Like many growers in the villages of the Côte d'Or, Claudine Blain has the history and traditions of Burgundy in her veins: She is the daughter of Jacques and Josèphe Gagnard and the granddaughter of Edmond Delagrange, and her family maintains the well-established Gagnard-Delagrange property. Claudine and her husband, Jean-Marc Blain, manage the Blain-Gagnard estate. Thirty-five percent of the estate's wine is sold to négociants. The rest of the white wine is put in Alliers oak (about one-third new) and bottled after 14-16 months in cask. The red wines use the same percentage of new oak but age in cask for 18 months before bottling. Blain believes in mixing wines from vines of different ages to capture the fruit of the younger vines as well as the richness of the older vines. Concentrated, low-yield wines in limited production. Essential burgundies for those who like rich but subtle wines.
La Boudriotte is a small Premier Cru vineyard site of the Chassagne-Montrachet appellation in Burgundy. Located just southeast of Chassagne-Montrachet village, this gently sloping, east-facing vineyard may produce red wines from Pinot Noir and white wines from Chardonnay. La Boudriotte lies within the grounds of Morgeot Abbey and is one of over 20 subdivisions of the more famous, 58-hectare (143 acres) Morgeot Premier Cru. Its wines are more often labelled with the latter designation – as is permitted under the appellation laws.
A very Chassagne nose reveals notes of rosemary oil, resin, apple, earth and a hint of tangerine peel. There is a lovely sense of verve along with excellent volume to the caressing yet powerful flavours that coat the palate with dry extract on the slightly long and more complex finale. Good stuff.