2004 Macon Milly Lamartine Clos du Four

Produced from a vineyard that is locally famous for its capacity to fully ripen fruit (Lafon owns half of it), the outstanding 2004 Macon-Milly-Lamartine Clos du Four proudly boasts a nose of spices, minerals, and hints of dried honey. It is immensely concentrated, rich, and ample yet retains wonderful purity, focus, and a crystalline characteristic that led me to pen “Wow!” in my notebook. Armed with impressive depth of fruit, this spicy, mineral liqueur-flavored wine also sports a long, fruit-packed finish. To give readers a perspective of where this wine’s quality stands, after we had tasted it and were preparing to begin visiting the wines from his family’s world-famous Cote de Beaune estate, Dominique Lafon said, “It really won’t make me look good if you give the Clos du Four a better score than my Meursault.” Drink it over the next 3-4 years. Dominique Lafon’s eyes light up when he talks about his Maconnais estate, to the point that one senses he loves the challenge of doing something new, of starting something from scratch, after so many years of concentrating on the family’s Meursault estate. He feels that for whites the main issue in 2004 were “huge yields, those who were able to control them, whether in Meursault or the Maconnais, could do well.” Importer: Daniel Johnnes/Jeroboam Wines, New York, NY; tel. (212) 625-2505; a Becky Wasserman Selection / Le Serbet; French Fax: 011-33-3-80-24-29-70; and a Patrick Lesec Selection, Paris Fax #: 011-33-1-55-43-07-43 (Chemin des Vins 508-545-1532), various American importers including Hartley and Parker (CT), Bayfield Imports (NY), Stacole (FL), Fine Vines (IL), and Wine Warehouse (CA)