Domaine Blain-Gagnard Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru 2022 - 750ml

95pts Burghound

This possesses the most complex, if most restrained, nose in the range with its aromas of essence of pear, white peach, exotic Asian tea and crushed fennel. There is a positively gorgeous texture to the medium weight plus flavors that are exceptionally rich thanks to the abundance of dry extract that also serves to buffer the firm acid spine shaping the hugely long finale. For the moment this is actually not quite as powerful and robust as the Bâtard, though a classic Montrachet often adds size and weight with age. Either way, this should prove to be outstanding in time.

Tasting Notes

A great Bâtard-Montrachet is a wine of volume, weight, and power with rich honeyed flavors, broad texture, and with an intensity of fruit and minerals. It is sometimes compared to the powerful wines of Corton-Charlemagne but Bâtard-Montrachet always has more tautness and tension, making a great wine for cellaring ten years or more.

Vineyard Notes

Bâtard-Montrachet is shared almost evenly between the two villages of Puligny and Chassagne. It is the largest of the area’s five Grand Crus with the upper section closest to Montrachet sharing similar soil and exposure. The Blain-Gagnard wine comes from three vineyard plots totaling 1.1 acres, and is from vines planted between 1939 and 1986.

About the Winery

Domaine Blain-Gagnard was formed in 1980 when Jean-Marc Blain married Claudine Gagnard, youngest daughter of Jacques and Marie-Josèphe Gagnard of Domaine Gagnard-Delagrange. The couple runs this venerable domaine with the help of their son Marc-Antonin. They now control 20.5 acres of vines in Chassagne-Montrachet, including holdings in three grands crus: Le Montrachet, Bâtard-Montrachet, and Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet.

In 1999, Claudine and Jean-Marc received a 13-row parcel (0.2 acres) of Le Montrachet from Claudine’s father, Jacques Gagnard. From the 2000 vintage on, Le Montrachet from this parcel is made at and bottled as Domaine Blain-Gagnard. Only one or two barrels of this wine are produced each vintage, from vines planted in 1934.