Slightly hazy appearance. Musky, multifaceted nose includes crystallized yellow plum, ginger, clove and nutmeg. Very ripe and powerful but also impressively penetrating, with tangy peach and apricot flavors of noteworthy sweetness. Grew even richer and more tactile with time in the recorked bottle, without any loss of energy. A very large-scaled wine, finishing with complex notes of vineyard peach, ginger and nutty oak.

Presenting a juxtaposition between its fleshy richness and crystalline character, the honeyed mineral-scented 2001 Batard-Montrachet is a fascinating wine. Deep, sappy, and intense, it offers outstanding concentration and an expressive, quartz-like character. This light to medium-bodied, satin-textured wine should be drunk between 2005 and 2011. Importers: Ex Cellars, Solvang, CA; tel. (805) 686-9153; and Martin Scott Wines, Little Neck, NY; tel. (516) 327-0808

Cask sample Next to no nose, but no shortage of weight. Full lemon-tart whack on the front of the palate, and pretty good follow-up. (JR)