2009 Meursault Les Perrieres

Bright medium yellow. Superripe aromas of yellow peach, pineapple, spices and minerals, with a suggestion of floral lift. Very ripe yellow fruits dominate the middle palate, which comes across as surprisingly fresh considering the moderate acidity. But here's a perfect example of inner-mouth tension being provided by powerful minerality. In fact, this classic Perrières is still a bit tight, dusty and uncompromisingly dry, saturating the palate with lemon, peach, flowers and crushed stone on the long finish. There's nothing warm, overripe or soft about this wine; in fact, I'd still wait another year to pop the cork. Incidentally, this was the vintage when Dominique Lafon began working with enologist Denis Dubourdieu. (13.5% alcohol; 50 hectoliters per hectare; 3.23 pH; 3.9 g/l total acidity)

(bottled ten days before my visit): Pale color. High-pitched aromas of crushed stone, iodine and orange blossom. Juicy, dense and tightly wound, conveying a sappy impression of energy and an explosive minerality to buffer its flesh. Nicely combines the elegance of the Genevrieres with the weight of the Charmes. Like a mouthful of liquid stone. An outperformer in 2009.

The 2009 Meursault Perrières is stunningly beautiful. It shows fabulous intensity and grace from start to finish. Suggestions of mint and white flowers give the wine a higher register that keeps the wine light on its feet despite its considerable richness. The Perrières is intensely perfumed from start to finish, with layers of crushed rocks that wrap around the palate on the textured vivid close.