010 Batard-Montrachet covers every inch of the palate with fruit. In 2010, the Batard is towering, statuesque and simply impeccable. Today the aromas and flavors are not at all developed, rather the wine is really all about textural elegance and finesse, and there is plenty of that here. A huge, explosive finish rounds things out in style. The Batard is a wine of contrasts. At times it is quite bold and extroverted, at others it possesses admirable restraint. Either way, it is magnificent. Anticipated maturity: 2020+.   Estate Manager Eric Remy has one of the sharpest memories of anyone I have ever met. His recall of specific dates and events is quite remarkable, so I will take advantage of that in reporting a very complete picture of the 2010 growing season. Accoring to Remy, in order to gain some insight on 2010, one has to start with the brutal frost of December 19, 2009, when temperatures dropped to a bone chilling -20C/-4F after having hovered around freezing for a few days prior. The very next day, temperatures shot up to 10C/50F. January was quite dry. A bit of snow fell in early February, but the rest of the month was dry. The last frosts at the domaine were recorded from March 10-14. The weather improved in April, especially towards the end of the month. May and June were cold. Flowering in the domine’s vineyards started on June 5th and ended between June 20 and 22. The first part of July was hot but stable, while the second part of the month was cold and humid. Unstable conditions persisted throughout August. A hailstorm with heavy thunder in Santenay on September 12 was a sign harvest time was approaching. A bit of botrytis was recorded on September 17. The harvest started on September 20. Yields came in around 45 hectoliters per hectare, pretty much in line with 2009, the only domaine I visited where that is the case.

Score: 97 Antonio Galloni (AG), The Wine Advocate (WA), August 2012