2012 Meursault Les Clous

Broad and quite rich on the nose. Lots of structure and chew but sufficient flesh too to be promising. This wine really grabs the palate! Lots tucked in here. Much more tucked in than many of its peers. (JR)

The 2012 Meursault Les Clousots is a blend of two lieux-dits: “Les Crotots” and “Les Clous” since Patrick Javillier believes that their marriage represents more than a sum of its parts. After the fireworks of the Clos du Cromin and the Les Tillets, the Les Clousots takes everything down a notch: much more introspective and broody on the nose with tertiary notes emerging with aeration, then broom and white fennel. The palate is nicely balanced and pure on the entry, the 20-25% new oak again neatly absorbed into the fruit profile. There is a palpable sense of energy and frisson toward the finish, although I would have liked just a little more persistency in the mouth. Perhaps this will develop with bottle age because I think that this has great potential. Patrick Javillier has produced his Cuvee Tete de Murger since 1997, a blend of two parcels (“Les Casse-Tetes” and “Les Murgers de Monthelie”) that like Les Clousots, he sees as more than a sum of its parts. Patrick Javillier was busy down in his Meursault winery when I called in at the property that was established by Raymond Javillier after the war, when he set about acquiring parcels of vine around the village. Yet the main focus of the business was in purchasing fruit from courtiers. Patrick himself vinified his first wine in 1974 after completing his winemaking diploma at the University of Burgundy and steadily built up a raft of long-term contracts, tending holdings through fermage agreements. Since 2008, his daughter Marion has looked after and vinified the red wines and it was clear that Patrick takes a great deal of pride in them. I have been following Javillier’s wines for a number of years now. Here is a man determined to transcend the limitations of possessing propitious terroirs, but few premier and grand cru vines. How does he overcome them? Well, simply by straightforward winemaking tenets: complete de-stemming for the reds, remaining faithful to his trusty old Vaslin press (which was recuperating in the corner after the vintage), skillful use of new oak and by assiduously blending small parcels whose final wine is often more than a sum of its parts. Patrick told me that he commenced picking on September 12 with potential alcohol levels coming in between 12.0 and 12.9 degrees. These wines often represent outstanding value and we commence with his two generic whites that offer outstanding value year after year. Importer: A Peter Vezan Selection (various importers), Paris; fax 01 33 1 42 55 42 93

(as with the Tillets, these vines produced one-third of a normal crop in 2012): Very ripe on the nose but a bit less extravagant than the preceding samples, showing yellow peach and pineapple flavors lifted by minerals. Then tactile, fat and round, with thick flavors of fruit salad and ginger. Shows an off-dry riesling balance of sweetness and acidity. Finishes with a palate-saturating wave of fruit.