Geography

Meursault sits in the southern Côte de Beaune between Volnay to the north and Puligny-Montrachet to the south. The vineyards run up a gentle east-facing slope from the village itself, with the best sites on the upper part of the hill where calcareous marl gives way to harder limestone. The appellation is unusually large for the Côte d’Or — over 400 hectares — which gives Meursault both a broad commercial presence and considerable variation in quality from producer to producer.

Classification

Meursault has no Grand Cru vineyards (a quirk of history rather than a comment on quality — many feel Les Perrières, in particular, deserves Grand Cru status). The village has 19 Premier Crus, with the top sites including Les Perrières (the most prestigious), Les Genevrières, Les Charmes, Les Bouchères, La Goutte d’Or, Les Caillerets, and Sous le Dos d’Âne. Almost all Meursault is white Chardonnay; a tiny amount of red Pinot Noir is made and labeled Volnay-Santenots when it comes from the boundary with Volnay.

Style of the wines

Meursault Chardonnay is more golden, fuller-bodied, and richer than its more austere neighbors Puligny and Chassagne. The classic profile is yellow apple, hazelnut, butter, beeswax, sometimes brioche, with a textured palate that comes from the village’s clay-rich soils and traditional bâtonnage (lees stirring) winemaking. Top examples have remarkable structure underneath the richness and age beautifully.

How they age

Village-level Meursault drinks well at five to twelve years. Premier Cru Meursault from a top producer ages fifteen to twenty-five. The best Les Perrières from producers like Coche-Dury and Roulot can age thirty-plus years and develop a mineral-and-honey tertiary complexity that has been compared favorably to top Grand Cru white Burgundy.

Producers we know

Domaine Coche-Dury is the legendary reference — the cult Meursault producer of the modern era. Domaine Roulot, Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Pierre Morey, Arnaud Ente, Jean-Marc Boillot, Bouchard Père et Fils. Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey makes serious Meursault from purchased grapes alongside his own family-domaine wines. Browse Burgundy whites at /regions/burgundy/.