2005 Marsannay

A 2005 Marsannay offers plum and black cherry fruit mingled with savory, faintly salty meat juices. Without quite the clarity of fruit as the Bourgogne, this is nevertheless ingratiatingly juicy, fresh, and well-concentrated Pinot, with a slightly mealy texture and a satisfying, faintly chalky finish. Between the effects of drought and of localized hail (in May, before it could effect quality) Jean-Nicolas Meo reported one of his smallest-ever harvests. His production, however, is being boosted these days by a range of negociant wines under the label “Meo-Camuzet Frere et Soeur” (marked “F&S” in the listing above). The top wines had been assembled in tank and sulfured in preparation for bottling, and were suffering a bit on account of this. Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524. Also a Jean-Marie de Champs Selection (various importers), French fax 011 33 3 80 22 58 25.