Wine Advisor
Fontaine Gagnard, Batard Montrachet Grand Cru 2015
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Pale, bright yellow. Ripe peach, menthol and spice aromas suggest a powerful wine. Concentrated, broad, smooth and sweet, with an element of gingery spice and firm acidity giving shape to the very ripe, savory peach and pineapple flavors and leavening the impression of early sucrosité. At once less fruity, less minerally and less refined than the Caillerets but still offers lovely shape and restraint for its substantial volume. Finishes smooth and long, with distinct salinity. I'd like to come back to this wine in three or four years, when it has absorbed some of its baby fat.
About the Producer
Laurence Gagnard and Richard Fontaine founded the domaine in 1985 with passion and enthusiasm; their daughter Céline joined the estate in 2007. The family has worked in the vineyards for several centuries, and the domaine carries on this legacy - love of the "terroir" and the search for the best possible quality. Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard works on 22 different appellations, including three Grands Crus: Bâtard-Montrachet, Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet and the crown jewel, Le Montrachet. The estate covers 12 hectares mainly in Chassagne and the winemaking methods are traditional: hand-picking, settling fermentation using natural yeasts, ageing in oak barrels (0 to 30% new oak, depending on the appellation), fining and light filtration. The white wines are bottled after one year of maturation; red wines stay in the barrel for up to 18 months, depending on the vintage. "Fontaine-Gagnard is a Chassagne domaine that has really upped the ante in recent vintages since Celine Fontaine has taken the reins. This was a splendid showing of wines, one of the most comprehensive in Chassagne" Wine Advocate
