2009 Domaine des Comtés Lafon Meursault Charmes 1er Cru

(bottled ten days before my visit): Very closed, slightly reduced nose offers citrus fruits, vanilla, hazelnut and white truffle. Rich, sweet, pliant and deep; this has the weight and depth of the biggest California chardonnays but more energy and finesse than all but the very finest of them. Strong extract here contributes to an impression of increasing freshness. Really saturates the mouth and reverberates on the round, dry finish.

The 2009 Meursault Charmes is sumptuous, sweet and layered, yet also possesses striking minerality and nuance, all of which make for a complete, totally harmonious wine. The best is saved for last, as the Charmes turns positively explosive on the finish. The Charmes is made from three parcels.

The 2009 Meursault Charmes is sumptuous, sweet and layered, yet also possesses striking minerality and nuance, all of which make for a complete, totally harmonious wine. The best is saved for last, as the Charmes turns positively explosive on the finish. The Charmes is made from three parcels. Anticipated maturity: 2015+. Dominique Lafon's 2009s are just as stunning from bottle as they were when I tasted them in cask earlier this year. Lafon is one of the most thoughtful growers in Burgundy. Along with a group of his colleagues, Lafon is among the producers who has basically re-examined every aspect of the way he makes wine in response to the problem of premature oxidation. today's wines spend more time on their lees, but that is just one of many changes that have taken place here over the last few years. Except as noted, I tasted the 2009s from bottle. The 2009 Charmes, Perrieres and Montrachet were bottled in May, 2011. I also tasted all of the 2010s from barrel. The Meursault, Clos de la Barre and Goutte d-Or weren't showing well, while the Meursault premier crus and the Montrachet were all sublime. A Daniel Johnnes Selection, imported by Michael Skurnik, Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300