2016 Meursault Les Perrieres

One of the high points of the vintage, Roulot's 2016 Meursault 1er Cru Perrières is extraordinarily good, unfurling in the glass with a deep but youthfully reserved bouquet of green apple, wet stones, citrus oil, white flowers, beeswax and fresh pastry. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, ample and satiny, with incisive acids, striking structural tension and a sense of elegance that renders this wine deceptively charming despite its tightly-coiled core and immense reserves of depth and concentration. That elegance makes drinking a bottle today a decidedly pleasurable experience—after all, drinking a young, tight-knit Meursault Perrières can sometimes be a rather brutalizing experience—even though the wine is really built for extended bottle age.

(like the Charmes, Roulot's Perrières was virtually unaffected by frost in 2016, with the yield between 45 and 50 hectoliters per hectare, according to Baudin): Bright, pale yellow with green highlights. Classic young Perrières aromas of musky citrus fruits, pineapple and crushed stone. At once amiable and gripping, with its mineral-driven flavors of liquid stone and citrus fruits conveying a silky texture and terrific inner-mouth tension. Finishes firmly structured but not phenolic, with a pungent freshness and excellent length. This superb, classic Perrières leaves the palate refreshed.

Tank sample. Smooth and round and pretty massive on the nose. Rich and concentrated. Pretty majestic and polished. But with the grainy smoky quality underneath. Very big and grand without being at all fat. (JR)