1995 Domaine des Comtés Lafon Meursault Charmes 1er Cru

Lafon’s 1995 Meursault Charmes was also terrific; buttery, bursting with fruit and immensely enjoyable, showing great length and balance.

The Meursault Les Charmes exhibits piercing and refined floral aromas, as well as a great saturation of powerful mineral and flint flavors. This full-bodied wine needs 3-4 years of cellaring; it will offer delicious drinking over the following 8 years. This note is the result of tastings I did in Burgundy between January 7 and January 29. Ratings with a range of scores in parentheses indicate the wine was tasted from cask, not bottle. Dominique Lafon, who has run this estate on his own since 1987, feels his '95s are the best set of wines he's made to date. I would ignore this kind of statement from most growers in Burgundy as they are often given to hyperbole, but Lafon walks the walk in addition to talking the talk. His reputation is such that his wines sell-out instantaneously irrespective of what critics might write. Secondly, he's not the type of man who would risk his credibility, nor is he given to immodest boasting. His '95s are outstanding wines that may have better structure than those from previous vintages, and, therefore, may age and evolve more gracefully. He has produced fatter, lusher wines in the past (the '89s for example), but, in general, cellaring hasn't improved them. I believe the '95 will be different. Importer: Classic Wine Imports, Boston, MA; tel (617) 731-6644.

Deeper-pitched, withdrawn nose hints at peach, lemon oil, smoke and butter. Huge and fat in the mouth; weighty, deep and powerful. Strong pineapple and soil tones. Sound acidity gives this rather massive wine a lovely shape on the back end. Very long, strong aftertaste.