Meursault 1er cru Les Genevrières

Raphael GIMENEZ-FAUVETY ‘s tasting notes – Retailer ; “De Corps et d’Esprit” in Paris

Very pale gold robe with discreet green highlights. Nose reveals a fresh, complex, refined floral aspect, typical of the vintage. Myriad flowers of all kinds and colours; the magic of the terroir and of the vintage have incorporated a cocktail of spices of extraordinary variety and sophistication (ras el hanout, ginger, bergamot, multiple peppers, Espelette pepper, lemongrass, peppery aromatic herbs such as verbena), whose marriage with this ocean of flowers produces aromas of sublime sophistication. The fruit, subtly candied, happily insinuates itself between the flowers and the spices, pushing this already extraordinary complexity up an extra notch; all the peaches are here – white, yellow, vine, brugnons and nectarines; half-Malta, half-blood oranges; spicy pineapple; passion fruit; party time!
Full-bodied on the palate; powerful and dynamic body; expressive citrus fruits and ubiquitous peppers, including Sichuan; saffron; orange; kumquat; peppery flambéed apple; yellow plum, mirabelle plum; marmalade; apricot jelly; a trace of pineapple; star fruit; damson; a vegetal note that evokes sucrine lettuce; celery; and black radish with a note of Punjabi white pepper.
Fantastic intensity at the finish; vibrant, yet with formidable focus and tension; the soil tightens its grip without becoming hard; impressive length. 96–97
Perfect maturation in total congruence with the material.
This Genevrières, which has already expressed itself in great detail, still conceals considerable secrets; this is what we clearly feel at the end of the tasting; the wine is great but has the potential to be monumental, so there is no other option but to lay it down for at least seven or eight years.
Turbot with girolle mushrooms, lobster with beurre blanc sauce, beautiful sliced sole meunière and truffle slices.

Raphael GIMENEZ-FAUVETY ‘s tasting notes – Retailer ; “De Corps et d’Esprit” in Paris

The 2021 Genevrières encompasses all the characteristics of the surrounding terroir – floral qualities, mystery, supreme elegance, sophisticated complexity. The charm of the Genevrières often seems to come from a magical intervention, it seems unreal; a bed of fragrant flowers, finely honeyed; ‘sweet’ daffodil, lily of the valley, acacia, bougainvillea, mimosa; the air, finesse, an incomparable elegance, essence of flowers, chamomile, honeysuckle, chervil, a subtle aniseed note, honey candy, Anis de Flavigny sweets.
The palate is full-bodied, easy to drink; a lot of fruit, sweet pears – Comice and Passe Crassane, very sweet apple, between Rennet and Granny Smith; a touch of menthol like a cold mint, cucumber soup; also sweet, with touches of grapefruit, lemon, the pulp of apricot and pineapple.
Peach kernels and apple seeds on the finish; it is very long, the prolonged length is fully inhabited; soil subtly expressed, and completely melted into the fruit, the maturation is barely noticeable.

Raphael GIMENEZ-FAUVETY ‘s tasting notes – Retailer ; “De Corps et d’Esprit” in Paris

A spicy floral character in 2020; violet, lilac, jasmine, broom but also lemongrass, cumin, juniper berries, green peppercorns, quite spicy aromatic plants, verbena, sage, Vietnamese coriander, bergamot, turmeric; the whole makes a mysterious and bewitching atmosphere, the hallmark of the vintage. Other aromas, such as incense and musk, evoke certain legendary spicy scents from our greatest creators.
On the palate, cream and coulis mingle; there are yellow peaches, passion fruit, blood oranges, mango, pineapple; and Sichuan pepper, curry, saffron, walnut, nutmeg, cumin, Espelette pepper mustard, barley sugar, pralines, a roasted apricot, and much more.
The finish is fabulous and immediately takes hold, takes over, conquers the taster, resistance proving impossible; endless, powerful and racy, a great success. The vinification is simply perfect, and extends, softens, contributes to the further lengthening of the finish.
The spirit of these Genevrières calls for a Béarnaise rather than a hollandaise sauce to accompany a thick chunk of turbot or a roasted salmon steak; try with girolle mushrooms or even morels with a cut of creamy veal in a few years (with a creamy mustard or curry sauce), followed by a Gorgonzola.

