Wine Advocate (93)

Aromas of crisp Anjou pear, lime zest, orange oil, fresh hazelnuts and white flowers introduce the 2019 Meursault Village, a medium to full-bodied, layered and incisive wine that's chalky and concentrated, with racy acids and an abundance of structuring dry extract. When I was served this wine blind a month after tasting it at the domaine, I mistook it for its 2017 counterpart, which should give some indication of the pitch-perfect balance Raphaël Coche succeeded in attaining in the more extreme 2019 vintage.

Wine Advocate (93)

Aromas of crisp Anjou pear, lime zest, orange oil, fresh hazelnuts and white flowers introduce the 2019 Meursault Village, a medium to full-bodied, layered and incisive wine that's chalky and concentrated, with racy acids and an abundance of structuring dry extract. When I was served this wine blind a month after tasting it at the domaine, I mistook it for its 2017 counterpart, which should give some indication of the pitch-perfect balance Raphaël Coche succeeded in attaining in the more extreme 2019 vintage.

Vinous (94)

Pale, bright yellow. Full, powerful aromas of peach, orange and minerals; ripe, inviting and quintessential Meursault. Then broad and aromatic but classically dry in the middle palate, with captivating orange and tangerine fruit dominating. Opens dramatically on the back half to showcase the silkiness and gras of Meursault, but the long finish features superb grip. This was very promising from barrel, and it's even better in bottle.

Vinous (94)

Deep but bright aromas of crushed stone and cherry-almond. Fat and opulent; stuffed with soft citrus, spice and stone flavors. A wine of impressive volume, power and fullness but rather backward today. Finishes with lovely balance and superb length. Despite the wine's sheer size and ripeness, the terroir of Rougeots dominates the vintage.

Wine Advocate (94+)

Offering up notes of lime oil, tart Anjou pear, peach kernels and sesame that are delicately framed by a judicious touch of new oak, the 2016 Meursault Les Rougeots is medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with more texture and a denser, more blocky profile than the other village wines in the cellar this year, displaying considerable extract and a long, stony finish. Raphaël Coche notes that no one in his family can remember a time when Rougeots was so badly frosted, adding that neighboring Chevalières was entirely wiped out.

Vinous (93)

The 2018 Meursault Rougeots has a beautifully defined bouquet of fine focus and mineralité, featuring touches of lemon curd and orange blossom and flecks of white chocolate hand-in-hand with praline emerging with time. The palate is well balanced with a lightly spiced opening and impressive depth. This Rougeots is surfeit with tension, and the very sappy, saliva-inducing finish leaves you begging for more. 

Wine Advocate (94)

The 2019 Meursault Les Rougeots reveals notes of crisp Anjou pear, white flowers, orange oil, fresh bread, almond paste and vanilla pod. Medium to full-bodied, layered and concentrated, it's elegantly muscular, with terrific concentration, lively acids and chalky grip, concluding with a long, resonant finish. This is beautifully balanced and built to age.

Vinous (94)

Bottled in May 2021, the 2019 Meursault Les Charmes 1er Cru has a well-defined bouquet with white peach, honeysuckle and just a very slight touch of baked bread. The palate is well balanced with a slightly creamy opening, fine acidity, with hints of almond and white chocolate towards the finish. Quite generous, though I am just seeking a little more tension. Closure: Diam 30

Vinous (93-95)

The 2020 Meursault Les Charmes 1er Cru has a very pure with honeysuckle, orange zest and walnut, gaining intensity with time. This is a multi-dimensional nose, kaleidoscopic. The palate is well balanced with an almost Corton-Charlemagne-like entry, a little more austere compared to previous vintage with a lightly spiced finish. Very fine, quite intellectual, this is a scintillating, almost audacious Meursault-Charmes that has the edge over the Perrières (a view concurred by the man who made it!) Closure: Diam 30

Vinous (92+)

Perfumed aromas of hazelnut, lime and spice. Rich but racy and stylish; youthful and minerally. Rather elegantly styled wine, quite precise for the vintage. Very long on the finish. Lafon now uses just 50% new oak for his Genevrieres; as recently as 1992, this was made in all new barrels.

Vinous - Stephen Tanzer (91-94)

From young vines: Aromas of lemon oil and vanilla. Sweet flavor of orange oil. Nicely bright but shows only moderate depth. Finishes persistent if a bit skinny. From old vines: Pure aromas of orange and stone. Wonderfully intense and perfumed in the mouth; at once broad and juicy, with terrific fruit. Finishes with excellent thrust and superb length. There's a big difference between these two lots, but the final blend should be excellent.

Vinous (92+)

(bottled in early April) Bright pale yellow. Orange blossom and crushed stone on the high-pitched, very pure nose. Supple, silky and highly perfumed, with bright acids lifting the orange peel, orange oil and spice flavors. Nothing heavy about this baby. A lovely Genevrieres with cut and lift.

Vinous (94)

The 2009 Meursault Genevrières wraps around the palate with layers of fruit. The 60 year-old vines add serious muscle and depth in this gorgeous, weighty Genevrières. A textured, expressive finish rounds things out in style.

Vinous (96+)

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. 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.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 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. Over the last few years, the 2010 has blossomed into a spectacular Meursault. This is the best showing yet from the Genevrières.

Vinous (93+)

Pale yellow. Orange, lime oil and spices on the nose. Densely packed and utterly seamless, with an impression of baby fat leavened by strong underlying energy. Complex flavors of orange, minerals, crushed stone and spices. Today the Poruzots shows more power but this will be the superior wine in five years.

