Blain-Gagnard Bâtard-Montrachet

Premox

Another oxidised bottle - almost a 50% strike rate from my en primeur case. Also had an oxidised bottle of the same at Como restaurant in Puligny. Great wine when not faulty but this is unacceptable - no wonder its around the cheapest Batard

Cuvée 312 Launch Party (Chicago, IL) : Shows the vintage character quite strongly -- it's a relatively fat and low-acid chardonnay, but certainly the complexity and breadth is there. A slight oiliness here as well, this is a wine best served with food as it can help to counterbalance the massive stature that this wine has. As far as grands crus go, this might be missing the complexity of a top-tier wine, but the weight and power is really something …

Nose: pineapple, green tea, brioche, lemon curd, mango Notes: 13.5% ABV. This is quite decent quality and it remains a surprise that the 2018 is quite approachable. I find Fontaine Gagnard wines to be quite consistent throughout the years and relatively would you get nasty surprises here. Having said so, Croits is probably a tricky vineyard as the size is small and the quality seems to be inferior to the others in the Montrachet family. This bottle has performed nicely …

Just a tad forward, showing some tropical mango and pineapple notes. Plenty of smoky mineral reduction. Good shape, layered and creamy. Excellent length.

Lunch at SSG. Drank in Gabriel Standart. Appearance is clear, pale intensity, lemon colour. Legs. Nose is clean, medium intensity, with aromas of elegant citrus lemon, puffs of chalky minerals, thin layer of oak toast. Developing. On the palate, dry, good high acidity, medium alcohol (13.5%), medium+ body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of green lime, nice green apple and pear, sweet citrus lemon, dense chalky minerality. Long zippy finish. Great length and depth. Very very good quality. Drinking well …

La Paulée de Meursault (Château de Meursault) : À la Paulée, crayeux, excellent.

La Paulée 2023 (Idiom) : (Short Notes at lunch, walkaround) Light yellow in colour. The nose exudes fabulous minerality, with crushed stones and a dusting of chalk that mingles with tangerine, apricot, nectarine and even a hint of granadilla. A remarkably pure wine that is full-bodied, chiselled & extracted in structure and with excellent depth. Broad in the mid-palate, it envelops you with this gorgeous interplay of minerals and cold stones and opulent stone & exotic fruits (some fresh mango …

Just wonderful. Young. Crystaline. Will gain weight and complexity.