The 2020 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Blanchots Dessus is especially good, bursting with aromas of orange zest, crisp stone fruits, white flowers, nutmeg and beeswax. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and seamless, it's deep, concentrated and complex, with an impressive sense of completeness, concluding with a long, saline finish.

The 2019 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Blanchots Dessus is another of the portfolio's highlights. Mingling aromas of pear, orange oil and confit citrus with hints of clear honey, white flowers, fresh pastry and hazelnuts, it's full-bodied, satiny and ample, with an enveloping core of fruit, lively acids and a sensual, seamless profile. This is one of the most dramatic wines in the range.

The 2018 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Blanchots Dessus has turned out superbly, opening in the glass with aromas of crisp orchard fruit, white flowers, toasted almonds, iodine and mandarin oil. Medium to full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, it's deep and precise, with terrific texture and mid-palate amplitude, concluding with a long, mineral finish.

I underestimated the 2017 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Blanchots Dessus when I tasted it from barrel, because it emerged as one of the finest wines in the cellar when revisited from bottle. Wafting from the glass with notes of citrus oil, mandarin, white flowers, clear honey and fresh pastry, framed by a deft touch of reduction, the wine is medium to full-bodied, deep and multidimensional, with superb concentration, a racy spine of acidity and a long, penetrating finish. This is just as tensile and incisive as the Romanée this year, but it also carries even more texture and mid-palate volume. Girardin farms this parcel, which is located next to the late Jean-Claude Bachelet's.

The 2009 Chassagne-Montrachet Les Blanchots Dessus offers up ripe apricots, smoke and minerals, all of which are supported by an insistent vein of minerality. The Blanchots Dessus impresses for its overall harmony, poise and the inimitable personality that is the hallmark of this site that abuts Montrachet. This takes some time to open up, but when it does there is no shortage of pedigree and character. I especially like the depth and intensity here. Anticipated maturity: 2013+. Vincent Girardin is among the producers who have made the most dramatic changes in response to the issue of premature oxidation. Girardin has increased the amount of time his wines spend on their lees, has lowered new oak, has eliminated batonnage and has basically re-built his entire approach from the bottom up, which I have to say, is quite impressive. The 2009s were harvested beginning on September 15, with natural alcohols in the 12.5-13% range. The wines were bottled between mid-March and mid-May 2011. Today the 2009s are quite fresh and still showing some of the effects of their recent bottling. It is safe to say the wines Girardin is making today are quite different from those of the past. Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel. (205) 980-8802