Meursault
There are more top producers here than in any other commune of the Côte d’Or, and its wines are typically rich and savoury with nutty, honeyed hints and buttery, vanilla spice from the oak. Even though considerably larger than its southerly neighbours Chassagne and Puligny, Meursault contains no Grands Crus. However its three best Premiers Crus produce some of the region’s greatest whites.
There are more top producers in Meursault than in any other commune of the Côte d’Or. Certainly it is the most famous and popular of the great white appellations. Its wines are typically rich and savoury with nutty, honeyed hints and buttery, vanilla spice from the oak.
Even though it is considerably larger than its southerly neighbours Chassagne and Puligny, Meursault contains no Grands Crus. Its three best Premiers Crus, however – Les Perrières, Les Genevrières and Les Charmes – produce some of the region’s greatest whites: they are full, round and powerful, and age very well. Les Perrières in particular can produce wines of Grand Cru quality, a fact that is often reflected in its price. Meursault has also been one of the driving forces of biodynamic viticulture in the region, as pioneered by Lafon and Leflaive.Many of the vineyards below Premier Cru, known as ‘village’ wines, are also well worth looking at. The growers vinify their different vineyard holdings separately, which rarely happens in Puligny or Chassagne. Such wines can be labelled with the ‘lieu-dit’ vineyard alongside (although in smaller type to) the Meursault name.
Premier Cru Meursault should be enjoyed from five to 15 years of age, although top examples can last even longer. Village wines, meanwhile, are normally at their best from three to 10 years.
Very occasionally, red Meursault is produced with some fine, firm results. The best red Pinot Noir terroir, Les Santenots, is afforded the courtesy title of Volnay Santenots, even though it is actually in Meursault.
- 305 hectares of village Meursault. The best vineyards include Clos de la Barre, Tesson, Chevalières, Rougeot, Narvaux
- 132 hectares of Premier Cru vineyards (17 in all). The finest vineyards include Les Perrières, Les Genevrières and Les Charmes
- Recommended producers: Comte Lafon, Arnaud Ente, Coche Dury, Guy Roulot, Jean-Philippe Fichet, Patrick Javillier, François Jobard, Michel Bouzereau
- Recommended restaurant: Le Chevreuil
Prices:
Bottle
£35.00
Bottle 12 x 75cl 47cs
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer
Sébastien began picking his whites on 31st August, then paused before attacking the reds. He made no change to his usual vinification practice of long maceration without forceful extraction, having de-stemmed the grapes. Sébastien comments positively on the well ripened tannins and notes that the wines have been tasting well throughout their time in barrel.
Bottle
£38.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 2cs
Despite the ravages of hail over the last few vintages, Jean-Yves has successfully converted his vineyards to organic, and is certified from the 2014 vintage. Though Meursault, Beaune and Volnay suffered once again from the weather, Rully saw a respectable harvest. Jean-Yves reports healthy fruit, with not especially high sugar levels. The reds remind him of 2010, while there is more flesh to the 2014 whites than popular vintages such as 2004 or 2007.
Bottle
£39.95
Bottle
£39.95
Bottle 6 x 75cl 52cs
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer
Picking began on 28th August and the whites were brought in across just three days. “It was such a beautiful quality of fruit,” says Jean-Baptiste, “that I couldn't stop eating the grapes.” Good sugar levels have brought alcohols ranging from 12.6 to 13.2 percent and the wines have been elegant right from the start.
Bottle
£45.00
Bottle 12 x 75cl 2cs
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer
The hail affected mostly his Bourgogne Blanc and En La Barre vineyards, the Premiers Crus being largely spared. These are superb wines in 2013, not least because Antoine Jobard picked between 26th September and 3rd October, before the heavy rains. Few producers in Meursault can match this range for quality, concentration and precision.
Bottle
£55.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 6cs
The vines for this cuvée are between 25 and 55 years old, mature enough to produce high-quality wine. Pale in colour, it has the faintest green tint. There is lots of limestone in the soil, which gives the minerality and tension. A little greengage on the palate, this delivers a superb, fresh, hillside Meursault.
