Domaine Blain-Gagnard’s 2022 Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru is a rare Chardonnay from one of the smallest Grand Cru appellations in Burgundy. Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet totals about 1.57 hectares and lies entirely in Chassagne-Montrachet, just south of Bâtard-Montrachet. The Blain-Gagnard family estate, founded in 1980 and now run by Jean-Marc and Claudine Blain with their son Marc-Antonin, farms roughly 8 hectares overall and is known for a traditional, low-intervention approach paired with sustainable viticulture (lutte raisonnée) and hand work in the vines.

The domaine’s Criots holding is described as extremely small—around 0.2 hectares split across three parcels—with some vines dating back as far as 1929 (with later plantings through 1979). Winemaking is classic for top white Burgundy: Chardonnay is barrel-fermented in French oak, with careful work on the lees and a generally restrained approach to new wood. The wine is listed at 13.5% alcohol for the 2022 vintage, and it sits within a year that is broadly regarded as outstanding for white Burgundy, combining ripeness with retained balance.

Critical feedback is notably strong. Burghound awarded the wine an excellent 94 points (June 10, 2024), praising both its aromatic profile and its structure. Allen Meadows notes, “There is only a mild whiff of exotic character present on the aromas of white peach, pear, apple and a hint of lychee character.” On the palate, he emphasizes scale and intensity, describing “concentrated and markedly powerful large-scaled flavors” that end in “a beautifully persistent, serious, compact and built-to-age finish.” Meadows concludes plainly: “This is excellent with the aging potential to match.”

Taken together, the 2022 reads as a Criots that aims for depth and longevity without sacrificing clarity of fruit, and it should reward patience in the cellar.