Meursault Premiers Crus 2010

<p>No surprise that a wine from this famous property was the highest-scoring wine in the tasting. For almost three decades Dominique Lafon has maintained the highest standards, in the vineyard and the winery, and many consider him the finest white wine producer in Burgundy. Farmed biodynamically, the grapes would have been fermented in roughly 50% new oak, and aged through a second winter in older barrels.</p> <p><em><strong>Stephen Brook </strong></em><br /> Delicate, oaky, appley nose. Lean and tight &ndash; has precision rather than opulence &ndash; taut and stony with a pronounced minerality and considerable finesse. The fruit is subdued but that&rsquo;s fine with a young white Burgundy. This is classy and very long.</p> <p><em><strong>Gearoid Devaney MS </strong></em><br /> Spicy, smoky nose with straw touches. Palate is intense and complex with stone fruits, salty minerals and high-toned acidity. Really focused with a long finish and great potential.</p> <p><em><strong>Steven Spurrier </strong></em><br /> Fine nose of herbs and honey. Beautiful expression, vigour and depth, lots of energy and clarity, this is grand cru-standard. Great texture, depth, length and a superb future.</p>

<p>OUTSTANDING Individual judge&rsquo;s scores: Stephen Brook 18.5, Gearoid Devaney MS 18.5 and Steven Spurrier 18.5. This long-established property, founded in the early 18th century, is now run by two generations of the family: Jean-Claude and his son Nicolas. The domaine has 16 hectares under vine, with parcels spread out from Puligny to Beaune. The Les Genevri&egrave;res vines were pulled out and replanted about 10 years ago, and it is somewhat surprising that a wine of such complexity could be produced from such young vines.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><em><strong>Stephen Brook </strong></em><br /> Oaky but bright nose with apricots, pears and wet stones. Lean and precise, with a silky texture and great finesse. There&rsquo;s intensity, purity and admirable acidity to lift the mid-palate and finish. Not that expressive now, but the oak is well integrated, the fruit poised and lifted with a saline finish.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><em>Gearoid Devaney MS </em></strong><br /> Clean and open with a medium intensity of aroma. Notes of cashew and macadamias with stony minerals and white peach. Palate is dry and concentrated with oatmeal, citrus notes and stone fruits. Lovely acidity and minerality with lots of potential. Plenty of pleasure here.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><em><strong>Steven Spurrier</strong></em><br /> Yellow fruits on the nose, over herbs and honey. Already showing complexity and the naturally concentrated fruits show this. Good, grippy, fruit palate with quite high acidity to help it mature. A vigourously assertive wine with a very good future &ndash; lots of complexity to come.</p>

Nose has stone fruit characters and minerality with nicely toned oak. Fine, full flavour, concentrated, citric and racy. Taut and tangy, very mineral and pure, yet it also has depth of flavour and considerable complexity too.

Ripe mango aroma with cinnamon spice, apricot fruit and herbs. Full bodied with lots of texture and minerals. Broad, classy wine with potential, it may lack elegance, but has complexity and power to compensate.

Nose is open and smoky, with yellow spices and ripe apricot fruit. Oak beautifully blended in, full of vibrancy and almost grippy fruit. Pungent, direct and a bit one-dimensional now, but has a lively citrus persistence that bodes well. Elegant and long.

Intense nose with yellow spices, stone fruits, white flowers and stylish oak. A pretty, elegantly lifted Meursault: complex with plenty of richness, but limpid too, with no trace of heaviness. Natural vigour with a lovely, long, elegant finish showing saline minerality.

