Meursault
1er Cru Charmes 2016
Immediately adjacent to Volnay, the village of Meursault marks the beginning of
the great white wines of the Côte de Beaune.
Origin
With nearly 400 ha of vines Meursault stands out as one of Burgundy’s key appellations. Its vineyards almost always face east and cover gentle slopes. From among the approximately thirty vineyards that enjoy a prime location on the slope, some are known for their exceptional wines.
Premier Cru Charmes is one of the most famous wines of the Golden Triangle, known to be familiar with certain Grands Crus.
According to Saint-Jacob, the word Charmes designates, in Burgundy, former common fields cultivated and returned to "wasteland", which is also commonly called "thatch". The very stony ground must have been difficult to work.
Viticulture
Grape variety: chardonnay
Soils: deep, alternating clay and limestone and covered with pebbles.
Orientation: East/South-East
Pruning: Guyot system
Yield: 50 hL/ha
Average age of the vine: 55 years old.
Vinification
Harvest date: 28 September 2016.
The grapes were handpicked. They were sorted a first time in the vineyard and again on the sorting table when they arrived at the winery.
At the winery: The whole bunches of grapes were gently pressed for 2½ hours. The temperature of the must was brought down to 12°C then was immediately transferred to barrels with no settling to preserve a maximum of lees. Long fermentation using indigenous yeasts for added complexity and freshness.
Ageing
Maturation: aged for 16 months with no racking or stirring to bring out all of this wine’s minerality. 30% new French oak barrels.
Barrels: Oak of French origin toasted at low temperatures for a long time to impart a subtle, delicate touch of oak were used.
Bottling
Bottling: The wine was not fined but was very gently filtered before being bottled using gravity in January 2018.
Number of bottles: 2,667.
Vintage
2016 , small is beautiful!
Small volumes, but lovely fruit overall. This is expected to be a great vintage, confirmed by the first tastings in spring. Vintage 2016 offers fine surprises with wines of potentially high quality. White wines have fine fruit aromas, with good body and will be ready to drink while young whereas the red wines are powerful, tender, concentrated and will be ideal for ageing. The harvest was one-third down on average because of the frost that struck the region on 28 April, causing a lot of irreversible damage. This was all the more frustrating as the summer was very hot and sunny, resulting in very dense berries with thick skins, promising concentration and intense wines, but with low yields.
Ageing potential: from 5 to 10 years.
Tasting notes
With a beautiful bright yellow color, this wine develops aromas of hazelnuts, yellow fruits and citrus zest with a touch of minerality. On the palate, the wine is structured, rich and marked by a finish of freshness and finesse.
