Critic ratings
vinous
2011
Rating:
92
–94
Bright, green-tinged yellow. Cardamom and spearmint dominate the nose. Densely packed and salty but also quite high-pitched, with lemon and lime flavors energized by tightly coiled minerality. Voluminous but very backward. This will need a good six to eight years of cellaring. A rather unusual combination of exotic on the nose and saline on the palate.
vinous
2015
Rating:
91
–91
Pale, bright yellow. Expressive aromas of apple, lemon drop and noble herbs. Juicy, supple and suave, showing good spicy lift and restrained sweetness to its citrus and peppery herb flavors. I'm not sure I get grand cru palate presence or depth here but this wine boasts excellent acidity and definition for 2015 and finishes clean and persistent.
vinous
2015
Rating:
90
–93
Bright light yellow. Aromas and flavors of lemon, lime, white peach and ethereal brown spices. The spicy quality carries through on the brisk, nicely delineated palate, where solid dry extract energizes the wine without bringing any heaviness. This is carrying a relatively high 4.6 grams per liter of acidity, with a pH of 3.3. Finishes spicy and long. (The Chassagne-Montrachet Morgeot was not yet finished with its secondary fermentation.)
vinous
2016
Rating:
92
–92
(50% frosted): Pale yellow with a green tinge. Tight nose hints at lime, green apple and oak. At once concentrated and light on its feet, with its piquant flavors of lime blossom, lemon peel, white pepper and stone still quite clenched today. More intense than the La Garenne but this wine will need longer to harmonize. This palate-staining grand cru finishes with excellent grip and a whiplash of citrus fruits and minerals.
robert_parker
2021
Rating:
93
–94
The 2021 Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru reveals aromas of peach, pastry cream, toasted nuts and spices, followed by a full-bodied, rich and unctuous palate that unites texture and tension to compelling effect. This parcel was largely successfully protected from frost in 2021.
robert_parker
2020
Rating:
93
–95
Aromas of hazelnuts, pear, confit citrus, honeycomb, toasted almonds and fresh bread introduce the 2020 Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru, a full-bodied, rich and muscular wine that's layered and concentrated, girdled by bright acids and concluding with a long, saline finish.
robert_parker
2019
Rating:
93
–95
Aromas of orange oil, white flowers, fresh pastry, smoke, pastry cream, confit lemon and ripe pears introduce Faiveley's 2019 Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru, a full-bodied, textural and enveloping wine that's satiny and incisive, with tangy acids and a seamless, elegant profile.
robert_parker
2017
Rating:
92
–94
Wafting from the glass with notes of fresh peach, pear, lemon curd, nougat and white flowers, Faiveley's 2017 Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru is full-bodied, fleshy and layered, with a textural attack, fine depth at the core and a chalky, nicely defined finish.
robert_parker
2015
Rating:
93
–93
The 2015 Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru from Faiveley's own holdings opens in the glass with notes of green orchard fruit, lime, pastry cream and vanilla pod, lavishly framed by new oak. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, glossy and concentrated, with chewy extract and a deep, layered mid-palate, its acids bright and succulent and its finish long. While I'd have appreciated a less overt application of new oak, the wine's substance is as impressive as its equilibrium, so there's much to admire here.
vinous
2020
Rating:
93
–95
The 2020 Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru has a very well-defined bouquet with yellow flowers and mirabelle, dried pineapple, lemon thyme and a touch of almond. The palate is well balanced, quite intense with the power offset by the acidity, very critic with a tang of bitter lemon. The new oak slightly occludes the finish but that will be subsumed with time. Good potential, but chuck it in a cellar for 4-7 years.
vinous
2010
Rating:
93
–93
Full yellow color. Musky aromas of ripe peach, lime and brown spices. Densely packed and lively; distinctly powerful for Bienvenue. Highly concentrated citrus and crushed stone flavors give the wine a vibrant, piercing back end. A very backward, long grand cru with terrific energy for aging.
vinous
2012
Rating:
92
–92
Bright yellow. Musky, highly aromatic nose offers scents of lime, peach, anise, acacia flower, noble herbs and iodiney minerality. Juicy and very intense, with impressive energy to frame the flavors of peach and soft citrus fruits. Less fleshy than the Batard but the wine's subtle rising finish leaves the taste buds quivering. Built to age.
vinous
2012
Rating:
92
–95
Cloudy pale-medium yellow. Exhilarating aromas of white peach, lime, stone and menthol (a cousin of Chevalier-Montrachet, notes Hervet). Juicy, saline and precise; in a rather gentle style for young grand cru but with lovely focus and lingering perfume. This indeed shows the grain and class of a Chevalier-Montrachet. Impeccably balanced wine with a long finish showcasing juicy, salty minerality. The crop level here was under 30 hectoliters per hectare, according to Hervet.
vinous
2017
Rating:
92
–94
The 2017 Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru comes from a parcel acquired in 2008, a half-hectare parcel of around 13 long rows that stretches from the top to the bottom of the Grand Cru and actually continues into the Bâtard-Montachet. This has a well-defined, wet limestone-scented bouquet that feels very focused. The balanced palate displays neatly integrated oak (although there is now no new wood) and a tender, effervescent, sherbet-tinged finish. Excellent.
vinous
2017
Rating:
91
–94
(aging in 30% new and the rest once-used barrels): Bright, pale lemon-yellow with a green tinge. Unusually ripe on the nose for a wine normally marked by its citrus character, projecting aromas of pineapple, coconut, menthol and wet stone lifted by wild herbs. Concentrated and quite primary, with its ripe nectarine fruit framed by harmonious acidity and firm mineral spine. The long finish features a hint of saline chewiness and a light touch. Technical director Flous predicts that the terroir will arrive after the fruit has been digested by the wine.
vinous
2019
Rating:
91
–93
The 2019 Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru has a crisp, well-defined bouquet of green apple and juniper scents infused with crushed limestone; very good concentration here. The harmonious palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, touches of apricot and tangerine and a pretty finish that leaves a spicy aftertaste. Drink this Bienvenues over the next 12–15 years.
vinous
2021
Rating:
94
–96
The 2021 Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru has such an expressive and vivacious nose that positively leaps out of the glass. In fact, if you just imagine a neon plus sign, that probably expresses the aromatics better than anything else. Happy at its survival after the frost? The palate is very well balanced with grace and poise, Williams pear mixed with white peach, tensile on the citric finish. Excellent.