Winemaker Notes
A blend of three parcels: En La Barre, planted in 1953 and 1956 next to Clos de la Barre, produces richer wines. En Luraule, planted in 1975 and purchased by the domaine in 1996, produces very little wine but of extreme minerality and tension. Les Crotots started to go into the Meursault cuvée in 2009.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Ripe and lush, with notes of hazelnut and butter enlivened by aromas of ripe apple and citrus; this wine is among the great classics of the Côte de Beaune. It is a blend of village-level lieux-dits such as En la Barre (next to the house) and En Luralue, with the younger declassified fruit from premier crus such as Charmes and Genevrières. This represents a total surface of just over 2.5ha. The fruit ripened to an average of 14% alcohol in 2020, and the grapes are lightly crushed then run into cask for fermentation.
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Jasper Morris
The blend includes Clos de la Baronne, Luraule, En la Barre, Crotots and a tiny bit of young vine Perrières. Lemon and lime, the bouquet has much more depth than Baronne on its own. Impressive density for a village Meursault, acidity in perfect balance, everything in place here, a really excellent straight Lafon Meursault, with ripe fruit, good acidity and excellent persistence.
Barrel Sample: 91-93
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
Known to offer a magical balance of smoothness and freshness, Meursault's quality is hard to rival. The village lies in the middle of Côte de Beaune, just south of Volnay. Meursault is said to mean “mouse’s jump” because in the past the plots producing Pinot Noir and those producing Chardonnay were no more than a mouse’s jump from one another. Today the village is almost exclusively Chardonnay. A tiny bit of Pinot Noir is produced here with the best coming from Les Santenots on its northern side near Volnay.
While there are no Grands Crus, Meursault’s numerous acclaimed Premiers Crus can compete with any other top-notch white Burgundy. Some to know are Les Perrières, Les Genevrières, Les Charmes, Le Poruzot, Les Bouchères and Les Gouttes d’Or.
Meursault produces outstanding village level wines as well. In general great Premiers Crus and even village level Meursault (Chardonnay) have enticing aromas of lime peel, tropical fruit, crushed rocks, spice and hazelnut. On the palate there is a wonderful balance of brightness and a seductive length with flavors of white peach, pineapple and citrus.