2011 Meursault Les Porusots 1er Cru

Dominique Lafon, who told me he considers 2010 to be "the perfect vintage for white wines," has a very concentrated set of 2012s in barrel, with crop levels down considerably from the norm. The last of the three hail storms hit the hillside vineyards of Meursault, said Lafon. He noted that acidity levels in the 2012s were typically 4.3 to 4.4 grams per liter, adding that "you feel more acidity in the 2011s because the wines have less body." A couple of his 2012s had not finished their malolactic fermentations when I visited at the end of May. The 2011s had been bottled between a couple days and a month before my tasting at the estate. Lafon told me about "a new little trick" he used with the 2011s to protect the wines against premature oxidation. He injected some CO2 in the process of moving the wines from the barrel to the tank in order to replace the CO2 that would otherwise have been lost during the pumping process. (Classic Wine Imports, www.classicwineimports.com; also a Daniel Johnnes selection, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, www.skurnikwines.com)

Comtes Lafon fans will be thrilled to see two new 1er Crus in the range, Bouchères and Poruzots, both leased plots the Domaine has acquired access to in the Domaine Rene Manuel transaction. Dominique Lafon describes 2011 as a vintage with normal yields, which is to say 40-50hl for the whites. Overall sugars and acidities are both down from 2010, which makes the wines virtually impossible to resist young as they are so impeccably balanced and harmonious. Lafon prefers longer elevage in barrel than many of his colleagues, which means the whites might spend as long as 20 months in barrel prior to being bottled.

Dominique Lafon described 2011 as a year of more heterogenous quality than 2010, although he noted that the harvest did not bring "an enormous crop." As to 2010, Lafon says that the wines have "exploded in tank and gained in refinement. They're built like the 2008s, which are bigger and weightier but not as elegant. The 2010s are better balanced: their weight and acidity are integrated better." Some of the 2010s had been bottled just days before my visit, but their high quality was plain to see. (Classic Wine Imports, www.classicwineimports.com; also a Daniel Johnnes Selection, www.danieljohnneswines.com; imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, www.skurnikwines.com)