Cote de Beaune Wines

wines

Aromas of citrus zest, ripe pears, fresh bread and vine blossom introduce the 2019 Meursault Narvaux, a medium to full-bodied, rich and layered wine that’s concentrated and incisive, exemplifying the vintage-typical alliance between ripeness and acidity.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RP

The 2020 Meursault Les Tillets opens with notes of crisp green apple, freshly baked bread, white flowers and crushed mint. Medium-bodied, satiny and elegant, it’s lively and precise, with a pretty core of fruit and a mouthwatering finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90 RPThis too is quite firmly reduced and unreadable today. More interesting are the delicate but punchy flavors that evidence plenty of minerality on the vibrant, focused and beautifully well-balanced finale. Once again, more depth would be beneficial, but this wine has an excellent track record in that regard. Worth checking out.Burghound | 89-91 BH

From the upper part. More sensual perfume here despite the altitude. Fuller white fruit with salinity, tis sufficiently ripe but with a fresh edge. Quite nuanced at the back and with good persistence. Drink from 2025-2030.Jasper Morris | 90-92 JM

A powerful and ripe Meursault with plenty of Mirabelle plums filling out the generous medium- to full-bodied palate. Attractive interplay of creaminess, fine tannins and freshness. Matured in small oak barrels, of which one third were new. Very limited production. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 93 JSThe 2022 Meursault Santenots 1er Cru has a complex nose: yellow fruit, spice box, touches of fennel and crushed stone, all coming through with aeration. The palate is very well-balanced with good weight - a lovely creamy texture whilst retaining tension. More open than other cuvées and persistent in the mouth, this is a well-crafted and delicious Meursault.Vinous Media | 92-94 VMAll from Les Santenots Blanc. A lime and lemon colour, some charm to the nose along with the energy. Rather a pretty expression of fruit, then a little more flesh behind, well integrated with the oak. A supple rounded Meursault with still a sense of refinement. Drink from 2027-2033. Tasted Nov 2023.Jasper Morris | 91-93 JMThere is enough wood present to merit pointing out surrounding the ripe aromas of primarily pear compote and citrus confit. The sleek, intense and solidly voluminous flavors possess an interesting hint of sweetness on the lingering finish that could use a bit better depth. With that said, this is sufficiently tightly wound to repay 6 to as much as 10 years of cellaring which should prove beneficial.Burghound | 90 BH

The 2023 Meursault Les Perrières 1er Cru has an attractive bouquet that seems to "expand" in the glass: apricot and peach skin meet a touch of melted candle wax, all nicely defined. The palate is medium-bodied with fine mineralité, fresh and focused, gaining weight towards the finish, which actually reminds me of the Perrières from Ballot-Millot. Excellent.Vinous Media | 93 VM

The 2023 Meursault 1er Cru Charmes is the richest, broadest wine in the range, bursting with aromas of honeyed pears, white flowers, freshly baked bread and beeswax. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and enveloping, it’s layered and textural, with a sweet core of fruit that’s balanced by good energy and grip.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RP

The 2023 Meursault 1er Cru Les Cras is pretty, wafting from the glass with notes of pear, confit lemon, orange zest and white flowers. Medium to full-bodied, mineral and chalky, with a sweet core of fruit girdled by bright acids, it’s pure and precise.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPHere too there is a suggestion of the exotic to the aromas of white peach, tangerine, mineral reduction and once again, a hint of phenolic character. This medium weight flavors aren’t quite as dense though they are just a bit finer while offering fine length and an almost palpable sense of minerality on the balanced and youthfully austere finish that, interestingly enough given that this is a premier cru, isn’t quite as structured.Burghound | 91 BH

