The 2018 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru unwinds in the glass with scents of citrus oil, white flowers, wet stones and toasted sesame, framed by a light touch of reduction. Full-bodied, multidimensional and layered, it's textural and chiseled, with searing levels of concentration and chalky structuring dry exact. Built around a racy spine of acidity even in this warm vintage, it concludes with a long, penetrating finish.

The 2017 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru is extraordinary, unfurling in the glass with notes of lemon oil, confit citrus, white flowers and smoky reduction. On the palate, it's full-bodied, layered and complete, as ample as the Domaine's other white grands crus but finer boned and more vertical, with incredible length and line. Even at this early stage, it's difficult to imagine that this Chevalier won't be one of the wines of the vintage.

The 2016 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru is one of the greatest young white Burgundies I have tasted. Unfurling in the glass with notes of lemon oil, white flowers, pastry cream and wet stones, the wine is full-bodied, powerful and immensely layered, with a bottomless core, searing concentration and a sense of completeness and harmony that transcends the limits of what one thought possible. The extent of this Chevalier's sheer energy and structural tension are hard to describe because they fall so far outside the norms of contemporary Burgundy.

The 2015 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru is a monument in the making, slowly unfurling in the glass with a vibrant but youthfully reserved bouquet of buttered citrus, spring flowers, crushed rocks and crisp white peach. On the palate, it's full-bodied, immensely concentrated and extraordinarily multidimensional, with stunning depth and crystalline delineation, displaying a combination of three-dimensional structural finesse and searing intensity that is very rare indeed. The long and pristinely delineated finish is breathtaking. Having tasted all the likely contenders, I wouldn't hesitate to anoint this the white Burgundy of the vintage.

The 2011 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru has a buttoned up bouquet at first, unwinding to reveal delicate touches of white peach, lime flower and minerals that are exquisitely defined. The palate demonstrates great clarity with a vibrant opening of lime zest, dried apricot, a touch of lemongrass and minerals. The acidity is perfectly judged and like the Criots '11, it is bestowed an effortless finish that is totally bewitching. Drink 2015-2028+ Having tasted the complete range of Domaine Leroy's wines in Vosne, Lalou Bize-Leroy hopped in her Toyota with her constantly quarreling canines and we follow her down to the back and beyond of Saint Romain to taste her complete range of Domaine d'Auvenay 2011s: two reds outnumbered by the whites. Most of us have more chance of spotting a yeti dining with a dodo at Ma Cuisine than drinking a wine from Domaine d'Auvenay, since the wines are produced in microscopic quantities and only fools would choose to resell them. To put that into perspective, when I visited the picturesque estate tucked away behind a leafy glade, Lalou pointed to what looked like a tin bucket and explained that I was looking at the entire production of last year's Criots-Batard-Montrachet, all 75-litres of it. But there is something magical that shrouds Domaine d-Auvenay and my few encounters have been memorable. Just last year, her Meursault Narvaux 1999 had the hubris to outshine a Corton-Charlemagne from Coche-Dury, and it remains the greatest white village cru that is likely to ever pass my lips. The 2011s were extremely good, but you probably know that already. What I appreciated was that they are very honest wines, respective of their terroirs, not all implicitly the greatest whites you will ever taste, but each adorned with individuality. I have few experiences of mature wines from Domaine d'Auvenay, but they do have an extraordinary propensity to age. Having said that, if my cellar was stocked with these wines, I would find it extraordinarily difficult to resist temptation. Importer: Martine's Wines, Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-0400