Bâtard-Montrachet is the broad-shouldered one. Where Chevalier climbs the slope for tension and Montrachet sits perfectly between the two, Bâtard lies lower on richer, clay-heavy ground and gives white Burgundy at its most opulent.
Tasting Notes
Rich and complex, revealing layers of ripe orchard fruit, hazelnut and a subtle minerality, leading to a voluptuous and enduring palate. There is weight and breadth here rather than the knife-edge tension of the crus higher up the hill, but the acidity underneath keeps it from ever becoming heavy. Roughly twelve hectares straddling the boundary between Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet, directly below Le Montrachet itself. Robert Drouhin acquired the family's parcels here during his expansion of the estate.
Quick Facts
- Grape: 100% Chardonnay
- Origin: France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
- Style: Dry white, Grand Cru, rich, powerful, age worthy
- Viticulture: Certified organic and biodynamic
- Vineyard: Roughly 12 hectares straddling Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet, on deeper clay-rich soils below Le Montrachet
Food Pairing
Lobster in butter sauce, turbot, poultry in cream sauce, and aged Comté.
Serving
Serve at 12 to 14°C, not colder. Will keep and improve for fifteen years and more.
About the Producer
Maison Joseph Drouhin was founded in Beaune in 1880 by Joseph Drouhin, who had arrived from Chablis at the age of 22. His son Maurice bought the Clos des Mouches in 1921 and began building the family's own vineyard holdings, and Robert Drouhin, who took over in 1957, added parcels in many of Burgundy's greatest grand crus. The house is run today by the fourth generation, Frédéric, Véronique, Philippe and Laurent, from cellars beneath the old town of Beaune dug between the 13th and 18th centuries. Every estate vineyard has been farmed organically and biodynamically since 1993, making Drouhin the largest biodynamic producer in Burgundy.