Bottle
£59.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 13cs
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer
Jean-Philippe Fichet is very excited with his 2013s, which he picked before the weekend of bad weather. He has also refined his techniques in the cellar, pressing the grapes for longer and settling out the juice less than before; both methods aimed at enhancing the vineyard character of each plot and making less ‘technical’ wines. A lovely range.
Bottle
£62.50
Bottle 6 x 75cl 32cs
Bottle
£65.00
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer
Picking began on 28th August and the whites were brought in across just three days. “It was such a beautiful quality of fruit,” says Jean-Baptiste, “that I couldn't stop eating the grapes.” Good sugar levels have brought alcohols ranging from 12.6 to 13.2 percent and the wines have been elegant right from the start.
Bottle
£69.00
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer
Picking began on 28th August and the whites were brought in across just three days. “It was such a beautiful quality of fruit,” says Jean-Baptiste, “that I couldn't stop eating the grapes.” Good sugar levels have brought alcohols ranging from 12.6 to 13.2 percent and the wines have been elegant right from the start.
Bottle
£69.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 3cs
Bottle
£75.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 8cs
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer
After three miserable harvests (in size) and with the 2016 catastrophe to come, Patrick Javillier is very happy with 2015 which at last constituted a “normal” crop. He began picking on 28th August, deliberately very early, as the degrees were already there (around 13) but still with an excellent acid balance. His wines are suave, juicy and yet appealingly fresh in 2015.
Bottle
£79.50
Bottle 6 x 75cl 21cs
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer
Faiveley use three picking teams. Two started in the white wine vineyards on 28th September and were finished in four days. Then it was all hands to the red grapes. In general the harvest came in healthily, the hard work all year round in the vineyards paying dividends. We were once again very impressed.
Bottle
£85.00
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer
The hail affected mostly his Bourgogne Blanc and En La Barre vineyards, the Premiers Crus being largely spared. These are superb wines in 2013, not least because Antoine Jobard picked between 26th September and 3rd October, before the heavy rains. Few producers in Meursault can match this range for quality, concentration and precision.
Bottle
£85.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 14cs
Bottle
£89.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 12cs
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer
Two changes to note in the Faiveley style this year: the diminution of new wood, a trend they plan to develop further, and the use of 25 percent whole bunches in the vinification for 2015, whereas previously it was very rare to use any. They maintained their practice of punching down rather than pumping over, and the combination of these points leads to wines which are more rugged and structured than their recent vintages. The harvest was completed between 2nd and 11th September.
Bottle
£95.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 4cs
Neal Martin- The Wine Advocate #216, Dec 2014
Case price (Magnum 6 x 150cl)
Magnum 6 x 150cl 1cs
Bottle
£568.00
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Production of the Dominique Lafon wines has now moved to large cellars at the Château de Bligny, providing much better working conditions than previously. As a result of the hail, there is unlikely to be any village Volnay or Beaune Épenottes for us to offer. However, Dominique has found an excellent source of Beaune Vignes Franches this year to make up part of the shortfall. This cuvée apart, all the vineyards are managed by the Les Héretiers du Comte Lafon viticultural team, using the same methods. Starting this year, the wines will all be bottled using Diam30 corks.
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Magnum 1 x 150cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Jeroboam 1 x 300cl 1cs
Magnum 1 x 150cl 1cs
Magnum 1 x 150cl 1cs
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Patrick Javillier is now one of Meursault's best growers. An electrical engineer by training, he later studied oenology in Dijon before taking over his father's small Meursault estate. It would be difficult to find another winemaker with quite such a perfectionist attitude as Javillier, a man who approaches winemaking with the precision of a research scientist, yet is always ready to question his own success. The results are startling.
Patrick Javillier has crafted a superbly balanced Meursault for our own-label range in 2015, using grapes from the top, middle and bottom of the hillside. This delicious white Burgundy displays a classy, fresh-fruit nose, with beautifully rounded fruit on the palate, with ripe yet fresh yellow-plum notes. This is a very classical Meursault, with a pure long finish.