The 2003 Meursault Sous le Dos d’Ane (white), from a vineyard with one of Burgundy’s more amusing names (it is French for “under the donkey’s back”), displays a nose of fresh pears, toasted bread, and hazelnuts. Medium-bodied, supple, and soft, this is an easygoing wine with hazelnut as well as peanut flavors. Drink it over the next 4 years. Importer: Wilson-Daniels, St. Helena, CA; tel. (707) 963-9661

Intense mineral aromas are found in the nose of the 2002 Meursault Sous Le Dos d’Ane. This sensual, fat, medium-bodied wine’s ample personality coats the taster’s palate with rich layers of mineral-infused nuts. This fresh yet plump and forward wine should be consumed over the next 6 years. To Pierre Morey, the 2002s are “from normal yields and reflect their terroir, two signs of a great vintage.” He went on to add, “Though it was an easy year in the vineyard without any burnt grapes, freezes, or hail, I’ll admit we were very worried between the twentieth of August and tenth of September, when the weather was wet and dreary. Thankfully, we were saved by the north wind.” He added that in 2003, Puligny-Montrachet had battled freeze, multiple hailstorms, and oidium (powdery mildew). Importer: Wilson-Daniels, St. Helena, CA; tel. (707) 963-9661

The rarely seen 2001 Meursault Sous le Dos d’Ane reveals toasted aromas and a salty, minerally, citrus fruit-flavored mouth. Light-bodied, it is remarkably focused and possesses a shockingly long finish, particularly for such a delicate wine. It should be consumed over the next 2-3 years. To Pierre Morey, Domaine Leflaive’s winemaker, “2001 was not an easy vintage, but it made our work that much more interesting. Our vines faced rot, hail, heat (that burned some grapes), cold, then the onset of botrytis, making us sort grape by grape.” He went on to add, “so we knew on August 3rd, the day after the hail storm, that it was a sorting vintage . . . our next surprise was the acid balance, in which we found we had normal tartaric numbers but high malic acid, making the wines difficult to taste. We opted for an extended elevage, to get the noses to express themselves and the bodies to fill out.” According to Morey, all of the domaine’s Puligny parcels were struck by hail, having lost 20% of their production of Folatieres, slightly less in other parcels. Yields, though lower than in both 1999 and 2000, came in between 40 and 45 hectoliters per hectare, after the work on the sorting tables. When I asked Mr. Morey, a deeply honest man, whether he liked the 2001s, he said, “it’s not my favorite vintage of the last 10 years, but an interesting one, I’m intrigued to see how they will age and when they will be at their best.” Importer: Wilson-Daniels, St. Helena, CA; tel. (707) 963-9661