This week we celebrated a birthday in a nice Swiss hotel, so for pre-dinner, I brought a bottle of my own. Bought direct from OL on release. This wine has spent quite a long time in a refrigerator as the apartment gets too hot in the Beaune summers – perhaps why it showed so young – but sealed with a DIAM10, there were, of course, no problems…
2013 Olivier Leflaive, Bienvenues Bâtard-Montrachet
Hardly a medium-yellow colour – very young looking. Such a forward and impressive nose – still plenty of oak showing in these youthful aromas – I could have easily guessed 2017 from the colour and freshness of aroma – it turns out not just the aroma! To start with I’m really impressed by the acidity – tinged with a rasp of salinity – then it’s the mineral-laden finish that just goes on and on. The fruit is obviously of ripe yellow citrus but richly packaged and with oak references too – but never overtly of spice, cream or vanilla – or anything else so gauche. The acidity is the key to balancing the richness and concentration of this wine – and it’s completely delicious in a very young style – the finish is wide and haunting. Layered gorgeousness here as opposed to the layered rigour of my last hyphen-Montrachet (my last post). A simply great and still baby 2013, bravo – I knew that there was a reason for buying some!
Rebuy – Yes