No wine lover can dispute that the rolling hills of Burgundy produce the finest and most diversely thrilling expressions of Chardonnay on earth. For each of the region’s top sites, there is a corresponding terroir character—the crystalline purity of Grand Cru Chablis; the regal and broad-shouldered luxury of top Puligny-Montrachet; or the brooding complexity of mature Corton-Charlemagne.
And let’s not forget about Meursault—this famed village’s best whites are the epitome of texture and opulence. Great Meursault wraps you in layers of creamy richness, soft and round acidity, and perfectly ripe fruit with hints of hazelnut and lime blossom. To illustrate the timeless singularity of this village, we are offering a back-vintage bottling from one of Meursault’s best and oldest producers—Domaine Bitouzet Prieur. The 2011 “Clos du Cromin” is only now approaching its peak drinking window and delivers extraordinary quality for a modest price. Only 100 cases of Clos du Cromin are bottled each year, a fraction of which make it into the US!
Francois and Vincent Bitouzet 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” whites, 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 encompass both humble lieux-dits (a non-classified vineyard with special qualities) and some of the village’s top Premier Crus. The vines that produce this wine come from the Clos du Cromin, a single, ancient, walled vineyard that sits atop a gently sloping hill in Meursault’s northern section, nearly to Volnay, and a stone’s throw from the Premier Crus “Les Cras” and “Les Caillerets.” This vineyard’s acidic soils combined with its cool, windswept location demand a significantly later harvest than that of neighboring vineyards. The resulting wine has a deep and pure mineral core, and often requires a few extra years in bottle before it begins to open up. 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 only recently arrived in the US, it has been gently aging to perfection in the Bitouzet’s frigid cellar for years.
Domaine Bitouzet Prieur’s 2011 Meursault “Clos du Cromin” has a light golden core moving to green and gold tones on the rim. Every atom of this wine’s aroma expresses the classic Meursault soil character—just stick your nose in the glass for one second and you know immediately where this bottle originates. Toasted hazelnuts, cream, cold butter, Porcini mushrooms, dried white flowers, dried yellow apple, Bosc pear, and wilted lemon blossoms slowly rise from the glass. The wine’s palate offers similarly impressive typicity; it’s a dense layer cake of baked stone fruits, toasted nuts and lime blossom, sitting atop a sturdy foundation of crushed limestone, oyster shells, and luscious cream. In my experience, village/lieu dit-level Meursault from great traditional estates like Bitouzet-Prieur tends to peak between six and 12 years, and this wine is no exception. It still has a firm mineral core and bright acidity from the cool 2011 vintage, so take care not to drink it too cold. I recommend pulling from the refrigerator and resting in a decanter at room temperature for one hour prior to serving in large Burgundy stems. This wine’s finer details and precise aromatics will be lost if you serve any lower than cellar temperature, so shoot for 60 degrees if you can. Once it opens up, this is a demonstrably rich and luxurious wine, but believe it or not, it sang with complete clarity and harmony alongside an overtly working class dish last weekend: the modern American classic,
Frank Pepe’s White Clam Pizza. Hailing from New Haven, Connecticut, this rustic pizza offers a remarkably compatible pairing to this wine. Trust me on this one—or don’t, and rely on a more typical Meursault pairing like
Lobster Thermidor. EIther way, rustic or regal, you will not be able to hide from this wine’s beauty, pillowy softness, and unmistakable Meursault soil character. It’s a classic.
