2021 Le Montrachet

The 2022 Montrachet Grand Cru is allowed 10 minutes in the glass. There is one 270-liter barrel this year (the staves are new but the ends are used!) The aromatics take a while to open, offering subtle orchard fruit, chamomile and light grassy scents. It is complex and focused, but you cannot see the intensity at the moment. The palate is very well-balanced with evident concentration, though there is a bit of wood to be subsumed. A little awkward at the moment vis-a-vis other cuvées but it will ultimately emerge as a great "Monty".

The 2021 Montrachet Grand Cru has turned out brilliantly, exhibiting aromas of citrus oil, fresh mint, peach, buttery pastry and white flowers, followed by a full-bodied, deep and satiny palate with a textural attack that segues into a concentrated, layered, tensile mid-palate, concluding with a long, resonant finish. It's a notable success in an agronomically challenging vintage.

The 2021 Montrachet Grand Cru, which amounts to 200 liters instead of the usual two barrels, has a very intense, concentrated bouquet with scents of popcorn and hazelnut complementing the citrus fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with a rounded texture, hints of apricot and white peach, smooth and seductive, precise through to the finish. Very fine and long, though is it as good as the Chassagne Caillerets?