Meursault Les Narvaux AOC 2024

A purist Chardonnay that favours clarity over opulence. Cool fruit and fine minerality define the profile, with no intrusive toasty aromas. A wine that needs time and air, gaining depth as it opens.

The grapes come from the lieu-dit Les Narvaux in Meursault. The domaine farms around nine hectares within the appellation, of which more than two and a half hectares are village-level sites: alongside Narvaux, these are Sous La Velle, Chevalières and En Luraule. The vine rows are worked by hand and cover-cropped, no fertiliser is used, and cordon pruning keeps yields low.

Single-varietal Chardonnay. Grapes picked in the morning are pressed for at least six hours, those picked in the afternoon often overnight, a full twelve hours. The gentle pressure leaves bitter compounds and unwanted phenols behind, releasing only the finest must. Ageing takes around 15 months in 600-litre barrels from cooper Stockinger, made from 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, carried by fresh acidity and fine texture. Cool fruit and minerality remain at the fore, with the substantial oak lending support without ever intruding. The finish stays silky and clear.

Pan-fried turbot with lemon butter, scallops in butter or Bresse chicken in cream sauce. The wine also shows its structure alongside aged Comté.

The domaine has done without synthetic fertilisers and pesticides since 1994, and without herbicides since 1998, and is now fully Ecocert-certified.