Meursault Lieu-Dit

This wine is a bin-end, discounted by 20%.
From vines planted in 1958 and 1989, there was very little frost damage here. Tessons is a favourite site, on the same contour as the upper section of Genevrières and Perrières, but facing slightly more towards the east. There is a pleasant weight of fruit on the entry, before the mid-palate opens and develops with brisk acidity to give a wine of great elegance and freshness. Ethereal. Drink 2021-2025.
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer

The Bouzereau clan is widespread in the village of Meursault, with Domaine Michel Bouzereau at the forefront. Jean-Baptiste Bouzereau, Michel’s son, is now in sole charge. He moved to a purpose-built winery in 2009 which has made the winemaking a great deal easier to manage and has enabled Jean-Baptiste to refine his style towards greater purity as well as more substance. The wines are racked after 11 months, with the better village Meursaults and all the Premiers Crus being returned to barrel for additional ageing, before bottling early the following year. Jean-Baptiste explained that frost was more of a problem in the lower-lying Grands Charrons vineyard than Tessons and the Premiers Crus which sit on the slope. Overall he is around a third down on a normal year, mainly in the lesser appellations. Harvest began on 22nd September for the whites, and took place in good conditions. He feels that 2016 is a vintage which will appeal to Burgundy lovers, and one which shows each terroir with great clarity.

Grands Charrons sits at the same height as the village’s Premiers Crus but faces more to the east. The wine is beautifully aromatic in 2017, floral with a hint of honey and a fine, ripe entry to the palate, although still with plenty in reserve. Drink 2022-2028.

The harvest started on 30th August in Cailleret and Charmes, and was finished by 9th September. The Pinot Noir and Chardonnay flowered in warm weather at the same time but, while the Pinot loved the heat, Chardonnay did not, with the resulting coulure and millerandage restricting yields to around 50hl/ha. Jean-Baptiste looked to get texture into his wines with skin contact and an extended fermentation rather than through bâtonnage, seeking to capture as much of the vital balancing freshness as possible.

A fine, pale lemon colour, there are some very pretty, light herbal notes such as verbena, along with a good intensity of white fruit, just nicely ripe enough. This has a very long finish with lovely mouth-feel. Drink 2019-2023.
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.

The wine has a fine, pale colour with a light green tint. The palate is very lively, with exciting fruit, some lime blossom; a vivacious, medium density; good finesse, long and stylish. This has an excellent persistent finish, fresh and delicious.

Patrick likes the freshness and purity of 2014, with nothing that hints at vulgarity. He compares the vintage to 2002 and the best of 2004. Elegance is the hallmark of 2014 but there is good body too, with the wines coming in at or just over 13 percent alcohol. The wines were bottled in the autumn.

A bright pale colour with a lime tinge, faint but positive reduction. It has a very classy nose, really intense linear pointed style; fabulous length and finish.
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer

The 2013 vintage was another very difficult vintage to manage, with a heavily reduced crop after the hail, but unlike in 2012 Dominique has at least been able to make all his appellations. The wines were at a backward stage when tasted in October but with really exciting potential.

Pleasingly gentle and graceful on the nose, with a just a little lemon and lime hints this is surprisingly more intense than fleshy on the palate, with a crystalline purity added to the finish.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director

Jean-Baptiste Bouzereau started picking early on 17th September in 2010, continuing over the following nine days as the vineyards ripened. His wines maintain their traditional status as excellent value for money, while the move to his new cellars two years ago has improved the consistency of the range and purity too. The aromatics of this 2010 vintage remind Jean-Baptiste of 2002, but perhaps with greater flesh.

Dominique has two parcels; one each in the lower and higher sectors. The nose displays a touch of spent- match reduction, while the palate is mineral and saline, confirming the hillside location of the vines. A wine of wonderful tension and precision. Long. Drink 2020-2026.
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer

From 2008 Dominique Lafon decided to make a few wines under his own label, separate from the family domaine (Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon). Though this new company has the official status of a négociant, almost all the wines are in fact domaine bottlings from vineyards which Dominique either owns or has the contract to farm. The wines are now vinified, matured and bottled in extensive cellars at the Château de Bligny-lès-Beaune. Dominique is delighted with the quality of the wines in 2016, praising their elegance, quality of tannins and fresh fruit profile. In his opinion the wines are as good as, but different to, 2015, explaining that – analytically – many of this year’s wines are no higher in acid than last year, but the slightly less rich character gives them a fresher feel. Unfortunately volumes are disappointing for many cuvées and there are only two commercially available red wines this year due to the frost, meaning that Dominique owed the vineyard owner more in grapes than he produced.

Jean-Philippe feels this is the perfect example of Meursault. There is a nice touch of gunflint reduction on the nose, which leads into intense stone fruit before tightening up again with a twist of lime acidity on the finish. There is real elegance here, with a touch of toast and butter that lingers. A complete wine. Drink 2021-2028.
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer

Fichet’s big step forward came in 2000 when he moved the whole operation to splendid cellars at Le Creux du Coche by the Hôpital de Meursault. Jean-Philippe is looking for purity in his wines. He deals mostly with lieux-dits in Meursault with just one Premier Cru in Puligny. Constantly experimenting and refining, his wines have real definition and individuality, with the individual terroirs clearly exposed. The wines are raised in barrel for the first year, using larger demi- muids for the lesser appellations, then assembled in tank. A maximum of 30 percent new oak is used on any cuvée. It is hard not to be infected by Jean- Philippe’s enthusiasm and positivity. Despite being 40 percent down in 2016, he remained upbeat, explaining that he sees the variability of vintages as part and parcel of a vigneron ’s lot. The losses could have been much worse, but the domaine is equipped with candles which protect against frost and they work hard in the vines to keep grass low to reduce the risk of frost damage. He declared himself happy with the quality, but feels it is a vintage which will require patience on the part of the consumer, as many of the wines will be more austere in youth than those of 2015.

