2012 Batard Montrachet

There are just three and a half barrels of the 2012 Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru, the smallest ever. This has a precise, saline bouquet with limestone and chalky scents, but it is very tight at the moment. The palate is tightly wound with a crisp line of acidity, hints of dried peach and pithy fruit informing the weighty finish, although I probably prefer the tension exuded by the Caillerets at the moment. There are four red wines from Gagnard. Arriving at the winery in Chassagne, I discovered Caroline L’Estime with her flaxen hair, rubber apron and Wellington boots, precariously perched upon a wooden plank above a vat, plunging her Clos Saint Jean rouge. I could not image such a scene in the Medoc. Their Armani suits would get juice splattered all over them. Once she had climbed down and wiped her purple stained hands, we descended to her barrel cellar, bidding hello to her father Jean-Noel in his trademark cloth cap, busying himself around the bubbling barrels of Chardonnay. The baton passed from father to daughter back in 1989, though Caroline is always so young and fresh-faced that you cannot imagine that she already has two decades under her belt. Gagnard’s wines are some of my favorite in Chassagne: consistent, well-crafted, honest and while they might have gained cultish adulation from overseas that can often exaggerate the quality inside the bottle, they more than satisfy Burgundy-lovers like myself and can age extremely well. Caroline’s whites are looking extremely promising this year, especially her Clos des Maltroye, Caillerets and my own personal favorite, her Blanchot-Dessus. And perhaps this is a year when they just might have the audacity to surpass her Batard-Montrachet. We will see – her solitary grand cru tends to be taciturn in its infancy. I found the reds less consistent: unashamedly rustic for the most part and not approaching the quality of her whites that are the mainstay of the domaine. Importer: Martin Scott Wines; www.martinscottwines.com; and through various importers in the UK (Farr Vintners, Berry Brothers & Rudd and Justerini & Brooks).