Touring the Exceptional Chateau de Meursault | Burgundy Wines
Touring the Exceptional Chateau de Meursault
A wine tour of Burgundy, also called Bourgogne, is a must on any wine enthusiast’s bucket list, with the enchanting history, architecture and natural beauty of the region making it a true delight on the tourism trail. If you’re considering a trip to the region, Chateau de Meursault should be high on your priorities, as one of the crown jewels of the Côte de Beaune!
The history and the highlights
The celebrated cellars of Chateau de Meursault are one of the highlights of this region, dating back to the 11th century, and featuring elegant, vaulted ceilings sheltering around 800,000 bottles of wine and over 2,000 barrels where wine is fermented for 15-18 months. By reservation only, you can do tours, wine-tastings, and other events at the estate, which owns 65 hectares of vineyards. This includes prestigious AOCs like Aloxe-Corton, Savigny-lès-Beaune, Beaune, Pommard, Volnay, and Puligny-Montrachet in addition to Meursault.
Until 2012, the estate didn’t perform up to its potential. However, when taken under the wing of Olivier Haley and Stephane Follin-Arbelet, it has transformed into one of the most respected and revered estates on the map.
The estate now practices organic farming techniques, planting of cover crops, improving picking techniques for a shorter harvest period, and lowering yields to improve quality. Wines are produced from Puligny-Montrachet located in the South of Côte de Beaune up to Corton in the North, with plantings predominantly consisting of Pinot Noir grapes, although Chardonnay is also strongly represented. The future of this estate, which will soon be one of the biggest certified organic estates, is a bright one!
Notes, storage, and serving of Chateau de Meursault wines
The traditional Burgundy wines from this estate are known for their mineral freshness, richness on the palate, and gentle notes of lemon, oak, and almond, as well as citrus, pineapple, and green apple. These go well with typical Burgundy cuisine, beef, duck, pasta, spicy foods, and roasts.
The Chardonnay white wines are very bold, structured and expressive, with a brilliant yellow colour and notes of florals, lemon, grapefruit, melon, and spice. It’s well-paired with cheeses, light seafood, chicken, and salads.
It’s best to serve white wines at the temperature of about 12-14°C and red wines at temperature of 15-17° C.
For storage, Beaune 1er Cru, Pommard, Volnay, Corton, Meursault Charmes and Meursault Charmes Dessus can be aged for 20 years to several decades. This has the effect of softening their tannins and developinga more complex flavour and aroma. The Premiers Crus and Grands Crus can be kept for up to 15 years. When buying any Chateau de Meursault, it’s best to follow the exact storage suggestions for that particular wine, as well as ensuring that it is kept horizontal in storage, out of the light, and at about 85% humidity.
These wines deserve the very best, developing their full potential in the right storage conditions – and securing their value as an investment. It’s a good idea to research a premier wine storage service supplier to ensure that the correct conditions are met for your wine collection, and that it’s available whenever you need it!
Infographic created by Steel & O’Brien, Your Ultimate Resource for Sanitary Weld Fittings
