2006 Meursault Les Perrières 1er Cru

Lafon picked chardonnay on the late side in 2007, after the pinot. In fact, he describes 2007 as a complicated year: "like a late-picked vintage style for chardonnay but an early-picked style for pinot noir. I wasn't expecting such ripeness in the white wines." Potential alcohols were in the 12.6% to 13.3% range in chardonnay and acidity levels are quite sound, he added: "The wines are more about length than thickness." Incidentally, Lafon is a fan of the 2006s, which he believes he picked at the right time. "I love the 2000s and the 2006s for their elegance," he told me, noting that he prefers '06 to '05, which he finds almost too big. (Classic Wine Imports, Boston, MA; also a Daniel Johnnes Selection; imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY)

Dominique Lafon was one of a handful of growers in Meursault who started their chardonnay harvest prior to the official starting date of September 18. Not only that, but he brought in the last of his chardonnay on September 20, before the grape skins began to degrade. "On Tuesday [September 19], the grapes were solid and dry in our picking baskets," Lafon explained, "but on Wednesday they came in wet and leaking, as the skins were starting to break down." While other growers on the Cote de Beaune might claim that the fruit started to deteriorate at a later date, few would argue with Lafon's description of what eventually happened to the chardonnay grapes in September of '06. The frequency of lees stirring in '06 depended on the needs of each cuvee, noted Lafon. But he also told me that he has made the decision to do less settling of the must beginning with the 2006 vintage. Because he will begin with more sediment in his wines, more frequent batonnages will normally be necessary to avoid problems of reduction. Lafon, whose wines develop slowly in his cold cellar, was more positive about his 2005s than he was last spring. "During the first year I thought the wines were simply too big," he said. "But as they age we're finding more minerality and more structure than we expected." (Classic Wine Imports, Boston, MA; also a Daniel Johnnes Selection; imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY)