1996 Meursault Les Perrieres

The Meursault Perrieres Reserve's nose blew me away with its noble aromas of stones, gravel, minerals, and salted butter. This silky-textured, full-bodied, and stunning wine possesses an expansive personality jam-packed with sea shell, smoke, and liquid mineral-like flavors. Its combination of breadth, superb balance, purity, power, and elegance make this an extraordinary offering. Projected maturity: 2002-2007. The wine tasted is a special North Berkeley Imports bottling which is neither fined nor filtered. Domaine Boyer-Martenot's 1996 North Berkeley Imports bottlings are at a quality level generally attained only by a handful of Meursault's finest producers. Yves Boyer's efforts combined with David Hinkle and Peter Vezan's constant attention to detail and non-interventionist philosophies have led some of this estate's wines to the top. Importer: "Reserve" wines are Vezan/Hinkle selections for North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA; tel (510) 848-8910.