Raphael GIMENEZ-FAUVETY ‘s tasting notes – Retailer ; “De Corps et d’Esprit” in Paris

A bright light gold robe, light green highlights. Just as fresh as its friends, the Genevrières garden is reminiscent of the idyllic garden of a château in the Loire Valley as spring bursts forth. The young shoots of new grass have barely started to grow; a myriad of small white flowers are coming into bloom; the freshness of the river, still marked by the cold of winter, invigorates the nostrils; fine herbs – somewhere between dill and chervil, and mint again, aniseed and verbena, then lavender; the weather is great even if the morning is still a little cold; primroses, young poplar leaves, spring growth; so discreet – all this freshness abounds without the slightest hindrance. The palate is in line with the nose – fresh fruit, just picked, Granny Smith or Reinette apples, grapes, white peach and vine peach, Comice pear, finely peppered with half-white half-Sichuan pepper. Unimaginably tasty – Guérande salt, seaweed and subtly iodised sea asparagus; we would bathe in it! The minerality, rare and delicate, evokes mineral salts, gypsum crystals, flint shards; nothing to do with the subsoil, but that’s what you taste. Juicy, active, incredibly youthful – this wine has a long career ahead.
The finish is precise, energetic and always delicious; try to forget about it for 8 to 10 years before opening the first bottle. Pair with delicate fish, spiny lobster; anything delicate would suit; or why not pair with Bernard Pacaud’s iconic feuillantine lobster with sesame seeds.

Raphael GIMENEZ-FAUVETY ‘s tasting notes – Retailer ; “De Corps et d’Esprit” in Paris

A complex nose as it should be, with numerous drawers opening one behind the other, with a main one that accompanies the taster throughout this journey, grace, and even if this quality makes the Perrières or the Charmes jealous, one must bow to it. A very natural, “easy” nose, reveals a world where white and yellow flowers rub shoulders, from brooms to lilies, mimosas, acacia flowers, white carnations. The dried fruits of the vintage, hazelnut, pine nut, peanut butter, corn cream, parsnip velouté and then the arrival of fresh elements such as frozen yoghurt, lassi, a note of vanilla, spices again, turmeric, a subtle curry, fruits finally, Comice and Passe Crassane pears, applesauce, the more time goes by, the more flowers multiply and multiply again, that’s the Genevrières. The palate dominated by yellow peach is much more toasted than expected, peppers, bird pepper, fire and flames, a vintage of fire for sure, there is also, as the yoghurt had appeared in the nose, the arrival of lavender, longans in the mouth, apricot and orange afterwards, more tangerine and Clementine, it’s very straight, serious for a Genevrieres, more yang and more violent than usual, we’ll have to give it time, don’t fool yourself, we’ll surely have to wait ten years.

Raphael GIMENEZ-FAUVETY ‘s tasting notes – Retailer ; “De Corps et d’Esprit” in Paris

Tasted late, on the 5th of April, this Genevrières disguises itself when the bottle is first opened, half Poruzots, half Perrières. You have to wait a good quarter of an hour to feel this area’s distinctive floral aspect, because until then, the wine comes across with more of a fresh and mineral verticality, a precise, sharp, diamond side which closely reminds you of its two neighbours, the poetic immersion into these renowned magical fields of flowers is totally hidden by the citrus fruits, the fine herbs, the brilliant shine of the vintage. From the start, we find lime, carambola, passion fruit, grapefruit and lemon peel, fresh ginger and white pepper, all encompassed in the chalky minerality typical of Poruzot. Then we have the gum, the licorice stick, a hint of resin, eucalyptus, white pepper from Kampot (Cambodia) through lemony notes and fresh herbs, finally lavender and chervil, very characteristic of 2017. The palate is savoury, providing a great energy with a lot of fruit, grapes, Reinette and Granny apples, white peach and vine peach, all wonderful. The finish is tense with great precision, peppery, spicy, characterised by the soil and, no surprise here, wonderfully long-lasting. Once again, the magical garden starts to come to the fore a few minutes later, those indescribable captivating white flowers. A tip, like with a great eau de vie, no rushing, you should plan to spend two long hours in the company of this vintage, after opening the bottle well in advance, not ten minutes beforehand, but rather ten hours.

Raphael GIMENEZ-FAUVETY ‘s tasting notes – Retailer ; “De Corps et d’Esprit” in Paris

Rarely do the Genevrières succumb to the imperialism of the Charmes, but that is the case in this vintage. More earthly and less dreamlike, more sensual and less lingering, Genevrières 2015 tastes like a vintage from the first growths of Meursault. Instead: An elegant nose, white fruits with predominantly pear, delicate notes of citrus, clementine perhaps, flowers, honey, nougat, fresh butter, icing sugar, praline, Isigny caramel and salted caramel, turmeric and barley sugar. Sensual and silky on the palate, poached fruit with candied fruit, the soil and fruit intertwining.
The finish is long and persistent but we can feel it, the wine needs time, at least five years before reaching a perfect balance. Be patient and have a glass of Meix Chavaux while you wait.