A notably more elegant nose of perfumed floral elements, especially acacia and gardenia, add breadth to the aromas of essence of pear and spice. I very much like the sense of underlying tension running through the solidly concentrated medium weight flavors that exude a subtle bead of minerality on the unusually powerful finish that displays excellent length. One to consider. (Drink starting 2030)Burghound | 92 BHThe 2023 Meursault Les Charmes 1er Cru presents aromas of popcorn, hazelnut and smoke, not quite as sophisticated as the Santenots but far off. The palate is taut and fresh, with a veneer of wood that will integrate by the time of bottling. Richer in style, though not exotic, it offers a persistent peppery finish. Give this three or four years in bottle.Vinous Media | 91-93 VMThis has excellent freshness for a site that’s normally all about generosity and weight, but also plenty of toast and smoke aromas and flavors. Some depth on the medium-bodied palate and a crisp finish. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 91 JSAn even mid lemon yellow. The bouquet suggests a robust wine to follow, though less fruit up front. At the moment the bouquet has a temporary suggestion of something slightly rubbery which will come out with fining. Plenty going on, good structure, just the detail to refine. Drink from 2029-2036. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 90-93 JM

The 2023 Meursault St. Christophe has a lively bouquet with light sea spray scents and a touch of struck flint. The palate is well balanced with a slightly honeyed opening. A little lower in acidity compared to the Puligny, it’s nonetheless harmonious with a judiciously spiced finish. This is one of de Montille’s "dark horses."Vinous Media | 90-92 VMFirm reduction dominates the nose today. More interesting are the delicious and punchy middle weight flavors that display evident minerality on the clean, nicely dry and youthfully austere finale that is distinctly lemony in character. Once again, I would advise at least a few years of cellaring first as this is sufficiently compact to need unwinding.Burghound | 89-91 BHPale lemon yellow, softer and rounder, but with lemon scented energy to finish. Plenty happening here. White fruit with a slight youthful bitterness, and a little nutty note. Drink from 2028-2032. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 89-91 JM

Aromas of ripe apples, chalk and stone with hints of crushed oyster shells, following through to a full body with a creamy texture and a long, crunchy finish. Subtle Meursault. Drink now.James Suckling | 94 JSEverything in its place, and that’s what this wine is. Perfectly ripe citrus and orchard fruits balanced with fresh honeysuckle create a refreshingly inviting nose. The palate is round and rich, vanilla coating the mouth before brisk acidity resets, introducing intense stony minerality trailing along the finish. Delicious and easy to enjoy now with tender pork or roasted chicken. Wine Enthusiast | 93 WEOf these three fine villages level bottlings from the Côte de Beaune, the 2023 Meursault is my favorite this year. The bouquet is bright and impressively complex this year, soaring from the glass in a mix of apple, pear, hazelnuts, fruit blossoms, chalky soil tones, vanillin oak and a beautiful topnote of orange zest. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, complex and really shows outstanding depth at the core, with excellent precision and balance, a superb core of fruit, lovely acids and a long, focused and very classy finish. The backend lift here is most impressive! (Drink between 2025-2050)John Gilman | 92 JGThe 2023 Meursault Village is the most structured of these three communal-level whites, exhibiting notes of pear, white flowers and toasted nuts, followed by a medium-bodied palate with good cut and a saline finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90+ RPFine lemon and lime from Drouhin’s stable source in Meursault, a little fuller and richer than the other two main villages, but with a fresh aspect to the generous fruit which works very well. Excellent aftertaste, Drink from 2028-2033. Tasted Nov 2024.Jasper Morris | 90-92 JMThe 2023 Meursault Village has a lovely nose, perhaps the best of the white Village Crus from Drouhin, with lovely yellow fruit and melted butter aromas. The latter comes through on the palate with a countervailing saltiness toward the finish. This is recommended.Vinous Media | 89-91 VMA very Meursault-like nose freely offers up its aromas of acacia blossom, pear, hazelnut and discreet spice wisps. The generous and fleshy medium-bodied flavors retain good vibrancy and detail before culminating a balanced, long and youthfully austere finale. Interestingly, this isn’t as suave as the Puligny or as complex as the Chassagne, but the overall sense of harmony is better than either plus it should age well. (Drink starting 2029)Burghound | 89-91