MEURSAULT 1ER CRU CHARMES 2013

Production area

Meursault is a Côte de Beaune appellation. The village is one of the most famous in Burgundy. In fact, Meursault is the starting point for the "Golden Triangle", an area renowned for producing the finest white wines and bordered by the villages of Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet. The vineyard is best known for its white wines, which account for 97% of production.According to Saint Jacob; in Burgundy the word “Charmes” may designate ancient communal fields that were once cultivated then allowed to go fallow, if taken in the sense of “chaume”, or stubble field. It may also refer to woods of hornbeam (“charme”) trees.

Origins

The soil in Les Charmes is rather deep and is composed of alternating layers of clay and limestone covered with a considerable amount of calcareous gravel. This lends a great deal of fruit and richness to the wine.The subsoil is mainly clay and limestone. This wine is made from different South-East facing vines located in the southern part of the village.

Varietal

100% Chardonnay

Tasting notes

COLOUR : Pale gold.
NOSE : Lightly toasted citrus aromas.
PALATE : Bold attack with good substance on the mid palate; This wine is rich and opulent. Lovely length on the finish.

Vinification and maturing

Grapes are harvested by ahnd and carefully sorted to respect our rigourous selection process. Once at the winery, the grapes go in a bladder press: squeezed from the inside of the press, they receive an equal amount of pressure, ensuring the best quality of juice with a minimal exposure to oxygen. The vinification and ageing take place in wooden vats and barrels with a proportion of 20% new oak that will give more structure to the wine and bring soft tannins as well as woody notes. The wine is aged on lees for 14 months; keeping the lees and stirring them occasionnaly will developp the complexity and aromas of the wine.

Food and wine pairing

Lobster, crayfish, poultry or veal in cream sauce, foie gras and blue cheese.

Serving suggestions

12 to 14°C

Ageing potential

10 to 12 years

Vintage : 2013

The Côte de Beaune experienced very difficult weather conditions in 2013: winter was particularly long and followed by a fresh and rainy spring. We all remember it for we witnessed various floods. As a consequence, the flowering was very long which lead to numerous flower abortions. Sadly, we knew from there that we would go through another small harvest… When the summer began, we starting hoping and thought we would be spared. But we had to suffer a powerful hailstorm and witness another part of the harvest vanish. That’s why we had to harvest a bit sooner this year and sort the grapes very carefully. We put the stress on having the best must quality before starting the fermentation process. We also tried to keep fast fermentations (alcoholic and malolactic) with a short maturing in barrels that we completed with a longer ageing in stainless steel tanks in order to keep the freshness of the wine and avoid any kind of aromatic deviation. Finally, we are facing a very ethereal and soft vintage, which can seem too light at first sight but which has a good complexity enhanced by delicate woody notes. This vintage will be better drunk in its youth, to enjoy all its crispiness.

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