‘Comte Lafon’s Meursaults are too oaky’, I’ve heard the line so many times and just cannot understand how people can get that idea. Tonight’s bottle had many characteristics, but I’d struggle to say oak was an obvious one amongst them.
I shouldn’t gloat, but I’ve had a lot of very grown-up Lafon wines. There used to be a restaurant in Oxford where fully mature bottles of his Le Montrachet were just about within the realm of affordability for broke students. Other people have been terribly kind and popped bottles in my prescence, most recently a 2008 Le Montrachet at the Domaine last summer. Those wines from the very grandest of Chardonnay vineyards may spank the arse of this good and proper, but drinking it was an experience of barely restricted pleasure. The only restriction, I suppose, was that it was a bottle of limited size.
[image image_id=”5450″ size=”medium” align=”left”]Meursault Premier Cru Charmes 2000, Domaine Comte Lafon
This nose is a glorious triumph of mature white Burgundy, showing amazing nuttiness, powerful buttered toast aromas and an incredible mineral complexity. Whilst fully mature it seems far from being tired or shagged out. Indeed, the lemon fruit is really rather fresh and there seems good energy to the total sum of its parts. Stunning, stunning Meursault, the stuff is rarely as much of a joyous pleasure to sniff. Rarely as much of a hoot to drink as well. The fruit is pleasing and lively, but what I really love is the mineral and acidity supported savoury character it has. There is a weight and density to it, however, with its poise and balance it just slips down a treat. As it is getting some air it seems to me that it is becoming even more charged with dimension – I’ll have to read a book on string theory to keep up with the poly-dimensionality of this wine. The finish lasts for an age, with more intricate flavours emerging even after I’ve swallowed it. Yeah, I’d say time to drink; when you have as much fun drinking a wine as brilliant as this, you will not mind that you cannot age the blighter for terribly much longer.
If M. Lafon can make wines that keep and improve this long [link2post id=”5428″]why cannot M. Humbrecht[/link2post]? I suppose it might have something to do with one of them being a skilled winemaker whilst the other is more of a mountebank.