2004 Meursault Les Charmes

A striking nose of elegance, refinement and subtle honey notes add nuance to the peach and floral aromas that introduce rich, round and sweet flavors blessed with superb focus and much more minerality than is typical for this cru. This is a seriously impressive effort and finer than usual as well and while I really like the energy here, it doesn't quite have the sheer depth of the Genevrières. Still, a fine effort by any standard.

(tasted from tank, where it was fined two weeks before my visit) Complex aromas of lemon, minerals, wet stone, clove and marzipan. Sweet, pure and explosively fruity, with sexy nutty oak adding complexity to the peach and apricot flavors. A big, rich, lush wine with superb breadth on the back end. Lafon noted that this wine closed up completely after the July '05 racking but was now tasting good again.

From young vines, representing about 10 barrels out of 40: Musky aromas of lemon, minerals and gingery spices. Sweet, supple and citrusy, with an enticing sugar/acid balance. A tad dry on the back but deeper than the sample from the young Genevrieres vines. The large crop here benefited from the site's deeper soil, said Lafon. From 40-year-old vines (50% of the cuvee): Knockout aromas of apricot, peach, lemon and vanilla. Rich, fat and complex, with captivating flavors of lemon oil and minerals. This boasts very good volume but also noteworthy inner-mouth energy thanks to its superb balancing acidity. Very long on the aftertaste. This juice would rate 92-95 on its own. From 75-year-old vines (9 barrels out of 40): Very tight and very closed on the nose. Penetrating and imploded on the palate, like a great young grand cru riesling from Alsace. Very subtle, pure and sharply delineated but not yet showing its flesh. All spine today. This juice provides "the bones of the cuvee," says Lafon, explaining that it's what enables him to include the young vines in the blend.