The 2016 Meursault 1er Cru Perrieres has a strict, wet stone and smoke-tinged bouquet that is very well defined, almost Puligny-like in style. The palate is well balanced with a slightly waxy texture, spicy and a little angular at the moment even though it seems to meld together toward the finish. Give this 3 or 4 years in bottle before broaching, because it seems very "distant" at the moment.

The 2015 Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières was tasted from a one-year-old barrel. The nose is fragrant with pineapple, hints of passion fruit and subtle flinty aromas, a little richer than the 2014 but still very well defined and pure. The palate is well balanced with a silver thread of acidity, linear and vibrant with a gorgeous fresh lemongrass-tinged finish that bodes well for the future. This is a fine Meursault Perrieres, though this year I have a preference for the Genevrières.

The 2014 Meursault 1er Cru Perrières has a refined bouquet, perhaps not quite delivering that payload of mineralité that I was expecting, yet precise and detailed. The palate is fresh on the entry with grapefruit and lemon zest, a pleasant bitter edge here with a linear, energetic finish. This is very fine, though I think the remaining élevage until March 2016 will lend it the weight it needs.

Whole-cluster fruit and aged for 16 months in oak, the 2013 Meursault 1er Cru Perrières has an extravagant bouquet with touches of mint and fennel infusing the citrus fruit, although I would have liked a little more austerity. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp acidity, admirable weight in the mouth, with touches of white peach and orange sorbet toward the finish. I find this is just trying a little too hard, expending too much effort in trying to live up to the reputation of the vineyard.

The 2011 Meursault 1er Cru Perrieres, incidentally one of the first that Drouhin picks, has a pleasant nose with subtle notes of honeysuckle and quince that open nicely in the glass. The palate is finely balanced with good volume, though it needs to express more terroir on the finish. There is a pleasant lemongrass-tinged aftertaste though, and it should reward cellaring. Drink 2015-2025. It is always a pleasure to meet Veronique Drouhin, although this was actually the first time that I had visited their winery on the southern fringe of Beaune. “All the estate has been under biodynamic practices since the mid-1990s (including Chablis) and organic since 1988,” she said to me as we commenced the tasting. “We have been ECOCERT certified since 2009.” I asked her what tangible difference biodynamics have made. “The estate wines have a lot of depth and energy but what is really better is the pH,” she said. She also cited the arrival of head winemaker Jerome Faure-Brac in 2005 as another reason for the improvement in quality. Now their approach is for no compromise on the fruit and to exact precise viticulture for each vineyard. Veronique told me that their entry level Laforet aims to encapsulate the whole picture of Bourgogne. “We know the wine is consumed young so it is not heavily extracted,” she told me. “We look for a lovely fruity, round, elegant Bourgogne. You know, it is easier to make an Amoureuses than a Burgundy Rouge because of the quantity. It is aged in older barrels and it is bottled sooner than in the past.” Importer: Dreyfus Ashby & Co., New York, NY; tel. (212) 818-0770