Domaine Jean-Noël Gagnard, Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru Clos de la Maltroie 2021 100ml

Since 1989 Jean-Noël Gagnard’s only child, Caroline Lestimé has been making the wines at this top estate in Chassagne-Montrachet. She has had to fight hard to earn her place as a female winemaker in what is still a male-dominated world but greatly enjoys the challenge. Caroline has continued the traditions her father implemented while making some significant adjustments along the way. No chemical fertilisers or herbicides are now used in accordance with Caroline’s utmost respect for the environment and her determination to create a modern, dynamic domaine based on these principles. Bâtonnage is regular but depends on the vintage and style of wines. There are no fewer than nine distinct white premiers crus including Les Caillerets, one of Chassagne’s greatest, which has marvellous fruit purity, beautiful balance and needs time to reveal its full glory. While Jean-Noël still occasionally pops his head into the cellar to see what is going on, recent vintages show this is an estate that is doing very well indeed with his daughter at the helm, consistently producing wines of great richness and finesse.