1999 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault Clos de la Barre- France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault (3/7/2012)
Roy Hersh was in town and told me he loved Meursault, so I grabbed this and prayed to the Gods of White Burgundy that I’d sacrificed enough virgins to avoid the premox plague. Apparently they smiled down on me, because this wine wasn’t damaged in the least, in fact it was absolutely fantastic. I opened it about 3 hours before it was served and we let it breathe standing up while dinner was prepped. I tasted it when it was first cracked and it was sheer and fresh and lean, with some lovely aromatics but very shy. When we got around to pouring it, what a difference! Meursault fatty and only slightly oily, with a nose of lemony anise, some hints of soft, slightly sweet wood, and tons of almond skins, all of that wrapping a core of minerality and ending with bright acidity to balance the somewhat fat fruit up front. Talk about being rich yet light on its feet. I let it sit in the glass all night, going back to it as it breathed more and warmed up, and it just kept gaining depth and complexity, with a long, long finish that was both fat (there’s that word again) and lip-smacking. Gorgeous.
Michel, back in very late 1995 I was prepping to go over to Bosnia (I was active duty US Army and am now retired). Before my delpoyment we had a chance to head into NYC for a nice romantic few days. It was snowing like crazy but our B&B was just a short walk from the late great restaurant Montrachet. We had reservations and I called to make sure they were still open in the storm…they said yes. So we braved the storm to be one of two or three couples or groups in the restaurant. The staff was wonderful…and when I suggested the 1985 Lafon Mersault “Charmes” to go with our dual order of lobster risotto they all beamed. After a bit of a wait the waiter came back and happily said he had found their last bottle. It was breathtaking…still the best white wine I have ever had! A wonderful evening and a nice memory…thanks for your TN that brought it all back.