Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières AOC 2024

A Chardonnay of crystalline clarity that holds density and tautness together. The cool fruit stands in front, the oak stays in the background, and the minerality carries the wine through to a long finish. A Premier Cru that needs time to unfold.

Les Genevrières is one of three Premier Crus that Rémi Jobard farms in Meursault; the name goes back to the juniper bushes that once grew here. The site delivers a taut minerality from old vines. In total, the domaine comprises nine hectares in Meursault's finest sites, in Burgundy.

Pure Chardonnay. Grapes picked in the morning are pressed for at least six hours, those picked in the afternoon often overnight, a full twelve hours – so that only the finest must reaches the barrel, free of bitter compounds and unwanted phenols. Ageing lasts around 15 months in 600-litre barrels from Austrian cooper Stockinger, made of French, Austrian and Slavonian oak; only about a fifth is renewed each year. The wine then rests in tank. It is bottled unfiltered, with stability coming from two winters of ageing rather than technical intervention.

Dense and focused, with a fine acid structure and a silky texture. Wet limestone and juniper define the profile, with no toasty notes. The finish stays cool and long.

Pairs with seared scallops, turbot and Bresse chicken in morel cream sauce. An aged Comté also offers an exciting counterpoint.

The domaine converted early: in 1994 synthetic fertilizers and pesticides disappeared, in 1998 herbicides followed. Today the entire estate is Ecocert-certified, the vine rows are worked by hand and cover-cropped, and fertilizing has been discontinued. Cordon pruning limits yields.