Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru Champ Gain, Marc Colin 2018

The 2018 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Champs Gain is showing nicely, exhibiting notions of white currant, fresh peach, almond paste and ripe citrus. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, open-knit but incisive, with good underlying tension and a mouthwatering finish. I suspect it will come together further with additional élevage.

Damien Colin continues his progression towards longer élevage in larger vessels: In 2017, he purchased more 300- and 350-liter barrels, a trend that continued in 2018, and after a year in wood, his wines now see a protracted sojourn in tank on the lees. He's adding less sulfur dioxide at harvest, finding that fermentations last longer. And longer élevage with attendant natural clarification meant that he was able to bottle his 2017s entirely without fining or filtration. Those 2017s, revisited from bottle, confirmed their fine showing last year; and 2018, rounder and more immediate in style, looks to be another success for Domaine Marc Colin, as my notes testify.