Domaine Blain-Gagnard was formed when Jean-Marc Blain married Claudine Gagnard, daughter of Jacques and Josèphe Gagnard and granddaughter of Edmond Delagrange, resulting in a union steeped in Burgundian heritage. This husband-and-wife team runs the Domaine, now with the help of their son Marc-Antonin, who has returned France after spending time in the vineyards of Australia and New Zealand.
Jean-Marc employs great intricacy in his winemaking: subtle tweaks to the process such as his discerning selection of coopers and the wood they use, and mixing wines from vines of different ages help create a series of excellent wines. Jean-Marc uses around 15% new barrels for his premier cru and lesser wines, while the grand crus are afforded 30% new Alliers oak. The wines tend to be highly concentrated and in quite limited supply: the combination of the older vines with the younger forms of wines that are rich and strong but subtle enough to not be overpowering.
Here the pretty nose of ripe pear, apple, and lemon zest is at once more elegant and more floral suffused. The finer middle-weight flavours possess a refined texture before culminating in a plush yet reasonably precise finale on the mildly tangy finish.