France · Burgundy · Cote de Beaune · Meursault White · Still · wine-wine · 1026957
Lowest offer: 202.4691666666666666666666667 GBP (Buy)
Offers: 2 · Bids: 0
| Price / case | Vintage | Packing | Qty | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1009.47 EUR | 1984 | 4 x 75cl | 1 | fr_bordeaux / Bordeaux |
| 2429.63 GBP | 2020 | 12 x 75cl | 1 | uk / United Kingdom |
No active bids.
| Vintage | Packing | Offers | Bids | Market price | WA rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 4 x 75cl | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2008 | 12 x 75cl | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2011 | 6 x 75cl | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2015 | 1 x 75cl | 0 | 0 | 91 | |
| 2015 | 12 x 75cl | 0 | 0 | 17145.96 | 91 |
| 2015 | 6 x 75cl | 0 | 0 | 8572.98 | 91 |
| 2017 | 12 x 75cl | 0 | 0 | 17736.00 | 91 |
| 2018 | 12 x 75cl | 0 | 0 | 30022.20 | 91 |
| 2018 | 6 x 75cl | 0 | 0 | 15011.10 | 91 |
| 2019 | 12 x 75cl | 0 | 0 | 28639.44 | 92 |
| 2019 | 6 x 75cl | 0 | 0 | 14319.72 | 92 |
| 2020 | 12 x 75cl | 1 | 0 | 22795.92 | 93 |
| 2022 | 12 x 75cl | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2022 | 6 x 75cl | 0 | 0 |
Rating: 90 –92
Aromas of pear, orange oil, toasted almonds and white flowers introduce the 2021 Meursault Désirée, a medium to full-bodied, satiny and charming wine with bright acids and a saline finish. This early-ripening site is another success in this cooler vintage.
Rating: 91 –93
With the 2020 Meursault Désirée, the "young" vines here have attained their 25th year, and things are starting to get serious. Mingling notes of stone fruit and pear with hints of honeycomb, almonds and spices, the wine is medium to full-bodied, satiny and enveloping, its textural attack segueing into a layered, gourmand mid-palate, before concluding with a saline finish.
Rating: 90 –92
The 2019 Meursault Désirée is immensely appealing, wafting from the glass with notions of mandarin orange, apricot, Meyer lemon, crisp Anjou pear and white flowers. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and layered, it's sensual and enveloping, with lively acids and an expressive, giving profile.
Rating: 89 –91
A ripe bouquet of honeyed peaches, pears, beeswax, toasted almonds and white flowers introduces the 2018 Meursault Désirée, a medium to full-bodied, fleshy and enveloping wine that's ripe, textural and sumptuous, with succulent acids and a long finish. While the Désirée always has huge upfront appeal, it is often also deceptively age-worthy.
Rating: 89 –91
The 2017 Meursault Désirée wafts from the glass with appealing aromas of ripe lemons, orange blossom, pastry cream and beeswax. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, satiny and gourmand, underpinned by succulent but ripe acids. This younger vine cuvée—the parcel was replanted in 2007-2008 and made its comeback with the 2012 vintage—hasn't yet attained the fleshy amplitude that used to distinguish it, but it makes progress every year. It hails from a warm site near Santenots, just below Meursault's campground.
Rating: 90 –92
The 2016 Meursault Désirée was reduced to a single barrel. It has a well defined and quite tensile bouquet, with hints of hazelnut and smoke, gaining in intensity in the glass. The palate is well balanced, fresh and vibrant with a very fine line of acidity, hints of yellow plum, tangerine and sea salt on the long and persistent finish. Excellent. Such a pity there is bugger all of it.
Rating: 89 –91
The 2015 Meursault Désirée, which Dominique Lafon told me finished its malolactic just before harvest, has a precise, mineral, limestone-scented bouquet that is backward but very focused. The palate is clean and again, precise, edgy and tensile with a steely, green apple and kiwi fruit-tinged finish that is almost understated, but is very long in the mouth. You know, this might ultimately eclipse the 2014—it's that good.
