1 | Wine | White, 86 or higher, 2008

"Bursts from the glass in an exuberant bouquet of buddleia and apple blossom; quince and intimations of wet stone. This transcends the poise and clarity exhibited by several immediately preceding Clos du Papillon bottlings and suggests that – chronologically speaking – we have moved up into a new echelon of expressiveness. The bitter, piquant notes of toasted nut, quinine, white pepper, and fruit pit here are extremely subtle and integrated into a matrix of lusciously juicy pear, white peach, and quince. A salvia-inducing salinity and scallop-like sweetness ally themselves to the stony mineral elements in this wine’s long finishing colloquy with flowers and fruits, and there is a levity and refreshment – a sheer drinkability – that I have not noticed in previous Baumard Savennieres – particularly pre-2007. Yet there is still ample sense of glycerin-richness and subtle oiliness. The combination of roughly a half percent less alcohol and more expressive acidity renders this drier-tasting than its 2006 and 2007 counterparts. Florent Baumard admits that a lesser percentage of his 2008s went through malo-lactic transformation than in most vintages, though I did not have chance to check precise analytical data on that. This sensational value is a delight to drink now. Whether it will “suffer” on that account a reduced “life span” must remain to be seen, although if anything my intuition is that this will be lovely for a decade, but that you would be foolish to deprive yourself of its short-term pleasure."

"Expressive aromas of orange, mirabelle and wild herbs. Very expressive, sweet and full (this is 13.7% alcohol), with flavors of very ripe peach, vanilla cream, nuts and honey. Very young and concentrated wine, but a bit youthfully blurry with alcohol on the finish today." Reviewed by Stephen Tanzer.

"It presents quite an earthy / chalky nose with restrained hints of lemon peel, lime leaf, white peaches and orange blossoms. Medium bodied, tightly wound and with a very good concentration of nervy flavors, it has crisp acidity and a nice suggestion of silkiness to the texture, finishing long and citrusy."

"Captivating aromas of lemon, white flowers, hazelnut and fresh almond. Fairly large-scaled and round, but with terrific energy and a light touch to the exhilarating, sweet flavors of lemon cream, tangerine, orange oil and crushed stone. This goes way beyond the Jadot premier crus in volume, dimension and finesse. Finishes fine-grained and extremely long, with terrific lemony cut."

"More restrained than usual, with more minerality and acidity, which is in keeping with the vintage character. While still relatively exotic, everything is more buttoned down. However, the overall impression is of a full-bodied, powerful, honeyed white wine with superb depth, richness, and potential complexity. This beauty should be at its peak between 2010 and 2015." Reviewed by Robert Parker.

"Vibrant, precise aromas of lemon, fresh peach and nut oil. Then fine-grained, juicy and elegantly styled, with a captivating element of white flowers and perfectly integrated acidity." Reviewed by Stephen Tanzer.

"Nose dominated by lime, crushed stone and steely minerality. Densely packed and almost painfully dry, with taut, penetrating citrus and mineral flavors showing more energy than flesh today. This ungiving grand cru has plenty of depth and flavor intensity but is an infant today. The stony, austere finish is like touching a live wire. This seems every bit as steely as the estate's 2007 at the same stage but denser; in fact, this may be even more closed." Reviewed by Stephen Tanzer.

"Very ripe aromas of sweet stone fruits and clove. Very fat, rich and stuffed with fruit; a distinctly round style of Montrachet with an exotic aspect. This mounts impressively on the back end, finishing very rich and very long. The acidity is higher than that of the 2007, notes winemaker Jerome Faure-Brac, but so is the pH. And this is more generous." Reviewed by Stephen Tanzer.

"Very ripe yet high-pitched aromas of wet stone, hawthorn and botanical herbs. Broad, silky and sweet, with a three-dimensional quality to the superrich yet sharply delineated flavors of crushed stone, violet and lavender. Perhaps best today on the superb rising finish, where the wine's compelling vibrancy carries through. Another wine of great dimension. Lardiere used 60% new oak here, but the wood element is fully integrated and virtually invisible. Showing spectacularly well today, perhaps due in part to the fact that this wine finished its fermentation early." Reviewed by Stephen Tanzer.

"High-pitched, pure aromas of Meyer lemon, green apple and honeysuckle. ...complicated by intense minerality and a hint of iodine. Incisive and focused on the palate, offering tangy citrus flavors and a strong undercurrent of smoky minerals. Very young and in need of some bottle age to stretch out but there's great potential here."