2012 Meursault Les Luchets

Bright, pale yellow. Good lift and leesy complexity to the lemon and lime aromas. Suave and fine-grained in the mouth but with good cut to the silky citrus and spice flavors. Best today on the shapely, slowly rising finish.

He has more than one hectare, so this his biggest holding. Only four owners here. Quite open and floral on the nose. A hint of smoke and then some sweetness underneath. Really quite rich and supple for a 2012 white. But not that long. (JR)

The 2012 Meursault Luchots, like the Meix Chavaux had finished its malolactic fermentation at the end of July. It has an expressive, mineral-driven bouquet accompanied by fresh green apple and wet pavement – almost Chablis-like in style. The palate is medium-bodied with a more feminine, perhaps more harmonious palate than the Meix Chavaux at present, offering light apricot and shaved ginger notes on the finish. This has great potential. Due to the exceptionally late malolactic fermentation, I only tasted around half of Jean-Marc Roulot’s 2012s. It was the usual travails that discombobulated the vineyards in 2012: poor flowering, rain in the early half of the season and pressure of mildew. The hailstorm on June 30 affected Jean-Marc’s parcels in the north of Meursault village, the second in August more those in the south. I will return next year to make a full account of his 2012s, but here are the five that were in a representative condition to taste. Importer: Kermit Lynch, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524.