2013 Meursault Les Tessons

The 2013 Meursault les Tessons has a feisty nose that is much more a bravura performance following the Les Tillets, veins of licorice developing in the glass, one of the most exotic from Jean-Marc Roulot this year. The palate is vibrant and generous, quite exotic, again very generous. It reminds me a little of a middle-aged man dancing a little too earnestly at a party. Yet it has so much to give, perhaps one of the most fun contributions this year, almost oily in the finish.

The 2013 Meursault les Tessons has a feisty nose that is much more a bravura performance following the Les Tillets, veins of licorice developing in the glass, one of the most exotic from Jean-Marc Roulot this year. The palate is vibrant and generous, quite exotic, again very generous. It reminds me a little of a middle-aged man dancing a little too earnestly at a party. Yet it has so much to give, perhaps one of the most fun contributions this year, almost oily in the finish.||Jean-Marc was away in Bordeaux filming when I visited the domaine to taste his 2013s from bottle, the silver lining being that his assistant Annabelle was there to escort me through the wines that were mostly in bottles in the second week of March. During the tasting we touched on a number of issues, One concerned Roulot's move towards biodynamics. "We have been working with a consultant for biodynamics for a while and he pushed us more towards doing the artisan teas," she told me. "But now we are delegating someone else to produce the compost. It's difficult here because of the lack of humus on the soil." Biodynamics is being practiced throughout all of their vineyards, although apparently Jean-Marc is undecided whether to pursue certification, whereas I think he would prefer to be flexible. I asked Annabelle how the wines had changed since barrel and she mentioned that some of them are just coming out of their bottle shock. Of course, production has been depleted over the last three years: 60% down in 2012, 40% down in 2013 and 50% in 2014, due to a combination of poor flowering and hail. She remarked that the 2013s don't have the acidity of the 2012s, and slightly less alcohol. Some parcels did suffer a little pourriture in the vineyard. Generally, this was an exemplary set of wines that, if anything, I feel have slightly improved since they were bottled, the standouts being a superb Auxey-Duresses Blanc, the Meursault Meix Chavaux, Porusot and a fabulous Meursault 1er Cru Charmes that I thought outperformed the more reticent Meursault Perrières. Most will be approachable in their youth with a couple of exceptions that I have pointed out. The one question mark was over the Meursault Tillets that did not have the same verve or details as its peers - surprising given how well it showed in barrel. eRobertParker.com.June, 2015