Winemaker Notes
A refined wine, well appreciated in the whole world. A beautiful golden color and great aromatics of honey, linden flower (tilleul), hazelnut butter, sometimes even chamomile or hawthorn. On the palate, a silky roundness. Long on the aftertaste, with flavors of yellow plum and gingerbread. The wines from the Côte d'Or mature well and have good balance between sugar and acid.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Fresh and elegant, this white delivers peach, lemon cake, floral and spice aromas and flavors. Harmonious and ready to enjoy, but should develop well. Drink now through 2025
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James Suckling
Some attractive, youthful complexity here with a very flinty, stony edge to the grapefruit and young peaches. The palate has a very succulent feel with a creamy layer at the finish. Drink or hold.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: While Joseph Drouhin Meursault has always performed well, some vintages are even better than their gold standard. The 2017 vintage is something special. TASTING NOTES: This wine shows excellent persistence. Pair its aromas and flavors of ripe apples and hazelnut with homemade chicken tamales as good as your mom makes. (Tasted: April 25, 2019, San Francisco, CA)
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.