Rating: 88 –90
The 2014 Meursault Desirée 1er Cru has a lifted, fresh pear, green apple and quite saline bouquet with good delineation, if not the intensity of others. The palate is well balanced with good acidity, an uncomplicated Desirée with focus, moderate complexity and a pleasing, saline finish. It is a competent Meursault, albeit one without the fireworks or the chutzpah of the premier crus. As such, like the Clos de la Barre, it is a wine to approach in the flush of youth.
Rating: 87 –89
There was just a tiny bit of reduction on the 2013 Meursault Desirée when I tasted it from barrel (it was racked onto the lees of the Meursault Village in order to get it going), but it gradually unfolds with hazelnut and flint aromas. The palate is well balanced, slightly honeyed in style with a soft, caressing citrus finish that is just missing a little complexity and just loses focus toward the finish. This was one where I felt just a little shortchanged.
Rating: 90 –92
Dominique is fairly sure he will bottle the 2012 Meursault les Desiree separately, this tiny 0.45-hectare parcel of infant vines planted in 2008 often blended with another cru. Cropped at 20 hectoliters per hectare, it has a crisp, citrus driven bouquet with good penetration. The palate is fresh and vibrant with citrus driven fruit, gaining weight and energy towards the spice-tinged finish. Yes - I think this is worth bottling separately. I am a simmering ball of irritation sitting in Dominique Lafon's office watching the second hand chipping away at precious time. Where is he? Our rendezvous was 8.30am. Now it's past nine and I have to be at Rossignol-Trapet, essentially the other side of the world, at 10.15am. I should bolt out of the door. But I don't. I don't because this is Domaine des Comtes Lafon. They have what I call a "special pass of forgiveness" that is totally at my discretion and totally unfair. But that's just the way it is. He's probably stopped for a cigarette. Dominique Lafon appears just after 9:03am, suitably remorseful and the raffish rascal has so much charm that I have to resist playfully punching him on the arm and saying: "It was my fault for demanding such an early start." And so we immediately troop down to the cellars to taste the 2012s, starting with the reds that were depleted by one-third due to the multifarious obstacles mentioned all over this report. Dominique divulged that like everywhere else, there were tardy malo-lactic fermentations and that he had not racked the wines. At time of writing he doubts that he will do so. As for the whites, they were depleted by between one-third and one-half, in particular affecting Les Perrieres and Montrachet. Whereas usually Dominique has around 350 barrels in his care, in 2012 that number is around 170. Dominique gave me the minutiae of the harvest, which commenced on 14 September with the young vines in Clos de la Baronne and finished on 23 September in Monthelie and Montrachet. (Compare this to 2011 that began on 24 August and 2013 that began on the 25 September, two days after the 2012 was finished.) How were the wines? We don't have time. Let's bash on with the notes Importer: Becky Wassermann Selections (Le Serbet); www.leserbet.com (see website for full list of distributors) and also through Berry Brothers & Rudd (UK)
Rating: 90 –92
Minerals and flowers are found in the aromatic profile of the 2003 Meursault Desiree (white). Buttery, angle-free, and bright, it offers a spicy light to medium-bodied personality that is flavorful, deep, and reveals gorgeous depth of fruit. In addition, this wine displays a lengthy finish with just enough freshness for lift. Drink it over the next 6-7 years. Importers: Daniel Johnnes/Jeroboam Wines, New York, NY; tel. (212) 625-2505, Classic Wine Imports, Boston, MA; tel. (617) 469-5799; and Beaune Imports, Berkeley Ca; tel. (510) 841-9815
Rating: 89 –91
The 2002 Meursault Desiree is a hugely spicy, floral wine. Rich, satiny-textured, and medium-bodied, it is juicy, packed with pears as well as ginger and possesses a long, seamless finish. Anticipated maturity: now-2009. Importers: Various including Classic Wine Imports, Boston, MA; tel. (617) 731-6644, and Beaune Imports.
