2010 Meursault Boucheres

Roulot’s 2010 Meursault Boucheres comes across as weightless, perfumed and very beautiful. Floral aromatics lead to expressive stone fruits in this gracious, feminine wine. In 2010, the Boucheres is all subtlety, finesse and understatement. A distinctly salty finish full of tension and energy leaves a lasting impression. This is going to be a fascinating wine to follow over the coming years. The 2010 is the last Boucheres made by Roulot. As part of the purchase of Domaine Manuel, Jean-Marc Roulot acquired the 1.3 hectare Clos des Boucheres, and he prefers to focus his efforts there, as that plot is quite a bit larger than his existing holding in the greater Boucheres. Anticipated maturity: 2014+. (Not yet released) Jean-Marc Roulot commented that 2010 was easy in the vineyard but not so simple in the cellar, mostly because of very long malolactic fermentations that did not finish until the following August! The harvest started on September 17 and the wines came in with 12.8 -13.5 natural alcohols, which is at the higher end of the range for the domaine. Because of the lengthy malos, the 2010s were bottled a little later than normal. The 2010s are quite representative of the year in that they have considerable richness and at the same time high acidities. They are remarkably vivid, expressive to site and flat-out gorgeous. Readers will notice a new wine in 2010, the Auxey-Duresses, and can look forward to a new Clos de la Baronne and Clos des Boucheres with the 2011 vintage. Roulot fans will also want to be on the look out for Jean-Marc Roulot’s new line of eau de vies, an old family tradition that goes back many generations. The Framboise is one of the most pure expressions of fruit I have ever tasted, while the Abricot, made from Gerard and Jean-Louis Chave’s organically grown apricots in St. Joseph, is a bit more honeyed and liqueur-like.Unfortunately, my bottle of the Poire eau de vie broke, but I hope to be able to taste it soon. Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524