This is one of the finest white Burgundy estates, where the wine-making involves minimal interventions. It is run by Jean-Marc Blain and his wife Claudine, the daughter of Jacques Gagnard-Delagrange. The family owns some of the village’s greatest hillsides. New oak barrels are never used to excess, being subtly spread amongst the different cuvées, so that spicy oakiness is never perceptible here. Blain is also prudent with stirring-up of the lees (known as bâtonnage) which, if used to excess, may result in heavy wines which taste mealy. Here, on the contrary, the finished wines have great purity of fruit, with balanced acidity and long, clean flavours which clearly evoke the wines’ precise origins.

Ripe liqueur-like aromas of poached plum and black cherry display a violet top note. The markedly more refined and beautifully textured medium-bodied flavors possess a caressing mouthfeel while exuding a subtle minerality on the moderately firm and lightly austere finish. Date: Jun 2024; Drink: 2029+; Issue: 94; Rating: 90 Points; Allen Meadows; Burghound