Meursault

Founded in 1880 and now stewarded by the fourth generation, Maison Joseph Drouhin completed a full organic and biodynamic conversion across its Burgundy estate — earning ECOCERT certification for the 2009 vintage — a commitment rare at this scale for a négociant-domaine hybrid. Meursault sits on the Côte de Beaune's clay-limestone bench, where heavier clay fractions in the mid-slope retain just enough moisture to sustain Chardonnay through dry summers, while the limestone subsoil drives the appellation's signature chalky tension. The 2015 growing season delivered exceptional phenolic ripeness and generous concentration, producing whites of unusual depth without sacrificing the appellation's structural backbone. In the cellar, slow pneumatic pressing separates free-run juice from press fractions; alcoholic and malolactic fermentation proceed in French high-forest oak barrels with indigenous yeasts, followed by light bâtonnage during 12–18 months of élevage with 10–25% new oak seasoned approximately three years before coopering. Where many Meursault producers push new oak to amplify texture, Drouhin's restrained oak regime keeps the mineral signature of the terroir audible through the élevage. The 2015 vintage delivers ripe, concentrated fruit with the structural depth to reward another 3–5 years of cellaring, though it is already generous and expressive at table.