2006 Bouchard Père & Fils Meursault Les Perrières 1er Cru

The Bouchard 2006 Meursault Perrieres leads with scents of brown spices, toasted nuts and grains, and citrus zest. Ginger snaps, malt, honey, lime, apricot, and walnut inform the rich, creamy palate. Yet, buoyancy, elegance, and clarity are not sacrificed, and the chalky, stony inflections that complicate the long finish fascinatingly and eloquently speak to the mysteriously mineral aura that haunts all of the better wines from this superb cru. I can see no reason to defer the pleasure of this youthfully expressive Perrieres, but it ought to stand up to at least 6-8 years in the cellar. In keeping with what he says are his usual intuitions, Philippe Prost picked early – bringing in Chardonnay ahead of Pinot Noir for the first time at Bouchard since 1989 – so as to retain freshness as well as what he termed “the sense of minerality in a vintage of very ripe fruit. But in 1989,” he hastens to add, “yields were perhaps overly generous, whereas in 2006 they are quite reasonable.” The results are consistently impressive. New barrels are generally “seasoned” here through use in wines of lesser appellation (other portions of which are frequently raised in tank), as Prost prefers to employ second year barrels for most of his crus. Injections of inert gas at bottling are among the techniques being used to protect the young wines here from oxidation. Importer: Henriot, Inc, New York, NY