The 2012 Bienvenue-Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru was apparently one of the longest vinifications in 2012. It has a light and slightly resinous, waxy bouquet at the moment, touches of undergrowth – fern and wild heather. The palate is balanced and candied on the entry with orange zest and apricot, but it is just missing a little tension and race on the finish.

Slow out of the gates, the 2010 Bienvenue-Batard-Montrachet starts off subtly, then literally explodes on the mid-palate. Honey, almonds, tangerine and flowers are some of the many nuances that are laced throughout this utterly refined, impeccable Burgundy. The 2010 is intensely perfumed and delicate throughout. The delineated, vibrant aromas and flavors all mesh together on the huge, layered finish. Dazzling pretty much sums it up. Anticipated maturity: 2016+. Proprietor Mounir Saouma thinks 2010 is a great vintage and therefore he wanted to push the boundaries as far as possible by slowing down the maturation of the wines. He kept temperatures very low in the cellar to encourage slow, long malolactic fermentations and long elevage in barrel. Among the unusual practices Saouma adopted with the 2010s is stirring the lees a full year after the harvest. At the time of my visit, in July 2012, none of the 2010 whites had been bottled, the only estate in Burgundy I know of that had still not bottled their 2010s. The wines Le Moine 2010s are big, rich and powerful. In many cases, the 2010s appear to have structures that are in the realm of reds. A number of the wines also show slight elements of botrytis that will become more pronounced over time. In addition to these wines, I also tasted the 2010 Chassagne-Montrachet Morgeot, which was too closed to properly evaluate. Importer: Vintus, Pleasantville, NY; tel. (919) 769-3000

The 2009 Bienvenues-Batard-Montrachet is an intense wine laced with tropical fruit, spices and mineral notes. It is a spherical Burgundy that fleshes out in all directions with seemingly endless dimensions to its fruit. A superb, finely-textured finish rounds out this jewel of a wine. Anticipated maturity: 2014+. This is another stunning set of wines from proprietors Mounir Saouma and Rotem Brakim. Saouma and Brakim practice some of the most risk-taking winemaking in Burgundy, especially with regards to elevage. The wines see extended aging on the lees with minimal sulfur. I tasted the 2009s in late June 2011. At the time the wines had never been racked. Readers should note that I accidentally omitted a number of wines from my reviews of the estate’s 2009 reds, in particular the wines from Vosne-Romanee. Those notes are now posted on the site. My tasting concluded with two wines served blind. These turned out to be two 2004 Meursaults. The first wine was made with a pneumatic press and aged with 4 liters of lees per barrel, the second wine was made with a mechanical press and went into barrel with 8 liters of lees. Both wines were aged 18 months and bottled by hand. As it turns out, wine #2 was considerably fresher and much more nuanced than wine #1. Importer: Vintus, Pleasantville, NY; tel. (919) 769-3000