Meursault "Sous la Velle" Sans Sulfite Ajouté AOC 2023

A dry Chardonnay with vibrant energy and saline length, 13.5% ABV. This is exactly what Pierre-Henri Rougeot has been aiming for since his turning point in 2016, when he ended his father Marc's supermarket business and steered the estate toward crystalline clarity.

Sous la Velle is a vineyard site in Meursault in the Côte de Beaune. The estate comprises 12.6 hectares with plots in Meursault, Volnay and Pommard; the holding was expanded in the 1960s by grandfather Hubert, mayor of Meursault for 25 years. Work is done biodynamically and exclusively by hand, with only minimal use of tractors. The move was prompted by recurring premox in individual plots.

Pure Chardonnay, fermented spontaneously with its own yeasts. Ageing takes place in the 18th-century cellars originally built for the Hospices de Beaune. Rougeot uses 228-litre Burgundy barrels sparingly, keeping the proportion of new oak low. No bâtonnage, no filtration, no fining. Sans Sulfite Ajouté means exactly that here: no sulfur added during ageing.

Bright golden yellow in the glass. The nose shows lemon zest and ripe yellow pear, alongside a fine reduction and a cool mineral edge. The texture remains fine-grained, the acidity drives the wine, and the finish is saline and long.

Pairs well with pan-fried turbot, scallops with lemon butter and poultry in morel cream sauce, as well as aged Comté.

The diagonally striped labels identify the estate's cuvées aged without added sulfur. The winemaker's credo: "There can be no good wine from bad soil."