Winemaker Notes
Wines from Meursault are typified by aromas and flavors of ripe melon, hazelnut, and lemon custard, and tend to be broader and more textural than wines from neighboring villages. Aging in 15-20% percent small French oak barrels lends notes of toast and vanilla.
White Burgundy, with its richness, texture, and toasted flavors pairs well with light fish and shellfish and can counterbalance cream based sauces. Oak-aged Chardonnay from warmer climates lends itself well to grilled fish, starches, butter, and toasted nuts.
Professional Ratings
-
Vinous
The 2023 Meursault Le Limozin comes from clayey soils, giving this a spicier bouquet compared to Xavier Monnot's other cuvées, with hints of stem ginger filtering through the yellow fruit. The palate is well balanced and quite open-knit with a keen line of acidity and neatly integrated oak on the harmonious finish. The caliber of this Meursault really comes through after five minutes in the glass. This has a palpable modicum of class.
Barrel Sample: 90-92 -
Wine Spectator
Vanilla, clove and nutmeg aromas and flavors combine with peach, bitter citrus and butterscotch in this tangy white. Balanced and remains fresh and long on the finish.
-
Jasper Morris
Mid lemon yellow, a fuller bouquet here. A rounded Meursault with a toasty touch. A little more wood behind. With good acidity, and worth a little bit of cellaring.
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.