IT'S ALL IN THE DETAILS

In a very good year for the white grands crus of the Côte de Beaune (provided people didn't pick too late), this stylish expression of the terroir is right up there with the very best of them. Focussed, serious and dense, it has richness and concentration, with scented oak, some baking spices and palate-cleansing acidity.

Aromas of fresh pear, ripe citrus fruit, dried white flowers and praline introduce the 2017 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru, a full-bodied, elegantly textural wine with a ripe core of fruit, excellent tension at the core, bright acids and chalky structuring extract, concluding with a lively, saline finish. Nicely integrated and impressively complete.

The toasty nose is presently sufficiently reduced that it is impossible to fairly assess. The rich, powerful and beautifully delineated big-bodied flavors possess almost painful intensity and a reasonable amount of mouth coating extract that buffers the firm acid spine shaping the moderately austere finish.