MEURSAULT PERRIERES
2002
Up-slope from Meursault Charmes, and at the southern end of the commune, lies the premier cru Les Perrières, which most people would agree produces Meursault's best wine. There are 14.86 hectares (2002 harvest) producing, (again in 2002), 757.5 hectolitres, approximately 8333 cases of 12 bottles of wine. There are upwards of 26 growers who produce wines in bottle, plus the négociant offerings. In June 2008, with the help of the B.I.V.B., the local Bureau Interprofessionel des Vins de Bourgogne, I sampled 22 examples of the 2002 vintage.
Two thousand and two is a very fine white wine year, so it hardly needs to be said that this was an exciting tasting. Six years on, the wines are approaching maturity. But most are assured of a future well into the next decade. This is also a very terroir-specific vintgage: all the habitual mineral flintiness of the climat was clearly evident, plus the underlying richness that comes from a properly ripe and concentrated vintage.
The three great premiers crus at the Puligny-Montrachet end of Meursault differ considerably in character, as you can expect when you cast even the briefest glimpse into the vineyards. The soil in the Charmes is a sort of sandy grey, mixed with stones, while that in Genevrières is distinctly red in hue owing to a larger proportion of iron in the make-up. Perrières however is deficient in earth, made up almost entirely from white limestone debris. The mother rock is close, especially in the upper part of the vineyard, the Perrères dessus.
It is this geological diiference which explains the personality of the wines. The flowery, soft, almost delicate flavours of the wines of the Charmes contrast vividly with the richer, somewhat citrussy bottles you can get from the Genevrières, and these two are both markedly different from the steely, racy, seemingly higher in acidity wines of the Perrières. Unlike the first two, Perrières lies entirely above the main vineyard road, so the question of the (supposedly superior) dessus (upper section) versus the (inferior) dessous (lower part of the climat) does not apply. Indeed some would argue – not Coche-Dury nor Bouchard Père et Fils, both of whom have vines in the Perrières dessus – that here it is the lower part of the Perrières vineyard which produces the best wines.
Wine-making approaches differ – no surprise here in this most individual vignoble in the entire world – from one domaine to another. Only two, Bouchard Père et Fiuls and Albert Grivault own more that one hactare; so economies of scale are not available. Vituculture is hands on, biodynamic chez Vincent Dancer (since 2006), Lafon and Pierre Morey, lutte raisonnée elsewhere, eschewing herbicides and pesticides. 'Sexual Confusion' – the use of pheremones to diminish the depredation of the grape worm – was tried and dispensed with. You have to get everyone to agree. And there is a expense involved.
Today we leave the grape worms to natural predators. Vinification is at temperatures of up to 22°, the use of new oak normally at about 25 to 33 percent (more at Maison Latour and Lafon but none at all chez Matrot) and bottling increasingly not until 18 months after the harvest (though in July at Albert Grivault).
Here are my notes on the wines tasted.
Bitouzet-Prieur.
Winemakers: Vincent Bitouzet and his son Francois. Surface area: 28 ares. Bottling after 18 months.
Good fresh juicy fruit on the nose. Medium to medium-full body. A very gentle touch of oak. Good class, complexity, balance and intensity. More to it on the finish than appears at first. Real finesse and a very lovely follow through. Fine. Still needs two years.
Bouchard Père et Fils.
Winemaker: Philippe Prost. Surface area: 1.20 hectares in three parcels. Bottling after 12 months.
Lightish colour. Nice and steely on the nose. This is one of the more forward examples, but it is ripe and nutty, with even a hint of caramel at tyhe end. Balanced. Good finish. Ready. Very good.
Michel Bouzereau.
Winemakers: Michel and his son Jean-Baptiste. Surface area: Five ares in 2002; 10 now. Bottling after 16 months.
Just a whiff of reduction at first. This blew off, but it left the wine a bit four-square on the palate. Good weight and decent grip. But it is difficult to see the underlying finesse. Just about ready. Judgement deferred.
Philippe Bouzereau, Château de Citeaux.
Winemaker: Philippe Bouzereau. Surface area: 15.3 ares. Bottling after 18 months.
Full and somewhat four-square on the nose. Full body. Good grip. Backward. This will develop. Balanced, youthful and sturdy. Good finish. Good plus. Needs two years.
Yves Boyer-Martenot.
Winemakers: Yves Boyer and his son Vincent (from 2003). Surface area: 69 ares. Bottling after 11 months.
Understated, racy, minerally nose. Very stylish. Fullish, ripe on the palate. Lots of fruit. An ample, crisply-balanced wine on the palate. Long. Just about ready. Very good indeed.
Jean-Francois Coche-Dury.
Winemakers: Jean-Francois and his son Raphael. Surface area: 43 ares. Bottling after 20 months.
Concentrated, backward nose. Quite a full-bodied wine. Still very youthful. Fullish body. Excellent fruit and supporting acidity. Complew. Lots of depth and finesse. Very fine. Still needs three years.
