2005 Criots Batard Montrachet

There will not be many wines as rare as the 2005 Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru from Domaine d'Auvenay reviewed in this publication this year. This was one of 182 bottles produced of Lalou Bize-Leroy's rarest wine and the generous host was granted three bottles directly from Lalou herself when originally released. Clear, silvery in color, the nose is initially muted and takes two or three minutes to really find its voice. It then offers scents of popcorn, almond, cinnamon and flint, more Chablis than Montrachet-like in style. The delineation is wonderful--such clarity. The palate is wonderfully balanced, that trace of popcorn continuing from the nose, the acidity beautifully judged, although this is never a powerful or demonstrative wine. It does not gift you the profound complexity of say, Coche-Dury's Corton-Charlemagne from the same vintage, yet the precision and mineralité is there to see. It opens up after 20 minutes, evolving more walnut-like notes on the palate, a Criots comfortable in its own skin, happy just to give pleasure. A privilege to taste such a fabled wine, indeed, the first time I have ever encountered it in bottle. It might not be the greatest white Burgundy I will ever drink, but what a pleasure just to see a group of wine-lovers enjoying the wine, just like myself. Tasted January 2016.

Knockout nose of musky peach, nectarine and nut oil. Unctuous and deep if not yet particularly complex, with a pronounced minerality perking up the pineapple and stone flavors. This has the freshness and structural underpinning for a long and graceful evolution in bottle. The classically dry, stony finishing flavors really stain the palate.