2021 Bâtard-Montrachet, Grand Cru, Marc Colin & Fils, Burgundy

Chardonnay is often seen as the king of white wine grapes and one of the most widely planted in the world It is suited to a wide variety of soils, though it excels in soils with a high limestone content as found in Champagne, Chablis, and the Côte D`Or. Burgundy is Chardonnay's spiritual home and the best White Burgundies are dry, rich, honeyed wines with marvellous poise, elegance and balance. They are unquestionably the finest dry white wines in the world. Chardonnay plays a crucial role in the Champagne blend, providing structure and finesse, and is the sole grape in Blanc de Blancs.

Bâtard-Montrachet, nestled in the heart of Burgundy's Côte de Beaune, is revered for its exceptional Chardonnay wines. This Grand Cru appellation boasts a terroir characterised by limestone and clay soils, imparting a unique mineral complexity to its wines, which typically exhibit ripe fruit flavours alongside nuanced hazelnut and honey notes.

Domaine Marc Colin Marc Colin has now handed over this leading St-Aubin domaine to three of his children, Damien, Joseph and Caroline. The eldest, Pierre-Yves, was involved until 2005 harvest, when he took out his share of the vineyards to be worked separately. The remainder is still a sizeable operation, with 20 hectares spread between 30 appellations, 25 of them for white wines. The Colin reds come from St-Aubin, Chassagne-Montrachet and Santenay, including a fine vieilles vignes bottling which comes from a plot in Les Champs Claude planted in 1901. This and the Saint-Aubin Les Frionnes are worthy of note, though the Domaine is much better known for its white wines. These include no less than eight bottlings of premier cru St-Aubin plus Puligny- and Chassagne-Montrachet and their associated grands crus.