Chassagne-Montrachet, Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard 2024

"From six plots, just 6–700 bottles made. Apple and lemon on the nose, lean, linear and floral on the palate with subtle oak influence. Poised and quietly persistent." Ksenia Pashkova, Club Merchandiser Fontaine-Gagnard is one of Chassagne’s great traditionalists, quietly producing some of the appellation’s most complete and age-worthy wines. Farming is resolutely old-school rather than dogmatic, with a focus on balance, density and longevity over fashion. In 2024, that restraint mattered. The vintage was hard work. High mildew pressure, early harvest beginning on 22 August, and naturally low yields around 35 hl/ha for whites and 30 for reds. A hot August pushed ripeness quickly, but September brought dilution and freshness back into play, finishing around pH 3.3–3.4. The result is a vintage of crunchy acidity, dense fruit and classical proportions, more ripe than 2013, closer in spirit to 2010, though Burgundy has changed too much for lazy comparisons. Oak remains measured at around 20% for village wines and 30% for premiers and grands crus. This is village-level Chassagne, which means no single-vineyard fanfare, but also no compromises: the fruit is estate-grown, the winemaking unhurried, and the result is exactly what you want from this address at this level. Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard is one of Tim Atkin's 2024 Top 10 Côte de Beaune White Wine Producers.