Checking in on the Lafon 2010s

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. &nbsp;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.

<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1449523204013-LafonRaw+-+Copy+-+Copy.JPG"> 

Energetic, precise and nuanced to the core, Lafon’s 2010 Meursault Goutte d’Or offers
terrific energy to match its chiseled personality. The Goutte d’Or is the most
weightless and lifted of these four wines, but it nevertheless possesses
gorgeous energy and fabulous overall balance. This is an impressive showing
from the 2010. The 2010 Meursault Charmes is everything Charmes
is supposed to be. Soft, enveloping and generous, but with plenty of vintage 2010 energy, the Charmes marries soft contours with
layers of saline-infused precision. The 2010 is pretty hard to resist today because its balance is so impeccable, but it should develop even more complexity over time. The 2010 Meursault Perrières
takes things to another level. I can still remember tasting the 2010 from
barrel, and how vivid it was back then. Today, it is every bit as remarkable. A
host of slate, smoke, lemon peel and white flower nuances&nbsp;dazzles the senses. Explosive
and positively salivating from the very first taste, the 2010 is simply
exquisite. What a wine! 96. 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&nbsp;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.&nbsp;Over
the last few years, the 2010 has blossomed into a spectacular Meursault. This
is the best showing yet from the&nbsp;Genevrières.

-- Antonio Galloni

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