Hospices de Beaune Corton Clos du Roi Cuvée Baronne du Bay 2020 (Corton Grand Cru; from 1 of 9 single-barrel lots or pièces from the 0.84 hectares of the Hospices’ holdings in this, the prime climat of Corton; this pièce was tended by Flaiveley; 14% alcohol). Just sublime, as it should be. Soft, gentle, aromatically expressive yet with the sensation of so much still to come, rich and full, yet gracious. This builds slowly in the glass, releasing little spring-time floral hints, like individual blooms opening in the early morning sunshine. The fruit is radiant, pure and red – raspberry and a little cherry, and with air we find violets and wild herbs alongside those early spring blooms; there’s a loamy earthiness, a hint of truffle, patchouli too and candlewax. On the palate, this is subtle and almost delicate on the entry, but with incredible amplitude, considerable density and focussed concentration but also that supreme lightness of touch and diaphanous delicacy that is so characteristic of Ludivine Griveau’s wine-making. What I love most of all are the little eddies and whirlpools of fresh juicy sapidity that pulse through the mid-palate and that give this an amazing persistence. A wine whose quality comes from the supreme respect and natural affinity for this wondrous terroir.