2024 Bachelet-Monnot Batard Montrachet, Burgundy

The 2024 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru was taken from barrel, of which there are three this year. This had a bit of reduction on the nose, though you can tell there is a lot of power coiled up in this Bâtard. The palate has a sublime balance, the oak beautifully integrated, pinpoint acidity with quite a spicy, almost peppery finish that lingers long in the mouth and doesn't disappear for over a minute. It just seems to gain majesty the more I keep going back to my glass and I am completely entranced. An exquisitely cut diamond.

96-98 points, Neal Martin, Vinous

Glowing mid lemon in colour. A good supporting role from the oak, with some nicely ripe fruit but in no way over opulent. The body builds to the back, very little reduction here, a fair weight of white fruit flesh, with some juicy herbal notes as well. Very satisfying while staying discree.

93-96 points, Jasper Morris MW, Inside Burgundy

Brothers Marc and Alexandre Bachelet have taken their small family domaine in Dezize-lès-Maranges into Burgundy’s upper stratosphere, and Bâtard-Montrachet is the formidable summit of their white wine collection. This legendary Grand Cru sits between Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet, immediately below Le Montrachet itself. Bâtard is renowned for combining immense concentration with mineral authority, and in the Bachelets’ hands that natural power is given remarkable freshness and control. Tiny production makes this a genuinely rare bottle.

The 2024 season was brutally demanding, with cool, wet conditions and dramatically reduced yields. For meticulous growers, however, the tiny crop produced whites with vivid acidity, aromatic definition and intensity. Bâtard’s deep clay-limestone soils naturally build breadth and power, while the Bachelets’ precise élevage keeps that richness in check. This is not a wine in any particular hurry.

Pale gold with a luminous green edge, the nose initially shows white peach, preserved lemon and pear before slowly opening into acacia, citrus oil and roasted hazelnut. With air come layers of struck flint, crushed limestone, brioche and salted butter. The palate is monumental yet beautifully controlled, with dense stone fruit and citrus wrapped around a broad, satiny core. Bright acidity cuts through the richness, while lemon oil, toasted almond and chalk build towards an extraordinarily long, saline finish.

Bring out the serious produce: butter-poached lobster with saffron, roast turbot with vin jaune sauce, Hokkaido scallops with yuzu and brown butter, Cantonese steamed coral trout with ginger and spring onion or roast Bresse chicken with truffles. Our pick is the coral trout, pristine fish, ginger, soy and sizzling spring onion oil against the scale and minerality of Bâtard could be spectacular. Just perhaps don’t tell Burgundy what we’ve done.

Cellaring: Drink from 2030 to 2050+.