2018 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Champeaux, Domaine Henri Magnien

This comes from a vineyard which is nearly 35 years old, with a mere 20-30cm depth of soil before the vine-roots begin to penetrate the rocks. It is a cuvée where Charles Magnien has moved on from traditional punching-down of the grape cap to doing a gentle “drain-out” of juice into a separate vat for 20 minutes or so, during fermentation. This allows air to circulate around the grape-skins, and for yeasts to be re-vitalised, with less violence to the skins than with punching down. Colour is medium purple in depth, aromas are floral and fragrant, including mandarin. On the taste, this has abundant fruitiness, well-sustained through midpalate, leading to a fresh, appetising, complex aftertaste (for drinking 2022-2028+).