The 2017 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru is slightly pale in hue and has a rather slight bouquet at first, offering fresh green apple and wet limestone aromas. I would just like more intensity, and indeed, that does develop with 10–15 minutes’ aeration. The palate is well balanced, quite saline and sappy, showing a strong marine influence, with oyster shell and crustaceans on the finish. Very fine and complex.

(from two parcels of wines, one more than 50 years of age and the other between 30 and 40): Bright medium yellow. More minerally on the nose than the Bienvenue-Bâtard, offering aromas of stone fruits, white pepper, menthol and spices. Offers more tension and verve in the mouth too, as well as an impression of solidity, volume and extract richness. With its firm acidity and minty mid-palate lift, this wine comes across as noticeably drier than the Bienvenue-Bâtard. Finishes citrussy and very long, with noteworthy aromatic lift. This wine was more backward and less expressive than the Bienvenue from the start, noted Christophe Morin. It will clearly need more time in barrel and in bottle to evolve.

The 2017 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru was a touch less integrated and seemingly less deep than the Bienvenues when I tasted it, though that may just reflect a stage in its élevage. Offering up aromas of ripe waxy lemons, white flowers, beeswax and crushed chalk, it's full-bodied, chewy and long, with a more foursquare but less multidimensional profile than the Bienvenues. Both are exceptional, so it will be interesting to see which performs better in bottle.