2006 Meursault Goutte d'Or
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Tasting notes
Moving on to the whites, I first tackled the magnum of 2006 Meursault La Goutte d’Or 1er Cru from Domaine Arnaud Ente. I have a love/hate relationship with this producer. I dislike how prices have attained astronomical levels, even compared to the rest of Burgundy, and I must confess that occasionally I taste a bottle that leaves me wondering whether the adulation is misplaced. Yet this Meursault is indisputably stunning. Quite deep in hue, it sports a slight reduction on the nose but displays brilliant delineation and scents of tangerine, grilled hazelnuts and a touch of smoke, almost Chablis-like. The palate is taut and focused, powerful yet exceptionally well balanced and loaded with mineralité. It just seems to reach a higher level with every sip, until I could not deny that this is a thrilling wine.
Critic scores
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David Schildknecht, Vinous
Neal Martin
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From young vines, Ente’s 2006 Meursault Gouttes d’Or offers among the most refreshing, citric, saline expressions of this great site that I can recall. Toasted nuts and hints of white pepper make for a piquancy that nicely compliments the wines bracing lemon and grapefruit, and salinity and chalkiness leave the palate coated and invigorated. Musky, bitter-sweet inner-mouth suggestions of narcissus and iris, and a hint of lanolin offer further intrigue. This is not especially rich but it is richly rewarding. Ente began picking September 13, finishing in six days. The result is wines of consistent clarity and refreshment, as well as full of nuances that call forth a mineral vocabulary. Use of demi-muids rather than barriques to raise many of the wines here helps ward off any overt woodiness. Eighty percent of Ente’s wine is exported, most of that to the U.S. and U.K. Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA; tel (510) 524-1524
Good pale color. Tight but pure aromas of lime, flowers and mint. Dense and tactile, with a musky complexity to the citrus, spice and mineral flavors. Less open and more firmly structured than the Petits Charrons. This will need at least a couple years of patience. Finishes with impressive persistence.
Cool aromas of lime, lemon and flowers, lifted by a distinctly peppery element. Dense and spicy on the palate; powerful but less smooth and fine-grained than the Petits Charrons. Here one is more aware of the acidity. Not particularly broad on the back end, but impressively long and fresh.