2012 Meursault Les Tillets

Pretty restrained and straightforward. Pleasant enough, but not very generous or enticing. (RH)

The 2012 Meursault Les Tillets is Patrick Javillier’s largest holding at 1.5-hectares on limestone-rich, very thin soils, the vines ostensibly penetrating directly into the rock. Here he employs around 30% new oak. It has a very focused bouquet with scents of lime cordial and chalk, the oak neatly folded into the fruit and barely noticeable. The palate is finely balanced with a touch more tension and citric compared to the Clos du Cromin, the finish fresh and lively with again, just a dash of lemongrass pricking the tip of the tongue after the wine has departed. This represents another excellent 2012. Patrick Javillier was busy down in his Meursault winery when I called in at the property that was established by Raymond Javillier after the war, when he set about acquiring parcels of vine around the village. Yet the main focus of the business was in purchasing fruit from courtiers. Patrick himself vinified his first wine in 1974 after completing his winemaking diploma at the University of Burgundy and steadily built up a raft of long-term contracts, tending holdings through fermage agreements. Since 2008, his daughter Marion has looked after and vinified the red wines and it was clear that Patrick takes a great deal of pride in them. I have been following Javillier’s wines for a number of years now. Here is a man determined to transcend the limitations of possessing propitious terroirs, but few premier and grand cru vines. How does he overcome them? Well, simply by straightforward winemaking tenets: complete de-stemming for the reds, remaining faithful to his trusty old Vaslin press (which was recuperating in the corner after the vintage), skillful use of new oak and by assiduously blending small parcels whose final wine is often more than a sum of its parts. Patrick told me that he commenced picking on September 12 with potential alcohol levels coming in between 12.0 and 12.9 degrees. These wines often represent outstanding value and we commence with his two generic whites that offer outstanding value year after year. Importer: A Peter Vezan Selection (various importers), Paris; fax 01 33 1 42 55 42 93

(finished its malo late): Bright yellow with green highlights. Riesling-like high tones on the nose, with exotic orange oil and pineapple aromas lifted by curry powder and ginger; suggests a bit of noble rot. Then superrich in the mouth, with an exotic pineapple flavor leavened by an impression of firm acidity. The slowly mounting finish shows a spicy, dusty quality.