Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Meursault 1er Cru Genevrieres 2010

robert_parker95

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

The 2010 Meursault Genevrieres is tight, clean and powerful. It shows dazzling intensity and richness, but the best is clearly some years away. This is a hugely promising wine. Anticipated maturity: 2016+. Dominique Lafon's 2009s are just as stunning from bottle as they were when I tasted them in cask earlier this year. Lafon is one of the most thoughtful growers in Burgundy. Along with a group of his colleagues, Lafon is among the producers who has basically re-examined every aspect of the way he makes wine in response to the problem of premature oxidation. today's wines spend more time on their lees, but that is just one of many changes that have taken place here over the last few years. Except as noted, I tasted the 2009s from bottle. The 2009 Charmes, Perrieres and Montrachet were bottled in May, 2011. I also tasted all of the 2010s from barrel. The Meursault, Clos de la Barre and Goutte d-Or weren't showing well, while the Meursault premier crus and the Montrachet were all sublime. A Daniel Johnnes Selection, imported by Michael Skurnik, Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300

robert_parker94

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

Comtes Lafon’s 2010 Meursault Genevrieres is bright, linear and beautifully focused. There is a cool, precise minerality that, at present, is holding the fruit back from being fully expressive. The Genevrieres is just as impressive as it was from barrel, but it has begun to close down following its bottling in April. A long, crystalline finish laced with veins of saline minerality leaves a lasting impression and a clear desire to come back to the wine in another year or two. Anticipated maturity: 2015+. (Not yet released) Comtes Lafon’s 2010 whites are just as impressive from bottle as they were in barrel. Dominique Lafon told me the wines changed quite a bit and found their precision during fining. The 2010s at Comtes Lafon are tight and powerful, with plenty of underlying fruit and depth. The 2010s were bottled between March and early June 2012. A Daniel Johnnes Selection, imported by Michael Skurnik, Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300

robert_parker93

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 2010 Meursault 1er Cru Genevrieres is very precise on the nose with scents of quince, brioche and citrus lemon that is beautifully defined. The palate is supremely well-defined with razor-sharp acidity. It seems more citrus driven than the 2011 with a lovely effervescent finish that lingers long in the mouth. Excellent. It was great to see Dominique Lafon three weeks after meeting him in Macon, this time back in Meursault. That semi-pornographic, licentious wine advertisement still hung on the office wall (those that have been there know what I mean) and a cigarette butt drooped from Dominique’s mouth, possibly the same one he lit when I bid him farewell back in Macon. If you added up all the charisma and charm in Bordeaux it still would amount to less than Dominique Lafon. I have tasted at this address for over a decade, but this marked the first time I had been presented his complete set of Premier Cru Meursault wines since his acquisition from Domaine Manuel with Jean-Marc Roulot. He remarked that possibly with the exception of a negociant, he is the only vigneron with all six top-tier Premier Crus south of the village. Dominique opened his full range of 2011s, including the Montrachet, which he avowed to polish off with a fish supper that night. How I would have loved to join him. Needless to say, this was an exemplary set of 2011s that do not disappoint. While like many others he concedes that 2010s have the upper hand and are likely to outlive them, he admires the 2011s for their approachability and charm. Importer: Becky Wassermann Selections (Le Serbet); www.leserbet.com

vinous96

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

Usually we feature older wines in Cellar Favorites, but given the understandable trepidation consumers have around cellaring white Burgundy, I thought it would be interesting to see how a handful of highly touted white Burgundies are faring. To be honest, I had a selfish reason for wanting to taste these wines. I bought many of the Lafon 2010s (it is my daughter’s birth year), but I did so not really knowing when the wines would be ready to drink or how long they will last. I think I can at least offer a view on the first part of that question, but the second, happily, remains a question mark, in the best sense of the term.Vinous readers will recall that 2010 is unusual in the Côte de Beaune for its combination of both elevated ripeness and high acidity, two attributes one rarely finds in the same vintage. At Lafon, the 2010s were positively electric when I tasted them from barrel and then from bottle. Today, a few years later, the 2010 whites are every bit as impressive. Although projecting drinking windows for white Burgundy these days is fraught with peril, based on this showing all of the 2010s need at least a few more years in bottle with the possible exception of the Goutte d’Or.While the preceding Meursaults all offer a measure of exuberance – albeit in a classically austere style – the 2010 Meursault Genevrières is a much more introverted wine that draws the taster in with its myriad shades of dimension. Deceptively medium in body, the 2010 is all about intensity, cut and inward energy, with the classic reductive flavor profile that is typical of this great site, and breathtaking harmony. The 2010 refreshes the palate with every taste as it continues to grow in the glass. Over the last few years, the 2010 has blossomed into a spectacular Meursault. This is the best showing yet from the Genevrières.

vinous95

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

Comtes Lafon's 2010 Meursault Genevrières is bright, linear and beautifully focused. There is a cool, precise minerality that, at present, is holding the fruit back from being fully expressive. The Genevrières is just as impressive as it was from barrel, but it has begun to close down following its bottling in April. A long, crystalline finish laced with veins of saline minerality leaves a lasting impression and a clear desire to come back to the wine in another year or two.