<p><strong>Stephen Brook</strong><br /> Lush toasty nose, ripe apples. Ripe and exuberant, with good concentration and a sleek texture, an essentially fruity style with a discreet minerality, good but not exceptional acidity, and a generally accessible style. Quite long.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Gearoid Devaney</strong><br /> The nose is very discreet. Very pure Chardonnay on the palate, clean and taut with refreshing acid and lovely, stony minerals in the middle and back. The wine is very pure but not yet showing all its flair; needs time.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Steven Spurrier</strong><br /> Fine floral, dry herbs and dry honey nose; clear and expressive. Very good fruit on the palate, beautifully controlled and expressed with an extra richness perhaps from oak that does not dominate. The floral element remains throughout, as does the citrussy element; a fine wine with a very good future.</p>

Ripe, oaky nose, rich and powerful with a hint of hazelnuts. Palate is also dominated by the oak but there is lots of stone fruits underneath. Impressive, open style, with good weight of fruit and some spice and grainy phenolic tones from the oak. Needs time.

Quite heady, almost exotic yellow summer fruits on the nose with apple, peach and almonds. Lush and ripe, with a strong, lemony core of acidity. This has the heft of Les Charmes but not at the expense of minerality and vigour.

Attractive dry herb nose, with lemony and slightly creamy fruit. The palate is rich with layers of flavour and a smoky, flinty edge. A hedonistic style, with very ripe fruit and lovely, linear acidity. The finish is long and textured.

Bright, tangy mineral nose with apricots, pears, minerals and yellow fruits. Good vigour and grip; very ripe fruit is balanced by stylish acidity, making a harmonious wine with no rough edges. Very good future.

Exotic fruit nose but not very showy, with citrus fruit, dried herbs and honey. Fine palate: creamy, spicy, very tight and taut. The fruit concentration is impressive and there’s ample minerality too. This should go the distance.

Sweet, oaky nose of apricot jam, peach, mango and honey. Rich flavours, typical of Les Charmes, with a lifted citrussy element and great presence and length. There’s a backbone of limestone minerality leading to a long, complex finish.

Lush, oaky nose with muted apple fruit, stone fruit, citrus elements and slightly nutty tones. Stony minerality on the palate which does show layers of flavour but not much complexity currently. But this is mouthwatering, youthful, long and racy, and will probably fill out more with time.

<p>Rich, creamy and full-bodied &ndash; a luxurious style that has Les Charmes typicity but retains considerable freshness and elegance. Vibrant, exotic fruit lifted by excellent acidity, this will broaden out into classic Meursault.</p>

Ample oak on the nose, with plenty of ripe, yellow peach and apricot fruit. Very fine expression of Les Genevrières, with the firmness and grip of this cru. For hedonists, this is rich but has enough backbone and acidity to keep it going.

<p>Broad and rich, exuberant and concentrated. It has some freshness despite the weight of fruit &ndash; great spice and complexity. The finish is very pure and elegant, and there should be more to come. Has Les Charmes typicity.</p>

<p>The nose has smoky oak with underlying peach and nectarine fruit. Good weighty palate; very concentrated with precision and drive, and there&rsquo;s minerality beneath the ripe fruit &ndash; fine acidity too. Classic, elegant and poised.</p>

Quite exotic, with apricot fruit, hay and dried herb notes. Good attack, leading to a massive and concentrated palate of depth and power. The oak is a bit strident now, but it will integrate with more time.

<p>Nicely floral nose with dried herbs. Good attack, fresh and crisp, and ample concentration leading to a more stony mid-palate. It doesn&rsquo;t seem that complex, though the minerality adds interest to the long finish.</p>

<p>Rich and assertive. A bold style with a lot of presence. Rich honey and dried herb nose and lots of citrussy summer fruits. Palate is dry and textured but needs a year or two to settle down. It&rsquo;s rewarding to find such power not being allied to high alcohol.</p>

Broad appley nose – a bit subdued, but with white and yellow flower aromas. Clearly youthful and not harmonious yet. Elegant, rather than fleshy with evident citrus notes. A very attractive wine in a leaner style, with a long, vigorous, tangy finish and a saline mineral backbone.

Stone fruits and wet stone minerality with toasty oak notes on the nose. The acidity is assertive and needs time to settle down, but this shows finesse and flair, with refeshing acidity and a textured finish. Lots of personality here.