1993 Domaine Niellon Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

Wonderfully expressive and fully mature aromas that are borderline exotic and nuanced with subtle spice notes lead to rich, powerful and focused flavors that deliver outstanding length and complexity. A simply fantastic effort for the vintage and while this has finally peaked, it should hold here for a number of years. In sum, this is a brillant effort and if you have a chance to taste it, don't pass it up!

I have been a long-time admirer of the ’93 Niellon Bâtard-Montrachet since its very earliest days, and I have drank many bottles of this wine, as for many years the 1993 whites were really a pretty well-kept secret and had excellent availability. I have had some bottles of this that were more open than others (though all quite racy and zesty), and I have little doubt that this wine will continue to improve with further bottle age. The bouquet is deep and lovely, as it offers up notes of apples, a touch of green pineapple, lime zest, a touch of iodine, Niellon’s herbal tones, a fine base of soil and a deft touch of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, deep and powerfully-built, with a rock solid core of fruit, fine focus, brisk acids and good length and grip on the complex finish. Some bottles are still a tad on the green side today, while others are really beginning to drink well. This is certainly best if decanted for thirty or forty minutes before serving. A fine ’93.