2007 Batard Montrachet

The Pernot 2007 Batard-Montrachet features very ripe peach and melon; honeysuckle; Chartreuse-like distilled herbal essences; and marzipan, in a sweetly aromatic display that presages a lush, oily-rich palate of almost gaudy complexity. This finishes with a huge chalk-, herb-, and floral-tinged wave of fruit and nut essences. Two of Pernot’s three parcels of Batard are in Chassagne, and there seldom seems to be any risk of mistaking the differences with his Bienvenues, but in this vintage, what could on other occasions become an overbearing and less elegant personality in Batard retains lift and a modicum of refreshment to go with its abundant ripeness and sheer force. Veteran Paul Pernot followed up his superb though alcoholically outsized 2006s with an equally impressive collection of 2007s that he characterizes as more generous than but in many respects similar to his 2004s. He harvested most of his Chardonnay between the 6th and mid September. This site north of Folatieres is monopolized by Pernot and the Jadot-owned Duc de Magenta domaine. Various import agents, including Jeanne Marie de Champs Selection, Domaines et Saveurs, Beaune; fax 011-33-3-80-25-04-81 and Peter Vezan, Paris; fax 011 33 1 42 55 42 93; as well as various independent importers including Louis/Dressner Selections, New York, NY; tel. (212) 334 8191