It’s been a couple of years since I last tasted this wine – 2004 Meursault Genevrieres : Mischief & Mayhem. The previous tasting, shortly after release, suggested the wine needed more time. As I walked through the cellar looking for a wine to accompany some grilled salmon steaks, this wine seemed an appropriate choice.
The additional time was rewarding, as the wine showed much more development and carries additional promise for the future.
Light straw colour; ripe tree fruits and melon wrapped in honey swell up from the glass and fill the nostrils; incredible depth here, with the texture moving well back in the mid-palate; ripe honeyed melon flavours abound, with some lemon dancing on the edge; nice concentration of mineral; the acidity sails through and coats the palate, but not offensively – giving the wine plenty of structure; long, long aftertaste where the flavours and acidity shine. Not even a hint of oxidation – on the contrary full harmony of the elements that combine to make a fine white Burgundy.
Mischief & Mayhem became Michael Twelftree’s initial venture into Burgundy. He chose the fruit well and the winemaking seems to have brought out the best from this source.
Background music over dinner from the double album The New Crystal Silence, duets with Chick Corea on piano and Gary Burton on vibraphone.
Hank
Thanks, Mark. I see that you like Laurent Martray’s special cuvee of Brouilly. It’s my favourite Cru de Beaujolais. Laurent is a nice young man. The Corentin is named after his son. Also like his Vieilles Vignes Brouilly.
Hank
Nathan, Michael would probably say that each wine is handled differently, depending upon the must, etc., but I believe this particular wine spent roughly 14 months in new oak barrels prior to bottling. The level of fruit in the wine towers over any residual impact of oak carried in the wine. It may not appeal to the twig chewers, but it’s certainly a nicely balanced and textured wine. Personally I like what oak can do for a wine, but I don’t want to be continually reminded of its influence with every sip.
Hank
sounds like a great evening . . .
alan
Thanks for this, Hank----sounds like a wine I would want to try some day. I’ve had a couple of other 04 Genevrieres—I can’t track down my note for the Latour-Giraud I tried, but from last September:
" 2004 Bouchard Pere et Fils Meursault 1er Cru Genevrieres
Lovely assertiveness on the nose, comes at you with apple, sweet lemon candy and flint and smoke undertones. To taste, just delicious, full of energy and terrific minerality, ginger and apple combination. Why can’t more white wine be like this? I am thoroughly enjoying the 2004 versions of white burgundy…and, I don’t think I’ve had one premoxed from this vintage yet."
Mike, nice note on the Bouchard Genevrieres. I agree that 2004 is an attractive vintage for white Burgundies. My history with them is certainly very good.
I still have a couple of other 2004 Meursaults and two Puligny’s - La Garenne and Les Referts - from M & M in my cellar. Noted that my former partner is still carrying a few of these in his Bin Ends. Might be worth another look.
Hank