2016 Meursault Clos de la Barre

The 2016 Meursault Clos de la Barre opens in the glass with aromas of musky peach, iodine, mandarin orange and smoky citrus oil. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, rich and fleshy, with a textural attack, juicy acids and an expansive, saline finish. The impact of the frost seems to have made for more than usually heterogeneous maturity, and that lends the wine a rather old-fashioned profile. While I suspect it will never be a favorite of Dominique Lafon's, it's a commendable effort in a challenging vintage.

(bottled a week before my visit): Reticent aromas of pear, menthol and minerals. Juicy orchard fruit, quinine and spice flavors show excellent definition and lemony cut, with an element of talc-like minerality suggesting strong dry extract. This elegant, sharply chiseled wine finishes with terrific citrus-and-spice lift but is still a bit stunted by the recent bottling.

They made just eight out of the usual 55 barrels in 2016, due to frost. Not that expressive on the nose. Pretty austere and chewy for the moment next to the house Meursault. Steely finish. Needs lots of time. (JR)