2017 Chassagne Montrachet l'Abbaye Morgeot

The 2017 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Abbaye de Morgeot is one of the highlights of the range this year, unfurling in the glass with a classy bouquet of beeswax, Anjou pear, petrol, white flowers and subtle spices. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, pure and tangy with a tight-knit, nicely concentrated core and a penetrating and saline finish.

West of the village. Racked and back to barrel in August. Will spend several months in tank before bottling in May. A little smoky and immediately mineral on the nose. Then a whiff of orange pith and ripe lemon. Really spicy and intense on the mid palate, direct and spicy as it opens up giving a kind of sweetness. Mouth-watering and less creamy at the moment than some of the less intense wines. Needs time to open but there’s a coiled power at the heart of this wine. (JH)

(this was the first vintage Colin harvested in 2017, as he wanted to avoid "too much fatness"): Bright, pale yellow-green. Nose dominated by pear, menthol and stone. A bit hard-edged and tough to taste today, showing an element of fresh herbs, firm acidity and a slight phenolic dryness. Like a few of the foregoing wines, this will need time to harmonize. Finishes with a slightly hard-edged lemon zest quality. Colin told me that he may rack the wine this summer but that his current plan is not to bottle his '17s until next March. He also noted that the yield here was easier to control in 2017 because the vineyard had escaped the frost in 2016.