Bienvenue Bâtard Montrachet, Louis Jadot 2011

A deft but not invisible touch of wood frames ripe but cool and beautifully layered aromas of honeysuckle, essence of pear and white peach that are trimmed in delicate spice nuances. Here too there is excellent volume to the concentrated and extract-rich medium weight plus flavors that display very fine persistence on the lemon-infused finish. This is more powerful than it usually is but sacrifices none of its finesse.

Pale yellow. Very ripe, slightly reduced nose hints at apple and resin. The silky palate shows a honeyed richness but comes across as a bit sullen today and hard to judge. The DIAM corks have a tendency to "close the wine early," noted Frederic Barnier, who nonetheless decided not to reduce the level of free sulfur at bottling. "So some of the 2011s show early reduction," he explained.