Search Results

Tasting Notes for Batard Montrachet - Leflaive, Domaine, 1996:
1996 is particularly successful for Batard-Montrachet. Leflaive's explodes from the glass with highly-expressive mineral, hazelnut and toasty oak aromas. On the palate, this full-bodied, silky and awesomely rich wine has highly-delineated yet fat and layered waves of white fruits, stones and spices. Brawny yet feminine, powerful yet elegant, this gem is a tour de force! Anticipated maturity: 2002-2010. The rating, with the range of scores in parentheses, indicates the wine was tasted from cask, not bottle. Anne-Claude Leflaive, this famed estate's director, and Pierre Morey, its winemaker, are justifiably excited about their 1996s. Some of their lots had 14% natural alcohol potential, yet huge acidity levels. Morey said that the malic and tartaric acid levels were even at harvest, an unprecedented occurrence in a ripe vintage in Burgundy. Like his colleagues at other domaines, he attributes the high levels of malic acid to the cool temperatures that were present in late summer and early fall. Madame Leflaive added that the estate's policy of hoeing the vineyards forces the vine's roots deep into the soil also increases acidity levels.Wine Advocate # 115 Feb 1998
Parker Points: 95-97
Drinking Period: 2002-2010

Tasting Notes for Batard Montrachet - Leflaive, Domaine, 1996:
1996 is particularly successful for Batard-Montrachet. Leflaive's explodes from the glass with highly-expressive mineral, hazelnut and toasty oak aromas. On the palate, this full-bodied, silky and awesomely rich wine has highly-delineated yet fat and layered waves of white fruits, stones and spices. Brawny yet feminine, powerful yet elegant, this gem is a tour de force! Anticipated maturity: 2002-2010. The rating, with the range of scores in parentheses, indicates the wine was tasted from cask, not bottle. Anne-Claude Leflaive, this famed estate's director, and Pierre Morey, its winemaker, are justifiably excited about their 1996s. Some of their lots had 14% natural alcohol potential, yet huge acidity levels. Morey said that the malic and tartaric acid levels were even at harvest, an unprecedented occurrence in a ripe vintage in Burgundy. Like his colleagues at other domaines, he attributes the high levels of malic acid to the cool temperatures that were present in late summer and early fall. Madame Leflaive added that the estate's policy of hoeing the vineyards forces the vine's roots deep into the soil also increases acidity levels.Wine Advocate # 115 Feb 1998
Parker Points: 95-97
Drinking Period: 2002-2010

Tasting Notes for Bienvenues Batard Montrachet - Leflaive, Domaine, 1996:
The Bienvenue-Batard-Montrachet was the last of the 1996s to start its malo-lactic. It spent over 24 months on its lees without any sulfur, something that would have been a recipe for disaster in a less hygienic and lower acid year. It displays fresh clay, earth, and sweet pear aromas that are followed by an expansive and rich personality. This wine is extremely exuberant (atypical for the usually austere Bienvenue), expressing super-ripe pear, peach, earth, toast, and lemon flavors. Morey and Leflaive are convinced that this wine will soon shut down and be unapproachable for years. Wine Advocate # 123 Jun 1999
Parker Points: 95
Drinking Period: 2004-2012