2005 Meursault Perrières 1er Cru

Mounir Saouma, who with his wife Rotem Brakir made 85 barrels of red and white Burgundy in 2005, up from 73 in 2004, describes 2005 as an easy year, with a moderate crop level and great natural balance."Certainly the reds will be great," he thought."The problem with a lot of white wines in 2005 is that people were lazy and made mistakes.Some people waited too long to harvest.People damned the 2004s at the beginning and glorified the 2005s.But 2005 white wines that finished their alcoholic and malolactic fermentations too quickly will not be great."Saouma and Brakir, who allow their wines to evolve at a snail's pace, moved their barrels up to the roof level of their Beaune cellar during the winter, where the much colder temperature virtually stopped all development for several months.As a result, both the sugar and the malolactic fermentations were just starting in several wines at the time of my visit; I have offered notes below on only a handful of cuvees that were more or less finished with their fermentations.As of the time of my visit, Saouma indicated a preference for the 2004 vintage for white wine.Interestingly, he describes his 2004s as "my biggest wines, even bigger than the '02s."Acidity levels are on the low side, and for that reason Saouma believes that the '04s will never be closed."You should be able to drink them anytime over the next 20 years."Adds Brakir:"If you want to learn about the typicity of Burgundy appellations, 2004 is the vintage to taste."(Vintus, New York, NY; Chicago Wine Merchants Selections, Chicago, IL; Atherton Wine Imports, Atherton, CA)