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Jean-Marie Bouzereau, Meursault-Charmes Premier Cru

Burgundy / Côte de Beaune, France 2016 (750mL)
Regular price$85.00
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Jean-Marie Bouzereau, Meursault-Charmes Premier Cru

The subject of many lifelong wine memories is often centered around the pedigree, power, and sheer pleasure delivered in a beautifully crafted white Burgundy. If you’re perusing classic bottles from the “Big Three” Chardonnay villages of Puligny, Chassagne, and Meursault, you’re definitely in the right place—but climb a few rungs to Premier Cru Meursault-Charmes and you’re already dangerously close to the white Burgundy summit.


Ask any number of Burgundy critics and/or savants and they’ll tell you a reclassification of Meursault today would easily earn  Charmes a Grand Cru status along with its fellow top-tier neighbors “Perrières” and “Genevrières.” So, my advice to you? As long as reclassification remains a bone of contention, buy whatever you can afford because these Premier Cru beauties don’t yet require you to liquidate significant personal assets (Coche-Dury, Roulot, Ente, and d’Auvenay are the $1,000+ exceptions). Today’s 2016 Meursault-Charmes from Jean-Marie Bouzereau is one of those to go in on—at $85, it’s got all the age-worthy and richly textured qualities one would expect to find at the summit of white Burgundy. Up to six bottles per person.


The Bouzereau name is a ubiquitous one in and around the villages of Meursault and Volnay. There have been 10 generations of Bouzereau growers and, currently, there are five estates operating, all family-related. Jean-Marie took over from his father, Pierre Bouzereau-Emonin, in 1994 and now manages a 23-acre estate with impressive holdings that are mostly in Meursault, although other prime parcels exist in Puligny-Montrachet, Volnay, Pommard, and Beaune. Jean-Marie’s cellar and vineyards exude a humble, quiet vibe with just him and two employees running the entire show. Wearing a constant smile and trademark black beret, Jean-Marie produces pure, classically styled Meursault.


Sitting on the lower portion of the overarching Cote d’Or slope at the southern end of the village, “Charmes” is Meursault’s largest, most recognized Premier Cru vineyard, and it’s also surrounded by other highly-touted 1er Crus, too: “Perrieres” is directly up-slope, “Genevrieres” to its north, and “Combettes” (in Puligny-Montrachet) on its southern border. Jean-Marie’s sloped one-acre plot resides in the heart of the site with 50-year-old vines planted in a mix of well-drained rocky, calcareous soils and strands of clay that are underpinned by a broken layer of limestone bedrock. 


All the grapes grown by the domaine are sustainably farmed and hand-harvested. They were hand-sorted at Bouzereau’s winery then gently pressed into a tank where the juice settled for 24 hours. It was then transferred into barrels for a natural fermentation on fine lees for one year, at which time the wine was “racked” (removed from its fine less) and returned to barrel for an additional six months. The wine saw just 25% new oak during its 18-month upbringing. It was bottled with a light filtration.


Jean-Marie, like many of his Burgundy relatives and colleagues, believes the best years are characterized by extreme yields, both low and high. The belief rests in Mother Nature running the show and the growers reacting accordingly. If the vines produce a large crop, it’s strictly due to an auspicious, year-long weather pattern allowing for volume without sacrificing concentration. If the yields are minuscule, like in 2016, it generally points to extreme climate events requiring the growers to work even harder to protect, preserve, and deliver pristine fruit to the winery. The best growers in Burgundy work tirelessly to get it right every year—Jean-Marie Bouzereau belongs to that group. 


In the glass, Bouzereau’s 2016 Charmes displays a pale yellow tone with muted green reflections. Pronounced, rich aromas of lemon cream, toasted hazelnuts, fresh yellow apple, lime blossom, and vanilla bean parade forward with a hovering echo of rocky minerality. The broad palate is lush and polished with clean flavors of yellow peach, honey, and orchard fruit, softly framed with tempered acidity and a generous touch of oak spice. Once decanted for 60 minutes and served in Burgundy stems at 50 degrees, you’ll be able to fully witness this deeply nuanced 2016. It embodies a spellbinding balance of ripe, evolving fruit and lifted acidity which allows you to drink now or continue cellaring for 5-7 years to flesh out more savory layers and complexity. Enjoy!


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France

Bourgogne

Beaujolais

Enjoying the greatest wines of Beaujolais starts, as it usually does, with the lay of the land. In Beaujolais, 10 localities have been given their own AOC (Appellation of Controlled Origin) designation. They are: Saint Amour; Juliénas; Chénas; Moulin-à Vent; Fleurie; Chiroubles; Morgon; Régnié; Côte de Brouilly; and Brouilly.

Southwestern France

Bordeaux

Bordeaux surrounds two rivers, the Dordogne and Garonne, which intersect north of the city of Bordeaux to form the Gironde Estuary, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The region is at the 45th parallel (California’s Napa Valley is at the38th), with a mild, Atlantic-influenced climate enabling the maturation of late-ripening varieties.

Central France

Loire Valley

The Loire is France’s longest river (634 miles), originating in the southerly Cévennes Mountains, flowing north towards Paris, then curving westward and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean near Nantes. The Loire and its tributaries cover a huge swath of central France, with most of the wine appellations on an east-west stretch at47 degrees north (the same latitude as Burgundy).

Northeastern France

Alsace

Alsace, in Northeastern France, is one of the most geologically diverse wine regions in the world, with vineyards running from the foothills of theVosges Mountains down to the Rhine River Valley below.

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