Bienvenue Bâtard Montrachet, Domaine Faiveley 2015

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. 2020 - 2030

Reduction presently dominates the underlying fruit though it appears to be ripe. There is both more volume and more power to the medium weight plus flavors that retain good precision on the relatively powerful and solidly persistent finish. This is not exactly classic in style but it's less 2015 in character than most wines from the vintage. Drink: 2021+