2011 Monthelie Les Duresses
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Lafon's 2011 Monthélie is sweet, supple and seductive. Dark red cherry pit, flowers and spices meld together in a soft, voluptuous wine loaded with tons of appeal. The 2011 offers gorgeous resonance, volume and texture, not to mention considerable pleasure. Dominique Lafon makes more important reds, but I often find myself attracted to the Monthélie for the pure joy it so often delivers.
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Average Score
Allen Meadows, Burghound
Neal Martin
More reviews and scores
Good full, dark red. Slightly medicinal aromas of black cherry and licorice. Sweet, pliant and juicy, with lovely mineral and floral lift to its dark fruit flavors. Good ripe skins here. Less powerful than the young 2012 but more elegant. This will make for refreshing early drinking.
The 2011 Monthelie Les Duresses is full and complete on the nose with attractive dark plum and wild strawberry scents, just a hint of dark chocolate prancing around in the background. The palate is very well-balanced with fine tannins. It has a vibrant, almost sorbet-like opening boasting plenty of pure cherry and strawberry on the back-palate segueing into a saline aftertaste. This punches above its weight. Drink now-2020. 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
Lively aromas of red cherry, raspberry and mint. Brisk and pure in the mouth, with tangy red fruit flavors lifted by minerality. Supple, energetic wine with dusty, even tannins. This should provide early pleasure.