Muscular and powerful, the 2019 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Ruchottes wafts from the glass with notes of pear, orange oil, peach, nutmeg and spices. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and concentrated, it's a rich, broad-shouldered Ruchottes that's quite demonstrative out of the gates.

Aromas of yellow apple, green pear, Meyer lemon, toasted nuts and honeycomb introduce the 2017 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Ruchottes, a medium to full-bodied, satiny and textural wine that's rich and fleshy, with succulent acids but without the tension of this year's Caillerets.

The 2016 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Ruchottes is superb, wafting from the glass with aromas of Anjou pear, iodine, tangerine oil and wet stones, subtly framed by a delicate touch of new wood. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, ample and satiny, with excellent concentration, incisive acids and a long, precise finish. This is more old-fashioned than the 2014 rendition, and if that wine resembles the domaine's 2010, this has more affinities with the 2008.

The 2015 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Ruchottes doesn't attain the same heights as the 2014 rendition, but it has handled the warmth of the vintage very well and remains quite classic in profile, with a very typical bouquet of pear, iodine, wheat toast, buttered apples and a framing of new oak. On the palate, the wine is concentrated and full-bodied, with excellent amplitude and dimension, and a greater sense of reserve than any of the other 1er Crus in the cellar this year.

The 2014 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Ruchottes is a real classic, opening in the glass with notes of mint, apple, pear and subtle noisette, deftly framed by a touch of reduction and new oak. On the palate, the wine approaches grand cru concentration and depth, with a velouté texture, lovely controlled amplitude and terrific definition and length. While this will only really begin to realize all its potential with 5 or 6 years in the cellar, I confess to having already enjoyed almost a case of this wine off wine lists in Burgundy; every bottle has been superb.