2014 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru Blain-Gagnard

Fine clear colour, a little reduction, but gently done, the bouquet opens out to offer quite graceful fruit and floral notes. Elegant again on the palate up front, much oakier behind, but the fruit should win. Indeed it blossoms with aeration.

Somewhat unusually this actually seems slightly riper than the Criots which is not typically the case with its expressive nose that is comprised mostly by various white orchard fruit, floral, citrus and soft wood nuances. There is a succulent, indeed even opulent texture to the big-bodied and again overtly powerful flavors that possess so much extract that this is one of those 2014s that could actually be drunk in its youth with pleasure even though there is much more development potential left to realize.

From three parcels, each with two types of soil, the 2014 Bâtard Montrachet Grand Cru has a fresh limestone, flinty bouquet that is well defined and focused, though needs bottle age to muster more intensity. The palate is crisp and taut on the entry, with just a touch of bitter lemon and Clementine; it demonstrates more weight and precision towards the finish, with fresh lime lingering on the tensile finish. This is my pick from the domaine out of barrel and could even have the audacity to surpass Jean-Marc Blain's Montrachet.