2010 Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

The 2010 Bâtard-Montrachet is stunningly beautiful. It covers every inch of the palate with layers of intensely perfumed fruit. Despite its considerable richness, the Bâtard remains surprisingly delicate and medium in body, although I suspect it will put on weight in the bottle. There is so much to admire here, but the wine shuts down quickly in the glass, and I fear the same may happen in bottle. Readers will have to be patient here. In my view, the Bâtard is the most complete of the domaine's grand crus. It combines aromatics, fruit and structure in a marvelously harmonious expression of this great vineyard.

The 2010 Batard-Montrachet is stunningly beautiful. It covers every inch of the palate with layers of intensely perfumed fruit. Despite its considerable richness, the Batard remains surprisingly delicate and medium in body, although I suspect it will put on weight in the bottle. There is so much to admire here, but the wine shuts down quickly in the glass, and I fear the same may happen in bottle. Readers will have to be patient here. In my view, the Batard is the most complete of the domaine’s grand crus. It combines aromatics, fruit and structure in a marvelously harmonious expression of this great vineyard. Anticipated maturity: 2015+. I was deeply impressed with the wines I tasted at Fontaine-Gagnard. The 2010s are rich, deep and racy, but also show tremendous transparency with regards to site and have a little more polish than is customary. Celine Fontaine told me she was very surprised by the concentration of the wines given the poor weather during the summer, but that, ultimately, it was the small size of the berries that played a big role in giving the wines their personalities. The harvest started on September 21. All of the 2010s were bottled in August 2011. Although I did not taste any of the reds, Fontaine also told me a number of the estate’s Pinot vineyards were heavily affected by the December 2009 frost and required replanting. Importers: Polaner Selections, Mt. Kisco, NY; tel. (914) 244-0404, Jeffrey Wellburn Selections, Van Nuys, CA; tel. (818) 780-4446

Bright, light yellow. Subdued if somewhat exotic aromas of pineapple, banana and licorice; there's something almost viognier-like here. More powerful than the Bienvenue, coming across as sweeter than its 1.4 g/l r.s. would suggest, perhaps owing to its impression of lower acidity and the sheer volume of its baby fat. Thick and solid but without quite the distinction of the Bienvenue.