2006 Maison Verget Meursault Les Tillets

The Verget 2006 Meursault Tillets – from 60 year old vines – offers impressive stuffing and more chalky mineral and nut depth than the Les Clous, while being no less generous in its ripe peach, pineapple, and lemon fruits. An element of honeyed richness and musky decadence rises in the mid-palate here, and the finish displays admirable refreshment and refinement, with invigorating hints of white pepper and lemon zest. I would plan to enjoy this within 3-5 years. In the Macon, at least, Jean-Marie Guffen is convinced that in 2006 “you had the choice between picking too early or picking too late. I chose the former. The sugar levels were high in either case, the acidity was low, and grapes were beginning to rot.” Guffens ran his picking crew ragged between the Macon, Cote d’Or, and Chablis, with more felicitous results in the two last-named sectors. (For notes on the 2006 Chablis at Verget, please consult my report in issue 179.) In the Cote d’Or, Guffens was more successful this year than in 2005, a vintage he thinks is in general over-rated and unlikely to stand the test of time. He was sparing with batonnage in 2006, and as always highly selective in pressing and in retention of lees (meaning he had fewer to work with). A Peter Vezan Selection (various importers), Paris; fax 011 33 1 42 55 42 93