2012 Meursault Goutte d'Or

Clay of Poruzots and the poor soils of Bouchères at the same time. Quite solid. Dense and solid – very firm and quite a dry finish. Not a charmer for the moment, but with such density it will surely last well. (JR)

The 2012 Meursault 1er Cru Goutte d'Or comes from 0.39-hectares of vine that were planted in 1991. It is more introverted on the nose compared to its siblings with apple peel and fresh pear scents combining with alpine stream. The palate has commendable weight and depth with a seam of lemongrass underneath the citrus fruits, wax resin and toffee apple towards the tender finish. This is a very fine premier cru. 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)

The 2012 Meursault 1er Cru Goutte d'Or comes from 0.39-hectares of vine that were planted in 1991. It is more introverted on the nose compared to its siblings with apple peel and fresh pear scents combining with alpine stream. The palate has commendable weight and depth with a seam of lemongrass underneath the citrus fruits, wax resin and toffee apple towards the tender finish. This is a very fine premier cru. Dec 2013, www.robertparker.com