This was a replacement for the previous bottle that was corked. Only in its last 20 minutes did it show any aromatic depth (it was decanted 2 hours before serving), but its supple, brooding approach and achingly long finish were enough to convince.

The best young white I tasted last year, indeed in the last couple of years – expecations were positioned! Pale yellow. The aromas are very tight – the wine was too ambitiously cooled given the 30° temperatures. Some fat, but balanced and with a width on the mid-palate and finishing length that was on another level to the Caillerets – yet disappointing. Okay, if it’s too cold, I’ll encourage it to warm and open by decanting. As it warmed it put on weight, but no sign of the palate staining flavours of last year. Eventually a faint but unmistakable note appeared on the nose – cork. We actually drank it all, as it was still a better wine than the Caillerets, but what should have been a resounding bottle was merely a sombre one – bugger!

The nose instantly shows that you get what you pay for; a superb extra dimension of fruit, broad but not clumsy, it’s fantastic. In the mouth it’s concentrated, even slightly heavy but never cloying. A super-intense mid-palate and achingly long. Wow. Outrageously boisterous and full-packed, even at 198 francs a bottle you could be forgiven for popping one of these already…

A much wider and more complex nose, though some faint estery notes too. Super texture, this wine absolutely stands out for its ceamy complexity in the mid-palate and its awesome finish. I’d only once had a white that ruined the next few reds as its flavour had saturated my palate and refused to leave – that was DRC 2002 Montrachet – this is the second wine to achieve it. Stunning, awesome wine.