One of the more dramatic wines in the range, the 2019 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Gruenchers bursts with notes of rose petals, raspberries, peonies, potpourri and spices. Medium to full-bodied, ample and satiny, with melting tannins and lively acids, it concludes with a long, saline finish.

Aromas of Griotte cherries, wild berries, peonies and orange rind mingle with hints of grilled squab, introducing Barthod's 2018 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Gruenchers, a medium to full-bodied, precise wine that's layered and youthfully introverted, with an ample chassis of rich, powdery tannin and a lively spine of acidity. Barthod produced three barrels this year.

The 2017 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Gruenchers is a stunning success, bursting with aromas of Griotte cherries, raspberries, rose petals, wild plums and blood orange. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, satiny and beautifully pure, with a deep core of superbly vibrant and well-defined fruit. Its ample mid-palate is framed by elegantly melting tannins, concluding with a long and fragrant finish. Heavily frosted in 2016, the Gruenchers returns with a vengeance this year.

There is only one barrel, or 300 bottles, of the 2016 Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru Gruenchers this year due to frost, less than a third of a good vintage. Ghislaine explained that this was initially in a new barrel, then racked into a two-year old barrel. It has a juicy red cherry, strawberry and candied orange peel-scented bouquet, not complex but one of the more sensual bouquet from Ghislaine Barthod this year. The palate is medium-bodied, and you can feel the oak influence more than the other premier crus, yet there is sufficient fruit to soak that up. There is real density and weight on the finish, if not quite the tension and detail of the finest vintages. Excellent.

There are three barrels of the 2015 Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru Gruenchers this year, one of them new. It has a bashful nose at first, one that demanded coaxing from the glass, eventually revealing earthy red berry fruit, a little rusticity but still utterly charming and very, very natural. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin and a keen line of acidity that cuts through the black fruit. I love the salinity here, so much so it leaves the mouth just tingling with the sensation 90 seconds after the wine has departed, with a faint residue of plum sauce on the aftertaste. Gorgeous!