This vineyard was not frosted at all, meaning a good crop this year. The quality is outstanding too; a delicious wine with great finesse, it simply feels effortless. There is a gorgeous crystalline energy without being aggressive. Silky and seductive. Drink 2021-2028.
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer

Fichet’s big step forward came in 2000 when he moved the whole operation to splendid cellars at Le Creux du Coche by the Hôpital de Meursault. Jean-Philippe is looking for purity in his wines. He deals mostly with lieux-dits in Meursault with just one Premier Cru in Puligny. Constantly experimenting and refining, his wines have real definition and individuality, with the individual terroirs clearly exposed. The wines are raised in barrel for the first year, using larger demi- muids for the lesser appellations, then assembled in tank. A maximum of 30 percent new oak is used on any cuvée. It is hard not to be infected by Jean- Philippe’s enthusiasm and positivity. Despite being 40 percent down in 2016, he remained upbeat, explaining that he sees the variability of vintages as part and parcel of a vigneron ’s lot. The losses could have been much worse, but the domaine is equipped with candles which protect against frost and they work hard in the vines to keep grass low to reduce the risk of frost damage. He declared himself happy with the quality, but feels it is a vintage which will require patience on the part of the consumer, as many of the wines will be more austere in youth than those of 2015.

This vineyard is only four hectares, higher on the slope above Grands Charrons, with lighter soils containing more limestone. The wine is tendu (tense) with lifted notes of acacia and honeysuckle. With vines over 50 years old, it’s a little gem. Drink 2022-2029.

The harvest started on 30th August in Cailleret and Charmes, and was finished by 9th September. The Pinot Noir and Chardonnay flowered in warm weather at the same time but, while the Pinot loved the heat, Chardonnay did not, with the resulting coulure and millerandage restricting yields to around 50hl/ha. Jean-Baptiste looked to get texture into his wines with skin contact and an extended fermentation rather than through bâtonnage, seeking to capture as much of the vital balancing freshness as possible.

The lovely, racy personality of this vineyard is well served by the generosity of 2017. The wine is very fruity and open, with notes of white flower and peach stone, but counterpointed by a firm, detailed structure, typical of this lime-rich site. Drink 2021-2025.

Since our visit last year, Patrick’s dream of an appellation exclusively for generic wines from the Côte d’Or has been realised and the label of the estate’s estimable Cuvée Oligocène proudly announces its new status. For 2017, Patrick’s daughter Marion explained, they didn’t need to keep too much of the lees, as the musts were already rich and they preferred to use bâtonnage for complexity. Harvesting began on 28th August and Marion feels there is a purer expression of terroir this year than last.

For those who enjoy mineral expressions of Meursault, Tesson is one of the most highly regarded village vineyards, facing east on the mid-slope. The nose is pure and clean with a marine character, while the palate is tight and tense with lots of energy and vibrancy, nicely supported by just enough fruit. Drink 2022-2029.

Jean-Philippe explained how he and his vineyard team had to work extremely hard in the aftermath of the 2016 frost, managing the vines to make sure that the following year’s growth would not be compromised. Meticulous marathonrunner Jean-Philippe is just the man for such an arduous task. He is delighted with the results, explaining that quality is excellent and the yield was neither too big, nor too small. These wines are as reliably fresh and precise as you would expect, with each vineyard’s character shining through.

This is from a clos at the top of the vineyard which sits above Genevrières. Three barrels were made this year. The southerly aspect and shallow soil give floral aromas and a peachy fruit profile with pleasing heft in the mid-palate and an intense, saline minerality that kicks on to the finish and lingers. Drink 2022-2028.

It is fair to say that Ben is very happy with 2017, describing it as the kind of vintage he would sign up for every year. The whites, he says, are beautiful, and not far from 2014 in style, with purity, finesse, great definition and balance. He describes the reds as pretty, appealing and with body to support ageing, while highlighting the importance of lower-yielding old vines for serious ageing. He eloquently explains that there is no “black sheep” in 2017, that no village has underperformed. For reason of space, the limited volumes of Grands Crus have not been included in this brochure. Since the 2014 vintage, all white wines are bottled under screwcap.

From one of Meursault’s finest village vineyards, this displays apples and lemons up front, peaches and pears behind and class throughout. It opens out very nicely on the palate with a delicious tangy lingering finish and real persistence.

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.

With a lovely, pale colour, this wine has a very soft, appealing nose – very graceful. The palate offers a sensual, cashmere-like texture, with a little touch of yellow fruit, then a classy, tingling, mineral finish.

Jean-Baptiste liked the fruit and the flesh of his 2014s from the start, but since October he feels that the structure and sense of class have become apparent. He was happily surprised to find such regular, healthy fruit despite the hail, and, apart from the size of the crop, there was no discernible difference between the hailed vineyards and the others. Overall his crop was 40 percent below a normal year, and 10 percent below 2013, so his pricing this year is eminently fair.