Vincent Dancer.
Winemaker: Vincent Dancer. Surface area: 29 ares.
Youthful colour. Quite a soft, flowery, peachy nose. Yet good minerality as well. (More Blagny than Perrières). Medium weight. A point.Forward, stylish, long on the palate. Very good.
Maison Joseph Drouhin.
Winemakers: Jérôme Faure-Brac and Veronique Boss-Drouhin. Bought in as grapes. Bottling after 11 months.
Ample, fullish nose, with a touch of oak. Good depth and class. Finely-tuned fruit. Ripe, balanced, succulent and classy. Lovely finish. Will still benefit from another two years. Fine plus. One of the wines of the tasting.
Jean-Michel Gaunoux.
Winemaker: Jean-Michel Gaunoux. Surface area: 59.3 ares. Bottling after 15/16 months.
Finely-balanced, succulent nose. Quite developed. Medium body. Balanced and quite stylish. But not a a great deal behind it. It tails off. Fully ready. Quite good.
Henri Germain.
Winemaker: Jean-Francois Germain. Surface area: 16 ares. Bottling after 18 months.
Nicely steely on the nose. An elegant wine. Medium-full body. Lovely minerally style. Very good fruit. Long and Harmonious. Just about ready. Very good indeed.
Albert Grivault. Clos des Perrières.
Winemaker: Claire Bardet. Surface area: 95 ares. Bottling after 9 months.
The vines in 2002 were only 15 years old. Open, fruity, slightly obvious nose. More interesting on the palate. Medium-full body. Balanced. Still youthful. Good depth. Finishes well and will still improve. Needs two years. Very good plus.
Albert Grivault.
Winemaker: Claire Bardet. Surface area: 1.54 hectares. Bottling after 9 months.
Some development on the nose. But this is complete and very lovely. Fine, splendidly minerally fruit. Real classand depth. Very harmonious. Long. Will still improve. Very fine. One of the wines of the tasting. Needs two years.
Comtes Lafon.
Winemaker: Dominique Lafon. Surface area: 77 ares. Bottling after 18-plus months.
Youthful nose. Still quite closed-in. Rich and full and concentrated underneath. Plenty of wine here. Good balance. A little adolescent and present but potentially fine quality. Needs four years.
Maison Latour.
Winemaker: Jean-Charles Thomas. This comes from a 50 ares parcel and is bought in as must. Bottling after 10 months.
Quite developed on both the colour and the nose. There is a touch of built-in sulphur here. Medium-full body. Decently balanced but a bit lacking personality. Just about ready. Quite good at best.
Latour-Giraud.
Winemaker: Jean-Philippe Latour. Surface area 15 ares. Bottling after 18 months.
Fullish, rich, gently oaky wine Opulent for a Perrières. Ample, ripe and generous. Lots of fruit. Quite evolved. Fully ready. Good plus.
Jean Latour-Labille.
Winemaker: Vincent Latout. Surface area: 18 ares. Bottling after 18 months.
Clean, fullish, but somewhat neutral on the nose at first. Developed favourably in the glass. Fresh, ripe, succulent fruit. Medium-full b ody. Long, harmonious and stylish. Just about ready. Very good indeed.
Pierre Matrot.
Winemaker: Thierry Matrot. Surface area: 53 ares. Bottling after 11 months.
Youthful colour. Some development on the nose and palate though. Ripe, succulent, flowery. Medium weight. Balanced, but it lacks a little class. A point.Good at best.
Pierre Morey.
Winemakers: Pierre and his daughter Anne. Surface area: 52 ares. Bottling after 18 months.
Very reduced and there was not a back-up bottle. Quite a developed colour. Full. Backward. Very good acidity. But judgement deferred.
Potinot-Ampeau.
Winemaker: Vincent Durrieu. Surface area: 33 ares. Bottling after 22 months.
Youthful but fragrant nosr. Quite firm and backward on the palate. Fullish. Good grip. But slighly four-square at the end. Good vigour though. This still needs three years. Good plus at the very least.
Jacques Prieur.
Winemakers: Martin Prieur and Nathalie Gublin. Surface area: 28 ares. Bottling after 18-20 months.
Classy, fullish, complete nose. Backward. Ripe, balanced. Full bodied. But not quite as multi-dimensional at the end as on the attack. Needs three years. Very good.
Guy Roulot.
Winemaker: Jean-Marc Roulot. Surface area: 27 ares. Bottling after 18 months.
Light, youthful colour. Good, stylish, understated fruit on the nose. Medium to medium-full body. Ripe, gently oaky, subtle and intense. Clean, quite concentated and very stylish. Ready. Very good indeed.
The following also produce Meursault Perrières of note: Michel Ampeau (this is never released until M. Ampeau decides it is ready for drinking, and this may be a decade after the vintage in the case of 2002); Mestre-Michelot; Didier Darviot-Perrin; Château de Meursault; Château de Puligny-Montachet. See also other merchant offerings.