tasting / laying down / 2021 Burgundy
MEURSAULT DOMAINE BALLOT-MILLOT Charles Ballot commented, “It is so amazing to see the freshness of the vintage in 2021, with such a tiny production. I didn’t expect this freshness. In 2012, the production was also small. But it was a warmer vintage so, it didn’t have this acidity. We had good ripeness, as the production was low, but it is not overly concentrated: a very good balance. Many people wondered if it would be flat, but it isn’t.” He finds it like 2013 in terms of the freshness, but also “like 2010 for freshness and intensity, saltiness and acidity, but here there is lower acidity without any exotic notes in 2021.”
Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru Morgeot Tête du Clos
Good concentration. A compact layering of fruit and a cold, earthy grip. Broad and dense. Powers into a sapid finish. 2027–35. | 94
Meursault Les Narvaux
Fabulous energy and intensity. Compact and dense. Leans into the muscle, but there’s so much freshness. Top notch. 2026–30+. | 90–91
Meursault Premier Cru Les Charmes
Fine-boned, delicate, and pure. Racy. This sparkles with minerals and I like the lively acidity. There are notes of lime flower and lime zest on the precise finish. From the upper part of the climat, with only 16 inches (40cm) of topsoil over the limestone, and it shows. Spot-on. 2026–35. | 95–96
Meursault Premier Cru Les Genevrières
Delicate, with piano-wire intensity and precision on the floral finish. Such finesse. 2026–35. | 95
DOMAINE MICHEL BOUZEREAU Jean-Baptiste Bouzereau used just a light foulage [crush] in 2021: “The débourbage [settling] was longer, over two days, but all the lees were nice. I was being very prudent. I wanted to pay attention to make sure to preserve the best quality, as we had so little production in 2021. It is a classic vintage, in the sense that you see the terroir.”
Meursault Le Limouzin
This is only the second year of production since parcel was replanted in 2016. So, very young vines, but a delightful wine. Elegant and silky, it ripples across the palate; lightly woven, with freshness and soft salt on the finish. 2025–32. | 88–89
Meursault Les Tessons
From 50-year-old vines. A light gloss wraps the polished, soft-steel core. Intense, vibrant, and long. Excellent finish for a village wine. 2025–28. | 89
Meursault Premier Cru Les Charmes
Elegant and pure. Super-ripe citrus, with a lively, long, and stretched feel. The energy flows into the finish and it’s crystal at the edges. A cut-glass feel. 2026–33. | 94–95
196 | THE WORLD OF FINE WINE | ISSUE 79 | 2023 Meursault Premier Cru Les Genevrières
Light, intense, airy, and aromatic. Gorgeous fragrance. Very finely textured and precise. Salty notes entwine with the floral aromas. Detailed. 2026–35. | 94–95
Meursault Premier Cru Les Perrières
Elegant, intense, compact, and channeled. More austere than the Genevrières. Good tension and savory, sapid minerality. Coiled. 2026–35. | 94–95
Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Les Caillerets
Tension. Marine character. Colder face. Oyster-shell minerals. Focused and persistent. 2028–35. | 95–96
DOMAINE JP FICHET Jean-Philippe Fichet considers 2021 a blend of 2016, for its tension, and 2014. He prefers his lesser wines, considering it a superb vintage for these, while the Meursault hillside, with its small yields, has made good, but not great, wines. His regional wines are excellent.
Bourgogne Blanc Vieilles Vignes
More richness, concentration, and density than the other Bourgogne Blanc cuvée, with plenty of minerality for this regional wine. 2024–27. | 85–86
Meursault
This is an assemblage of village lieux-dits, including Les Clous, Chaumes des Narvaux, and Criots. So much energy and tension, with a generous cloaking of fruit, and it finishes with tingling minerality. 2025–30. | 89–90
Meursault Meix Sous Le Château
Richer and fuller on both nose and palate, with greengage and ground ginger on the finish. Generous and aromatic. 2024–30. | 89
Meursault Tessons
Straight, glossy, and intense, with good energy. Concentration of ripe citrus fruit is streamed with creamy acidity, and it stretches into a silky finish. 2025–30+. | 90–91
Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Referts Volnay Premier Cru Les Pitures
A full and succulent aroma. Broad palate, with plenty of depth and juicy concentration. Layered and persistent. Very well-balanced. An earthy, soft graphite, smooth mineral quality to the finish. Very at ease with itself. 2026–30+. | 95
VINCENT GIRARDIN Meursault Les Casses-Têtes
Juicy, rounded palate, with notes of clementine and cinnamon. Just a light sheen of oak, with quite a soft and sweet mid-palate, but well-balanced by dry, chalky minerality, which stretches the finish. Plenty of personality and generosity to this village wine. Jolly good. 2025–30. | 88–89
A bit oak-dominant at this early stage; creamy vanilla and spice upfront for this mid-weight wine, with its herbal crunch; orange-zest and mint notes. Sappy and modest finish. Lively and piquant. 2025–30. | 91–92
Volnay Premier Cru Les Santenots
Dark, earthy aroma. A rich first impression to the fuller, generous palate, with blueberry fruit and thick, light, and soft velvet tannins. Lively, juicy, and fresh, finishing on a licorice note. Somewhat sumptuous for the vintage, but also elegant and racy on the well-sustained finish. A good Santenots. 2026–32. | 93
Reserved and battened down for now. It has a slightly herbal aromatic quality. Punchy, broad, and compact. A powerful, firm, and persistent finish, with a slightly greener note. 2028–32+. | 95
Red Beaune Premier Cru Clos des Aigrots
Juicy, red-cherry fruit and modest intensity. Herbal freshness and slightly rustic tannins. A moderate finish, with chicory notes. 2025–30. | 90
Volnay Premier Cru Les Champans
Peppery, spicy, up-toned aroma. A silky unfurl, to a straight and rippling palate, underscored with freshness and cherry-stone bitterness. Slightly grassy, with a hint of chicory on the nicely sustained finish. 2025–32. | 93
Meursault Premier Cru Les Charmes-Dessus
A golden, silky palate. Hazelnut, a hint of greengage, with minty, lemon balm. Light, glossy richness upfront. This purrs, unfolds, and has some succulence as it stretches out and carries to a refined, cool, and white-talcy finish. Maybe a little light, but very elegant. 2025–32. | 93
Meursault Premier Cru Les Perrières
Keen, well-defined palate. Good intensity. Straight and focused, with a persistent, polished-steel finish. Streamlined. 2026–35. | 93–94
Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru Blanchot-Dessus
Broad wine, but also super-compact, layered, and vigorous. Grips the palate and slices on a cold, dark, slatey finish, with a phenolic bite and great persistence. 2026–35. | 94
Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru Morgeot
Rounded and full, with a rather honeyed, chunky mid-palate. Seems quite oaky, but it focuses well, to a very respectable, sapid finish, with some grunt. 2026–30+. | 92
Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
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