2014 Domaine d’Eugénie Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

BY NEAL MARTIN | APRIL 29, 2019 

This week’s Cellar Favorite is a young white Burgundy from Domaine d’Eugénie. I suspect that many wine lovers are unaware of the domaine’s white cuvées, which come from holdings acquired by François Pinault from Château de Puligny-Montrachet around 2012/2013. These include parcels in Puligny-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet Les Perclos, Meursault Les Perrières and Bâtard-Montrachet, plus a postage-stamp-sized dozen rows in Montrachet, adjacent to Domaine de la Romanée-Conti on the Chassagne side, that produces no more than around half a barrel per year. I believe it is reserved for Monsieur Pinault’s personal use, so you’ll have to ask him for a bottle next time you pop round for supper. The other whites are rarely seen, though they do seem to “dribble out” among merchants, but those that I have tasted at the domaine have been impressive.

Two bottles appeared in Hong Kong in November 2018, preceding a La Mission Haut-Brion dinner, and so for the first time I was able to taste the whites in bottle. The 2014 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru is crystal-clear in color. It has a gorgeous dried honey, praline and orange blossom bouquet and develops a flint-like quality with time. The palate is very well balanced, offering effortless poise and a gras-like finish reminiscent of a Corton-Charlemagne. This is a vibrant, vivid Bâtard-Montrachet that will drink well for 15 to 20 years and ranks among the finest I have tasted. 95/Drink: 2019-2040. The 2014 Chassagne-Montrachet Les Perclos has a nose of honeysuckle, lychee and pear notes, attractive even if shown its place by the Bâtard-Montrachet poured alongside. The palate is well balanced with a rounded, slightly waxy-textured opening offset by a fine bead of acidity and discreet tropical notes toward the open-knit finish. Fine. Enjoy over the next decade. 90/Drink: 2019-2028.