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Bitouzet Prieur, Meursault, Clos du Cromin

Burgundy, France 2010 (750mL)
$68.00
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Fruit
Earth
Body
Tannin
Acid
Alcohol

Bitouzet Prieur, Meursault, Clos du Cromin


(Please note this wine will not ship until next Thursday)

Francois and Vincent farm all their parcels organically, relying on zero shortcuts with chemicals or systemic treatments, and all of the fruit is harvested by hand. This restraint is echoed in the cellar; juice is vinified gently and slowly with minimal sulfur. The end goal of the entire process is to produce wines that mature in the cellar for many years, and gradually evolve in aromatics and structure. In a region increasingly overrun with estates bottling young, forward, “modern” White Burgundy, the Bitouzet family are arch traditionalists. The family’s wines are seldom open and enjoyable upon release, but they offer a consistently impressive reward to those patient enough to cellar the wines.



The family has been farming in Meursault and Volnay for hundreds of years. Their Meursault holdings, now overseen by Francois and Vincent Bitouzet, encompass both humble lieu-dits (a named vineyard with special qualities) and some of the village’s top Premier Crus. The vines that produce today’s wine come from the Clos du Cromin, a single, ancient walled lieu-dit that sits high atop a hill in Meursault’s northern section just below some of the top Premier Crus. This vineyard’s acidic soils combined with its cool, windswept location demand a significantly later harvest than its neighbors. The resulting wine has a deep and pure mineral core, and often requires a few extra years in bottle before reaching maturity. Fortunately for all of us, the wine’s US importer, Neal Rosenthal, is renowned for holding releases until they reach optimal maturity. So even though this wine has just arrived in the US, it has been gently aging to perfection in the Bitouzet’s frigid cellar for years. I enjoyed a bottle over the weekend and was absolutely mesmerized by how explosively alive it is.



The 2010 Meursault Clos du Cromin has a light golden straw core moving to green reflections on the rim. The aromas are focused, extremely floral, and mineral showing classic aromas of fresh yellow apple, bosc pear, white peach, acacia and Hawthorn flowers, honey and finely crushed limestone. The palate is medium bodied and slightly creamy with layers of focused minerals, plush fruit and thirst quenching acidity. This wine is everything I would expect from a top Meursault producer to put forth in the perfect 2010 vintage—one of my favorite White Burgundy vintages in the last decade. This wine demands air, so please decant at least an hour before. Serve at cellar temp, or even a touch higher, in large Burgundy stems. The wine gets better and better with exposure to oxygen, so don’t be afraid of it falling apart; it will only improve with six to eight hours in a decanter. Additionally, this Meursault is built to last and will improve over the next five to seven years or more, if cellared properly. Those who enjoy the rich nuttiness and white truffle qualities of mature White Burgundy will certainly be rewarded. This is an outstanding wine.

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Country
France
Region
Burgundy
Sub-Region
FranceMeursault
Soil
Chalk and Clay
Farming
Organic
Blend
Chardonnay
Alcohol
13.5
OAK
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