I found the Leflaive Meursault on a closeout a couple of years for $40. In my notes, I wrote: “I overpaid for this, but it is a 2002. I'm going to let it sit for a couple of years, at least, and get my money's worth out of it.”
Once again, the Wine Curmudgeon amazes himself with how little he knows about wine.
I have no idea what I was thinking when I wrote that. Leflaive is a top Burgundian producer and 2002 is a top Burgundian vintage. The wine more than lived up to its price, and my regret is that I didn’t buy a second bottle. It was full of green apples, almost a clove-like spiciness, and the oak was wonderfully integrated. It was a bit young, but still eminently drinkable. I have a flock of $40 California chardonnay in the wine closet (white Burgundy is the same thing as chardonnay) that wouldn’t come close to this in a trillion years.
I drank this with roast chicken, green noodles tossed with some of the chicken fat rendered during cooking, and a green salad with lettuce from the Wine Curmudgeon garden. Anyone who wonders why some of us get so excited about wine need to try that dinner, and they’ll understand.
