The 2018 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Tête du Clos was also showing brilliantly, soaring from the glass with a lively bouquet of pear, honeyed citrus fruits, peach, fresh mint and white flowers. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied and textural but incisive, with racy acids, lovely depth at the core and a chalky finish.

The 2016 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Tête du Clos has a very detailed bouquet with superb focus. I like the understated mineralité here, cold stone/slate-like scents interwoven into the effervescent citrus fruit. The palate is well balanced with orange rind and a tang of marmalade on the entry, with very good weight and real density on the finish. This is one of the best Chassagne-Montrachets that I have tasted in 2016. Highly recommended.

The 2014 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Tête du Clos has another rich and lively bouquet like the 2014 Baudines adorned with orange zest, citrus fruit, coconut and mango scents all vying for attention. Perhaps it would benefit from more control, but then it would be half the fun. The palate is underpinned by a quite piercing acidity counterbalanced by rich, lightly honeyed fruit. It's a bit like dialing the guitar amp to "11" à la Spinal Tap...any why not?

The 2013 Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru Tete du Clos has an outstanding bouquet with real minerality soaring from the glass - very rocky and almost flinty. The palate is very precise and taut, a killer line of acidity with citrus lemon and a touch of quince toward the saline finish that is the most persistent of the Chassagnes from Leroux.

The 2012 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Tete du Clos, which Benjamin discovered when working with Vincent Dancer, where it is normally blended with Morgeot, is shared with David Croix (see Domaine des Croix). It has a wonderful, mineral-driven bouquet with superb delineation: almost Puligny-like in style with great tension. The palate is very well-balanced and concentrated with fresh pear, orange zest and mineral notes that build and build in the mouth. This should be superb after bottling. There is one vigneron pleased about the late running of the 2013 harvest more than any other – Benjamin Leroux. “I had my third baby two weeks ago,” he reveals, though he looks in unnaturally fine fettle given the sleepless nights he must surely be enduring. I met Benjamin at his winery located just off the Beaune ring road opposite Albert Bichot and Domaine des Croix. Here he vinifies all his negociant wines that are labeled under his name, and when he is not there, you will probably find him down in Domaine Comte Armand, where he has been responsible for recent vintages. He shares the facility with Nicolas Rossignol, whose wines I tasted directly afterwards. Those wishing to glean more information on Leroux’s background should peruse the article I wrote in the August issue of The Wine Advocate concerning Clos des Epeneaux. He told me that he will bottle his 2012s relatively early this year and, in fact, several were already under cork. Like practically everyone, his crops are depleted in 2012 depending upon the area, up to 80% in the worst affected by frost and hail. The samples that I tasted were either in bottle (wines with single figure scores) or in barrel just after malo-lactic but before racking (given by banded scores). Generally, these constituted an outstanding set of wines, albeit often in miniscule quantities, which is why some of the cuvees are exclusive to certain markets (for example, you will have to go to Hong Kong to find his elusive Clos Saint Denis.) While the grand crus could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with many growers, readers should check out some of his over-performing Village and Premier Crus, particularly the former that were bolstered by the blending of the latter due to depletion of crop. Importer: Becky Wasserman Selection (Le Serbet) and through various US importers (see www.leserbet.com for full list.)