The 2017 Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru comes from a parcel acquired in 2008, a half-hectare parcel of around 13 long rows that stretches from the top to the bottom of the Grand Cru and actually continues into the Bâtard-Montachet. This has a well-defined, wet limestone-scented bouquet that feels very focused. The balanced palate displays neatly integrated oak (although there is now no new wood) and a tender, effervescent, sherbet-tinged finish. Excellent.

Wafting from the glass with notes of fresh peach, pear, lemon curd, nougat and white flowers, Faiveley's 2017 Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru is full-bodied, fleshy and layered, with a textural attack, fine depth at the core and a chalky, nicely defined finish.

(aging in 30% new and the rest once-used barrels): Bright, pale lemon-yellow with a green tinge. Unusually ripe on the nose for a wine normally marked by its citrus character, projecting aromas of pineapple, coconut, menthol and wet stone lifted by wild herbs. Concentrated and quite primary, with its ripe nectarine fruit framed by harmonious acidity and firm mineral spine. The long finish features a hint of saline chewiness and a light touch. Technical director Flous predicts that "the terroir will arrive after the fruit has been digested by the wine."

A frosted plot in 2016 but the vines did not react. Cask sample. Cloudy sample. The aroma makes me want to both eat and drink this. Ripe, fragrant, delicately spiced pears. Super-tangy, elixir of youth but with the concentration and breeding immediately obvious. Deep, long and with the oak evident at this moment but just right for the fruit concentration. (JH)