Le Clos de la Meslerie, 2019 Update
Although Peter Hahn has not mentioned it, the release of the 2017 vintage marks ten vintages for him at Le Clos de la Meslerie, the vineyard he rescued and resuscitated from a state of anonymity in 2005, kicking off with his first release in the 2008 vintage. Up to the moment of this tasting with Peter I have tasted every vintage he has ever made, from the inaugural release of the 2008 Le Clos de la Meslerie, up to the 2016 vintage, with just one exception. And that was 2012, which as followers of Winedoctor will know was a very difficult vintage for Vouvray when even the region’s most famous names had difficulty producing wines of the quality we would normally expect.
Let me be a little more specific. The truth is I have tasted the 2012 Le Clos de la Meslerie, quite a few years ago now, but as I knew Peter had not yet decided whether he would ever release the wine this was done with the agreement that I would not publish my note. Peter thought he may release the wine one day, if it improved in bottle, although he also questioned whether he might sell it off, or possible use it as a base for sparkling wine instead. I realised that whatever he eventually decided, I had a huge admiration for Peter’s commitment to releasing the vintage only it if he thought it worthy of the Le Clos de la Meslerie label. It is the sort of quality-minded decision you might expect from a cash-rich classed-growth château in Bordeaux, but perhaps not a Vouvray start-up on only his fifth vintage. It was a commitment to the name of the appellation which I support wholeheartedly.
This tasting with Peter (pictured above) provided me not only with my first taste of his latest release, the 2017 Le Clos de la Meslerie, but also my first opportunity to publish a note on the 2012 vintage, albeit not in the form you might expect.
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