Meursault Goutte d'Or, Domaine Arnaud Ente 2019

The 2019 Meursault 1er Cru Les Gouttes d'Or is a remarkable wine. Unwinding in the glass with notes of pear, freshly baked bread, clear honey, white flowers and crisp stone fruit, it's full-bodied, ample and satiny, with a deep and layered mid-palate, prodigious levels of concentration and a racy spine of acidity that animates the long, penetrating finish. In the past, Ente's old-vine communal Meursault bottlings, above all his Sève du Clos, have tended to dominate the range, but in 2019 it's the Goutte d'Or, from a parcel planted in 1990, that stands out not only as the pinnacle of the portfolio but also as the best young wine I've ever tasted at this address. It will be worth a special effort to seek out. Drink: 2027-2060

This wine has really grown up, now that the vines are more mature. It shows a lemon and lime colour, with a substantial presence on the nose. Really well balanced, with marvellous intensity, which fills out the middle, still some citrus notes lightly infusing the white fruit flesh. Citrus drives the finish too, but it is not a narrow unripe version. Hard to be that at 14%!

Restrained nose. Very juicy and round – relatively sweet. Truly golden drops. Rich and kerpow. Drink: 2024-2034