2011 Criots Batard Montrachet

The 2011 Criots-Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru is one of Lalou Bize-Leroy's rarest cuvees and this was the first time I had ever set eyes on a bottle. It has a tightly wound limestone-driven bouquet that unfurls beautifully, but always keeps one eye on its intrinsic strictness and focus. The palate balances on a high-wire of finesse. It opens so elegantly - offering a cache of lime, passion fruit and a squeeze of lemon rind. It all seems so effortless and harmonious with a delicate touch of white peach on the long and tender finish. This is just gorgeous, a treat for the lucky handful to possess a bottle. Drink 2015-2025. Having tasted the complete range of Domaine Leroy's wines in Vosne, Lalou Bize-Leroy hopped in her Toyota with her constantly quarreling canines and we follow her down to the back and beyond of Saint Romain to taste her complete range of Domaine d'Auvenay 2011s: two reds outnumbered by the whites. Most of us have more chance of spotting a yeti dining with a dodo at Ma Cuisine than drinking a wine from Domaine d'Auvenay, since the wines are produced in microscopic quantities and only fools would choose to resell them. To put that into perspective, when I visited the picturesque estate tucked away behind a leafy glade, Lalou pointed to what looked like a tin bucket and explained that I was looking at the entire production of last year's Criots-Batard-Montrachet, all 75-litres of it. But there is something magical that shrouds Domaine d-Auvenay and my few encounters have been memorable. Just last year, her Meursault Narvaux 1999 had the hubris to outshine a Corton-Charlemagne from Coche-Dury, and it remains the greatest white village cru that is likely to ever pass my lips. The 2011s were extremely good, but you probably know that already. What I appreciated was that they are very honest wines, respective of their terroirs, not all implicitly the greatest whites you will ever taste, but each adorned with individuality. I have few experiences of mature wines from Domaine d'Auvenay, but they do have an extraordinary propensity to age. Having said that, if my cellar was stocked with these wines, I would find it extraordinarily difficult to resist temptation. Importer: Martine's Wines, Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-0400