1996 Meursault Desirees

The Meursault Desiree has toasted almond and mineral scents as well as an extremely refined, ripe, ample, delineated, and medium-bodied core of stones and spicy poached pears. Well-balanced and vibrant, this wine should peak around 2001 and continue to evolve beautifully through 2005. The rating, with the range of scores in parentheses, indicates the wine was tasted from cask, not bottle. Dominique Lafon performed more batonnage than usual on his 1996s, "to give them more richness," he said. However, unlike some other vignerons, Lafon abandons the practice when the malos start because he wants his wines to be protected by the carbon dioxide gas that is a by product of a wine's malo-lactic fermentation. Lafon's yields were between 35 and 45 hectoliters/hectare, demonstrating his dedication to quality in this potentially high-yielding vintage. Importer: Classic Wine Imports, Boston, MA; tel (617) 731-6644.

Floral, peach and honeyed aromas. Fat and harmonious, but given shape by firm acids and citric and mineral elements. Refined and persistent. The Meursault villages is more approachable today, but this is showing well.