Raphael GIMENEZ-FAUVETY ‘s tasting notes – Retailer ; “De Corps et d’Esprit” in Paris

As often is the case, the Genevrières wine brings together qualities from all the other vineyards and adds this magic floral touch which is unique to it. Complex honey, white fruit and flowers of course, poached fruit, soft spices, subtle nougat, ground almonds, other dry fruit (pistachio nuts), brown sugar, delicate citrus fruit notes, all in multiple small touches, like in a pointillist painting in the style of Henri-Edmond Cross. In the mouth the wine is loaded with fruit and is juicy, the substance is active, delicious and sapid, retro-olfaction results in a great number of messages being sent, layer after layer, there is enormous complexity, citrus fruit, white fruit, sharp spices (white pepper), the acidity is really expressive and makes the wine twinkle, the finish, precise, leaves one’s mouth filled with a mass of pieces of information that one has the time to decode, due to the hard and mind-blowing nature of them.

Raphael GIMENEZ-FAUVETY ‘s tasting notes – Retailer ; “De Corps et d’Esprit” in Paris

This wine needs 5 minutes of vigorous aeration before opening up. Fine and cold, distant, Nordic, white fruits, grape and apple skin, a smoky note, incense, eucalyptus. The palate expresses more than the nose, white fruits, Mirabelle, maybe apricot? Kiwi, guava, Outspan orange, lots of length on the finish, upright and especially salivating. Definitely needs time. After 18 hours, the Genevrieres goes Boucheres, or F. Mikulski goes J.M. Roulot. I felt for a moment like I was tasting vin clair in Mesnil-sur-Oger! The wine has gained in juice and energy, the finish is even longer, yellow fruits (a blend of passion fruit and mango) take form…patience, patience.

Closed on the nose, this wine is so concentrated that it has a hard time opening up. Honey, caramel, candied fruit, German Gugelhupf cake, poundcake, flowers and their potting soil. Voluminous on the palate, the sensation of powerful limestone, full of minerals, but the palate remains fresh with earth, mushrooms (porcini and Paris), the retro-olfaction allows the wine to finally take off, but effort is needed.

Very powerful, sapid, with a light citrusy note. In tasting half the amount of wine as usual, the density is enough to satisfy the taster, such is the power of this wine.

Here, point of contradiction, the almost surreal floral sensuality of Genvrières, excited by the presence of citrus fruit, creates a garden with a certainly unique atmosphere, but a garden all the same.  The citrus fruits change the floral characteristics of this cru, usually more sugary, they become here more real, the vegetal material is very expressive and, if we don’t have the dreamier expression of this cru, we are in any case at the best florist.  With air, the wine is peppery, musky, the description of the citrus or the flowers that make up the nose of the wine is impossible to make as the interweaving is tight.  Tempting orange, orange flower or marmalade, something Loire-like also in the minerality.  The finish, through the strength of the citrus, confers to this wine a character more “masculine” than usual, once again we think of Charlemagne, and this time it is almost troubling.  Be that as it may, a great wine.

Nose floral like it should be, primrose, violet, white flowers, lilac, herb, one believes to be in a flower shop, mimosa, acacia, subtle honey, lavender……the palette is subtle, classy, sophisticated, fresh grapes, violet, complex balsamic, citrus, lime, fresh ginger, tonic, tight, intense, great minerality on the finish, the wine never stops living within the body of the taster.  Great wine 97

Violet, licorice, white pepper, flowers, spiced grape, white fruits, classy but with a strong character.  It’s healthy, natural, nourishing, juicy.  One is surprised by the power and the minerality on the finish, it’s almost brutal for a Genevrières, the wine is very, very long, for me, one is closer in spirit to Charmes.

As expected, a floral and refined nose with poached white fruits, a pastry note that adds to the wine’s sensuality and mysteriousness.  Like the Charmes, the wine becomes fresher and fresher with aeration, almost becoming cold, this sensation that freezes the nostrils assures the potential for 20 years ageing time in the cellar.  The promise of white truffle, a minerality as diaphanous as its floral character, something resolutely alpine in this vintage, of growing younger, of regenerating I dare say, balsamic and floral.

The palette is delicate and classy, like a silk handkerchief, lots of fruit and a perfect balance between the trio of acidity, fruit, and alcohol.  The wine finishes tense as a bow and arrow with a spectacular length and acidity interlinked with the soil expression.  A very great bottle.

The MEURSAULT GENEVRIÈRES is surprisingly powerful on the palette, in the framework of the vintage.  In smelling the aromas of violet, of licorice and of white fruits, one doesn’t expect the wine to be so earthy on the palette.