1998 Meursault Les Perrieres

Initially bright gold color appeared to grow lighter with oxygen. Musky apricot and hazelnut aromas are complicated by fresh citrus scents and crushed-stone minerality. Plush and round but nicely firm-edged too, with strong pit fruit flavors enlivened by adequate acidity, underlying minerality and an element of flower blossom. Finishes with very good length. This wine changed markedly in the glass, with a combination of saline minerality and brothy umami character giving it a sexy melting quality on the palate and leavening its fruit sweetness. The floral element carries through on the aftertaste. Incidentally, Lafon made just 120 barrels of wine overall in 1998, vs. 290 in '99, but he told me early on that deciding when to harvest was a challenge. (Lafon carried out a particularly long débourbage in 1998 owing to his fears about the quality of the skins)