Mesmeric Meursault

Lafon’s lovely and Coche comely, but if I were to chose a desert island Meursault it’d come from Jean-Marc Roulot. Why? They are supremely beautiful at all the quality levels he farms; the others just don’t quite yank my aesthetes with such panache.

Of course, it’s true I’ve drank more Roulot Meursault than any other producer, most of that the village deuxieme crus. This bewitching being of brilliance shows there is no shame in drinking village wines and, indeed, you can extract excessive enjoyment from them.

Meursault Les Tillets 2001, Domaine Roulot with Toast the teddy bear

Meursault ‘Les Tillets’ 2001, Domaine Roulot

From the first sniff this is totally exciting and pleasure-giving. There is incredibly fresh, vivid lemon fruit in abundance and a compelling creamy minerality which has that slightly savoury play dough character I quite like. There’s no silliness with new oak or high alcohol – it’s just so stunningly harmonious and beautiful, man! I’m transported to a more rarefied plain of existence by this nose. Now a taste… and the palate is even more moving! What really grabs me is a savoury intensity of rich, acidic and mineral flavours that press all the receptors in my mouth so far it’s almost painful. But it’s not actually painful, it’s just the extreme beauty, depth and refinement of the flavours creates an incredible impression as I taste it. There’s lemon fruit, a playful suggestion of serious density, great acidity and incredible stony characters. I’m abso-tmesis-lutely gobsmacked that a village wine can be so refined, complex and stylish that few other Chardonnays could compete, and there are certainly very few that are quite so obscenely drinkable as this. It’s still quite young, too, but the pleasure it provides now… ah… What a wine!

3 Comments