Coche-Dury Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières 2016 750ml

Jean-François Coche told his son to sell the whole frost-hit 2016 crop in bulk; Raphaël kept it, and this Perrières became the most distinctive wine of the vintage.

The 2016 season in the Côte d'Or turned on one night. Between 26 and 27 April temperatures fell to -4°C. Jasper Morris notes that cloud cover saved parts of the Meursault slope, and that Charmes, Genevrières and Perrières came through almost untouched. The Wine Advocate records that Coche's Perrières parcel was largely spared. Raphaël Coche still picked only first-generation fruit, refusing the later bunches that diluted many 2016 whites. A hot, dry summer followed the wet spring; Dominique Lafon began picking whites on 16 September.

Perrières means quarry, and Meursault was a stone-cutting village before it was a wine village. The domaine's Japanese importer places the climat slightly above mid-slope on soil that is as much stone as earth, and calls it the one Meursault premier cru said to rival grand cru. Charles Curtis MW specifies that Coche's fruit comes from two parcels in Perrières-Dessus, the upper section.

The domaine dates from 1920, when the Coche family sharecropped six plots; it now farms 10.5 hectares, 1.5 of them still en métayage, and bottles unfiltered wines after a minimum of 18 months in barrel. Raphaël has directed the estate since 2010 after eleven years beside his father, and describes the current regime as less new oak, less bâtonnage and less lees. His own words to The Wine Advocate: they may want the vinification in the glass, but I want to taste the terroir. The neck strip reads Cave Troisgros, the cellar of the three-star house near Roanne.

In the glass

The Wine Advocate (November 2018, 97 points as quoted by Katsuda) found lemon oil, crushed chalk, tart green apple, dried white flowers and struck flint, then a medium to full-bodied palate that is searingly intense, with tangy acids, huge concentration and the stony signature that marks this bottling. Charles Curtis MW for Decanter (July 2023, 95 points as quoted by Bordeaux Index) saw a still very light lemon-yellow wine with lemon, green apple, acacia and oak spice behind a smoky reductive shimmer, robust in texture with bright acidity and superb length.

When to open

The Wine Advocate advises a dozen years' patience and gives 2028 to 2055; Curtis MW, tasting in 2023, calls it barely evolved, opens the window at 2023 and expects another 30 to 40 years.

At the table

Our suggestion: turbot in beurre blanc, roast poularde, or a mature Comté, served in a wide glass.

Quick facts

Provenance

Sourced from the Japanese importer.

Sources: Label; ヴァンパッシオン (Japanese importer); The Wine Advocate (W. Kelley, Nov 2018, as quoted by Katsuda and ARVI); Decanter (C. Curtis MW, Jul 2023, as quoted by Bordeaux Index); Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy; Berry Bros. & Rudd 2016 vintage report; Wine Shop Sommelier; Maison Troisgros