Rating: 91 –93
Lafon’s got it right, his 2001 Meursault Desiree is awesome. Buttered pears and minerals are found in its nose. A wine of superb breadth, this seamless, medium-bodied offering coats the palate with ripe apples, spiced pears, and honeyed minerals. It is pure, powerful, and reveals a lengthy, flavorful finish. Anticipated maturity: now-2010. Dominique Lafon is on fire, in a zone, on top of his game. He’s never made better wines, and he improves with each passing vintage. Importers: Various including Classic Wine Imports, Boston, MA; tel: (617) 731-6644; Daniel Johnnes/Jeroboam Wines, New York, NY; (212) 625-2505; and Beaune Imports
Rating: 81 –83
Quite a light colour. The nose is quite muted with faint aromas of sea-salt and minerals. The problem is that tasted blind, this wine was devoid of any Meursault typicity. Quite commercial and dare I say it: bland, especially compared to Charmes. A poor wine. 12/03
Rating: 88 –90
The medium to full-bodied 2000 Meursault Desiree has a sweet white fruit and candied lemon-scented nose. Citrus fruits, gravel, minerals, and stones can be found in this medium to full-bodied wine's well-defined personality. Drink it over the next 7 years. Importers: Various including Classic Wine Imports, Boston, MA; tel. (617) 731-6644, and Beaune Imports.
Rating: 90 –90
Tasted blind, this has green tints in the glass. The nose is well-defined and crisp, though shows less Meursault character, attaining the minerality of a Puligny. But give it 10-15 minutes and it develops a fine hazelnut character with touches of chalk dust and limestone. The palate is not complex but focused, crisp with a touch of greengage on the entry. Good acidity, very natural, a Meursault that you instantly warm to, but prefer not to intellectualize about. Touch of cooked apples on the finish, medium length, this Desiree seems to be peaking now. Drink now-2012. Tasted August 2008.
Rating: 87 –89
The 1999 Meursault Desiree exhibits flowers, apples, anise, and spices in its aromatic profile. Light to medium-bodied and satin-textured, this is a sexy, feminine, white fruit-flavored offering. Its soft and smooth personality leads to a lush finish. Anticipated maturity: now-2007. Importers: Various including Classic Wine Imports, Boston, MA; tel: (617) 731-6644, and Ex Cellars, Solvang, CA; tel (805) 686-9153.
Rating: 86 –88
The 1998 Meursault Desiree has an unforthcoming nose, as well as a fat, intense, concentrated personality. Medium to full-bodied, fresh, and well-balanced, this pear, apple, toast, and anise-flavored wine is harmonious and lush. Drink it over the next 5-6 years. Importer: Ex Cellars, Boston, MA; tel (617) 876-5105.
Rating: 89 –91
The Meursault Desiree is opulent and has a long finish. It displays apricot, acacia blossom, and grilled wood scents as well as a seductively rich character. White peaches, currants, and minerals can be found in its forward, rich, yet structured medium-to-full-bodied personality. Anticipated maturity: 2000-2006. Importer: Ex Cellars, Boston, MA; tel (617) 876-5105.
Rating: 89 –91
The Meursault Desiree has toasted almond and mineral scents as well as an extremely refined, ripe, ample, delineated, and medium-bodied core of stones and spicy poached pears. Well-balanced and vibrant, this wine should peak around 2001 and continue to evolve beautifully through 2005. The rating, with the range of scores in parentheses, indicates the wine was tasted from cask, not bottle. Dominique Lafon performed more batonnage than usual on his 1996s, "to give them more richness," he said. However, unlike some other vignerons, Lafon abandons the practice when the malos start because he wants his wines to be protected by the carbon dioxide gas that is a by product of a wine's malo-lactic fermentation. Lafon's yields were between 35 and 45 hectoliters/hectare, demonstrating his dedication to quality in this potentially high-yielding vintage. Importer: Classic Wine Imports, Boston, MA; tel (617) 731-6644.
