Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Decanter
Aromas of lemon peel, marzipan and spice spring from the glass of this seductive Meursault. The texture is creamy and rich, but a lively, almost electric core of acidity carries it to an impressive finish. This tiny village lieu-dit is tucked downslope from Les Charmes at the village’s southern end, the 0.28ha being planted in 1928. Among the finest of the range, while it is charming now, it will only improve with time and should go at least a decade after release.
-
Jasper Morris
These ancient vines are still delivering. This is pale in colour with a touch of reduction. After a light grapefruit inflection at first, there is a beautiful white fruit intensity, all the way though, lifted by riper notes at the end, excellent acid balance and very long. Superb. 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.