WA 93-95 " Méo's 2019 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru is shaping up brilliantly, mingling notes of orange peel, cassis and plums with notions of rose petals, sweet soil tones and exotic spices. Full-bodied, deep and layered, it's velvety and concentrated, with real mid-palate amplitude and an elegantly muscular profile. Perfumed and penetrating, this cuvée—from an optimally situated parcel below the château—is a fine long-haul proposition. Jean-Nicolas Méo began picking on September 13, observing that "everything was ripe at once this year," and that alcohol levels—for the most part, around 14%—were a little higher than he would have wished for. Yet the wines in the glass are hard to fault: Méo excelled in 2018, and his 2019s are even more structurally refined and vibrant. As I've written before, Méo's wines see quite a long élevage, and they can often be a little structural and introverted in the fall following the vintage, but these 2019s, just like the 2018s at the same stage last year, were remarkably open for inspection. Displaying superb concentration and mid-palate amplitude without any particular perception of heaviness, I found much to admire; and, in summation, this is a very fine portfolio that, when taken as a set, appears to match or surpass what was achieved here in 2018. (WK)" (1/2021)