Rating: 89 –91
The Meursault Desiree has a lively floral nose, with notes of honeysuckle. There are hints of fresh peach blossoms in the explosive, flavor-filled, medium-to-full-bodied mouth. It should drink well from release to 2005. 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.
Rating: 88 –89
The 1992s are still in cask, hence the estimated ratings. Lafon rarely filters his wines. All of Lafon's 1992s are ripe, rich, precocious wines that will not have the aging potential of the superb 1989s, and excellent 1990s. Lafon, who sells only ten percent of his production to the United States, believes his 1992s are similar to the 1982s (probably the best wines of the vintage), but with more intensity and purity. The lighter-bodied 1992 Meursault-Les Desirees is elegant and full of finesse. Importer: A Peter Vezan Selection, various importers, including Classic Wine Imports, Boston, MA.
Rating: 89 –89
What Lafon achieved in 1991 is extraordinary. His wines are the greatest wines of the vintage. Lafon rarely filters his wines. In 1991 he put most of the cuvees of white wine in the bottle with neither fining nor filtration. Lafon's 1991s are the wines of the vintage. Modestly, Lafon says he took some unnecessary gambles by waiting out the rains and picking late, harvesting fruit that was not diluted. The results are splendidly rich, full-bodied wines with amazing intensity. They are as exceptional as the 1990s, and superior to Lafon's 1988s, 1987s, and 1986s. Average yields were 25 hectoliters per hectare, compared to 55-70 at other domaines. The 1991 Meursault-Les Desirees is unfined/unfiltered, opulent, and super-rich. This wine tends to be among the fruitiest and most obvious of Lafon's wines, but in 1991 it possesses a level of extract and complexity that I have rarely detected in the past. This long, full-bodied wine will be among the shortest-lived of the vineyard-designated Meursaults. Importer: A Peter Vezan Selection, various importers, including Classic Wine Imports, Boston, MA.
Rating: 87 –87
Lafon rarely filters his wines. Importer: A Peter Vezan Selection, various importers, including Classic Wine Imports, Boston, MA.
Rating: 90 –90
The 1989 Meursault-Desiree exhibits crisp acidity, a beautiful nose of tropical fruit, stones, and spices, and a textbook, rich, luscious finish. Approachable now, it will be at its best in 12-18 months, and should evolve for up to a decade. Meursault yields for the Comte Lafon in 1989 were a minuscule 25 hectoliters per hectare. In high yield years, the wines of the Comte Lafon are usually among the most concentrated in Burgundy. From this readers can extrapolate the kind of intensity levels one is dealing with in a vintage such as 1989. Dominique Lafon, who is now in complete charge in the cellars, has continued to move toward a more organic style of winemaking. He has eliminated all fertilizers except for manure, uses minimum amounts of sulphur, and bottles his Meursault unfiltered. If you have the requisite discretionary income, these Meursaults are must purchases. Importer: Classic Wines, Brookline, MA.
Rating: 92 –92
One of my favorite bottlings chez Lafon in this era, the 1982 Meursault Désirée is demonstrative and exotic, bursting with aromas of peaches, orchard fruit, confit citrus honeycomb, marzipan and praline. Medium to full-bodied, rich and fleshy, with a deep and layered core as well as impressive structure and cut for such an exuberant wine, I suspect it has drunk superbly since release. Fully mature, now is a good time to drink up.
Rating: 90 –91
(in tank on its finings; from ten-year-old vines that yielded 40 hectoliters per hectare in 2015): Bright yellow. Peach and a note of menthol reduction on the nose. Juicier and suaver than the basic village offering; less round and fat but more delineated and vibrant. A very good performance for such young vines. Finishes dusty, broad and persistent, with very good lift.
Rating: 91 –93
The 2020 Meursault Désirée has a well-defined bouquet with dried honey, yellow flowers and a touch of grilled walnut. It opens nicely in the glass. The palate has a slightly waxy entry, fine acidity, taut and focused with a touch of orange pith and lemon curd towards the finish. Good length. Excellent. Closure: Diam 30