1996 Meursault Clos de la Barre

Displaying candied nuts on the nose, the Meursault Clos De La Barre is an absolutely delicious, expansive, rich, elegant and well-defined wine. Sweet layers of toasty and buttered brioches, hazelnuts, poached pears, spices, and traces of anise are found in this medium-to-full-bodied, velvety-textured, and superbly-balanced wine. Anticipated maturity: 2001-2006. The rating, with the range of scores in parentheses, indicates the wine was tasted from cask, not bottle. Dominique Lafon performed more batonnage than usual on his 1996s, "to give them more richness," he said. However, unlike some other vignerons, Lafon abandons the practice when the malos start because he wants his wines to be protected by the carbon dioxide gas that is a by product of a wine's malo-lactic fermentation. Lafon's yields were between 35 and 45 hectoliters/hectare, demonstrating his dedication to quality in this potentially high-yielding vintage. Importer: Classic Wine Imports, Boston, MA; tel (617) 731-6644.