Vinous (92-94)

(ready to bottle): Bright, light yellow. Knockout nose combines lime, orange peel and minerals. Distinctly tactile, even a bit phenolic, with penetrating acidity giving the citrus and stone flavors terrific cut. The crop level here was just 25 hectoliters per hectare, which Lafon described as typical of the vintage.

Vinous (93-95)

The 2020 Meursault Les Genevrières 1er Cru has a vibrant, menthol-tinged bouquet that bursts from the glass, touches of quince and yellow plum coming through with time. The palate is very well balanced with orange zest and tangerine, very harmonious and poised with a hint of apricot towards the finish. Delicious, exuberant and punchy. Bottled under Diam 30. Closure: Diam 30

Vinous (93-95)

The 2020 Meursault Les Genevrières 1er Cru has a vibrant, menthol-tinged bouquet that bursts from the glass, touches of quince and yellow plum coming through with time. The palate is very well balanced with orange zest and tangerine, very harmonious and poised with a hint of apricot towards the finish. Delicious, exuberant and punchy. Bottled under Diam 30. Closure: Diam 30

Burghound (91-94)

Sweet Spot Outstanding. Hints of spice and petrol add breadth to the ripe and mildly exotic aromas of white peach, mandarin orange and discreet wood influence. The bigger and richer medium weight plus flavors possess excellent mid-palate density while displaying excellent depth and drive on the focused and powerful finish. Impressive.

Vinous (93-95)

The 2020 Meursault Goutte d'Or 1er Cru has a lovely bouquet with fine delineation, orange pith and apricot, hazelnut with a touch of flint. The palate is beautifully balanced with insistent grip on the entry, more saline than the Bouchères, fine delineation with great precision on the finish. Very...complete. Closure: Diam 30

Vinous (94-95)

(a tank sample, fined ten days ago) Knockout nose combines musky citrus peel, white flowers and grilled nuts. Offers bracing lemon, lime and stone flavors of outstanding purity, with strong minerality giving the wine uncanny energy and cut. The sugar/acid balance here is exhilarating, and the wine's resounding finish offers an almost magically light touch. This should age very slowly.

Vinous (96)

The 2017 Meursault Les Perrières 1er Cru showed some reduction on the nose, but there is impressive delineation and focus and real mineralité here. It just needs bottle age. The palate is very well balanced, a live wire of acidity, tensile and mineral-driven with a judicious touch of spice toward the persistent finish. This is very classy and persistent, translating the terroir with style, a wine that flirts with profundity. Tasted blind at the annual Burgfest tasting in Savigny-lès-Beaune.

Vinous (96-98)

The 2018 Meursault Les Perrières 1er Cru rivets you to the spot with crushed pebble and crushed limestone scents that could only really originate from this vineyard. Such intensity! The beautifully balanced palate delivers a fabulous line of acidity, notes of orange zest and white peach and a stunning crescendo toward the finish, which shows amazing persistence. A Les Perrières with class. Brilliant.

Vinous (96-98)

The 2018 Meursault Les Perrières 1er Cru rivets you to the spot with crushed pebble and crushed limestone scents that could only really originate from this vineyard. Such intensity! The beautifully balanced palate delivers a fabulous line of acidity, notes of orange zest and white peach and a stunning crescendo toward the finish, which shows amazing persistence. A Les Perrières with class. Brilliant.

Vinous (92-94)

The 2020 Meursault Les Perrières 1er Cru has quite a rich bouquet with tropical tones, maybe to the detriment of the mineralité that is slightly masked at the moment. The palate is very well balanced with a fine line of acidity, quite saline, lightly spiced with a vibrant finish that finally delivers the spiciness. Maybe pipped by the Les Charmes this year, this is a classy but not peak Perrières. Bottled under Diam 30. Closure: Diam 30

Vinous (92-94)

The 2020 Meursault Les Perrières 1er Cru has quite a rich bouquet with tropical tones, maybe to the detriment of the mineralité that is slightly masked at the moment. The palate is very well balanced with a fine line of acidity, quite saline, lightly spiced with a vibrant finish that finally delivers the spiciness. Maybe pipped by the Les Charmes this year, this is a classy but not peak Perrières. Bottled under Diam 30. Closure: Diam 30

Vinous (94-96)

The 2020 Meursault Les Porusots 1er Cru has a perfumed bouquet with lemon verbena, orange pith, honeysuckle and pressed yellow flowers. Vibrant and concentrated. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, a little more extract here perhaps, spicy with touches of stem ginger towards the persistent finish. Superb. This vies with the Meursault-Charmes as "best in (Lafon's) show". Closure: Diam 30

Vinous (91-93)

The 2020 Meursault Clos-de-la-Barre has a clean, quite precise bouquet that is a step up from the Village, traces of grilled almond and hazelnut. The palate is underpinned by a fine line of acidity, more mineralité and tension with a saline, slightly Puligny-like finish. One of those less-is-more Meursaults. Bottled under Diam 30. Closure: Diam 30

Vinous (91-93)

The 2020 Meursault Clos-de-la-Barre has a clean, quite precise bouquet that is a step up from the Village, traces of grilled almond and hazelnut. The palate is underpinned by a fine line of acidity, more mineralité and tension with a saline, slightly Puligny-like finish. One of those less-is-more Meursaults. Bottled under Diam 30. Closure: Diam 30