Meursault Meix Chavaux

Raphael GIMENEZ-FAUVETY ‘s tasting notes – Retailer ; “De Corps et d’Esprit” in Paris

Robe is the colour of lime juice; sparkling, and particularly bright. The nose tells of a freshness that borders on the cold, bringing to mind the sensation of opening a refrigerator brimming with white fruits, citrus fruits, herbs and spring vegetables. Granny Smith; delicate lime; the fragrance of grapefruit and lemongrass stalk; chervil and dill; pear and Menton lemon sorbet; lavender. As the glass is swirled, the fruits gain in depth of expression and sweetness; no individual fruit stands out but all are lying in ambush, ready to jump out after two or three years in the cellar; orange, pineapple, vine peach, kumquat and – to a lesser extent but still present – mango and passion fruit; spices progress with aeration – white pepper, ginger and, at the end, a little sage and a touch of white peach.
Palate shows marked acidity; powerful citrus fruits with plenty of lime and a notable touch of kiwi; star fruit but also celery; black radish; Granny Smith; peppery white grapes; and, in the background, oranges, clementines, a hint of sage and peppery verbena, coriander, yuzu, pickled vegetables, and quite a lot of salt from the ground.
Focused finish; empyreumatic limestone; precision and tension; ginger powder; the strong presence of citrus fruits; violet syrup; subtle liquorice; significant length, leaving the palate fresh and clean. 93–94
Without a doubt, requires laying down for at least five years; a Meursault to be reserved for fish with steamed or court-bouillon dishes, favouring brill, ray, cod, saithe, steamed vegetables, potatoes, but also broccoli or cauliflower; hot or cold emulsified sauces with fine herbs and subtly spiced .

Raphael GIMENEZ-FAUVETY ‘s tasting notes – Retailer ; “De Corps et d’Esprit” in Paris

A nose of heady flowers, white and yellow fruit coulis, yellow peach mixed with pineapple, a touch of apricot and even Cavaillon melon. The dried fruits seem to be present in liquid form too – the juice of almonds or hazelnuts, and turron (nougat) of Xijona (Jijona) again, almonds and pralines, toffee apple.
The palate is juicy and generous again; the full-bodied first palate is common to all the white wines of this vintage; yellow peach, flambéed mango, pineapple, a hint of apricot; these ‘hot’ fruits are surprising in a vintage that is reputedly cold.
Tension at the finish, empyreumatic and peppery again; it is sapid, lively and quite racy. Beautiful balance between the terroir and the vintage, and the alliance between hot and cold. The empyreumatic touch finds balance in the way it is expressed – the wine is more intense than hot, more punchy than burning. This empyreumatic note that we perceive in all the wines is surprising; it seems as though, after these four vintages of great or very great maturity from 2017 to 2020, the rock retained the memory of the accumulation of heat and was able to restore it in 2021, even though that wasn’t really a hot year.
Pollack is most appropriate, as a fine fish similar to sole, or grilled brill, served with classic steamed potatoes.

Raphael GIMENEZ-FAUVETY ‘s tasting notes – Retailer ; “De Corps et d’Esprit” in Paris

Variations on rocks here, a whole range of limestones, from smoked to wet, from white marble to chalk, there’s iodine in there, the camphor–ether–bergamot trio exuding here and there, and coarse salt rises up, the rock evokes gypsum and flint soaked in iodine tincture, variations on the theme of rock.
Not a nose of fruit; pear and apple struggle desperately to be heard but the stone stands against the tide; citrus fruits also knock on the door, passion fruit and lime almost manage to cross the physical barrier of the surface. Perrières enthusiasts, get thee to thy order forms! At times the rock comes close to steel, liquid ore, petrifying!
The palate holds enormous energy, power, citrus, peppercorns, lime, passion fruit, green pepper, powerful wasabi and strong Dijon mustard, gum, ginger, horseradish, Granny Smith apples, kiwi, grapefruit, the juice of blood oranges, blood, Reinette apple, grape extract–grape marc, vine leaf.
Ultra intense finish, salt is omnipresent here again, iodine seaweed, and the manifestation of a bloody character again – not usual, unique; spectacular length and persistence, a fine moment – premier cru level without the slightest attempt at usurpation. A ‘poor relation’ of a Tillets; needs to be paired with firm, dense and tasty fish flesh, crab, lobster; or let time work its magic on the ardour of this vintage from this particularly furious terroir. Impressive.

Raphael GIMENEZ-FAUVETY ‘s tasting notes – Retailer ; “De Corps et d’Esprit” in Paris

The robe is … The first nose presents empyreumatic notes – warm stones, hot steel, ore, a jumble of rocks; some mornings must have been scorching, and yet, after these ‘fiery’ notes, the sensation of freshness prevails – grass and fine herbs, water or the river (the brook at Cloux?), but as more time passes, the scent of mint comes through, and lavender, immaculate white peaches, fresh grapes, produce direct from the garden – celery, radish and chard. A very lightly caramelised pear, accompanied by a note of aniseed and another of icing sugar, bring this speech of the nose to an end and reminds us that we are in – indeed, we’ve never left – Meursault.
The palate has considerable volume, spicier than the nose – bergamot, violet juice, peppers, saffron, camphor, chilli, candied fruits, orange, apricot, mango, passion fruit; expressive and expansive – Mandarine Impériale liqueur, kumquats; what a crazy world!
Very long finish that mirrors the attributes of the palate – a fantastic success; a premier cru without a doubt; spicy, candied and fresh at the same time. Its only fault – it is too dense to drink on its own and needs to be paired with food.
Monkfish with saffron, turbot with girolle mushrooms; and later, even a roasted goose with spaetzle, gnocchi or rösti potatoes shouldn’t scare it off, and after the goose, as you’ve got that far, why not finish with baked Vacherin cheese!

Raphael GIMENEZ-FAUVETY ‘s tasting notes – Retailer ; “De Corps et d’Esprit” in Paris

We’re up there and staying there. These 65-year-old vines exposed to the east and even to the north were largely protected from the “constant sun” that the year experienced. The nose offers a more vertical reading of the terroir, you are taken in by the depth, density, the race of these aromas of bergamot, mandarin, apple, accompanied by a host of spices where we find turmeric, curry and nutmeg, but we are still in 2018 with the candied ginger, an apricot that is present just as much, the orangette. The palate is juicy again with all these fruits and in particular citrus fruits, orange, clementine, mixed lemons, Reinette and Granny apples, then powerful peppers. The finish is ultra spicy, liquorice, rind and leather, very tight, very dense, very tense, a success. A wine to be kept, just like the Tillets, we are on familiar ground here and the big and beautiful sea fish like Turbot and Brill will be just right, accompanied by a Hollandaise sauce when the wines have passed their fifth year.

Raphael GIMENEZ-FAUVETY ‘s tasting notes – Retailer ; “De Corps et d’Esprit” in Paris

Nose of dried fruit but also of metal, cast iron and lead both daughter and son of the rock, cashews, almonds and pine nuts, warm butter, bread crusts, string, white and pink flowers, pear-white fruit cream, banana and white peach, then pepper, chilli, liquorice close to cardamom, a dried mint. On the palate apple, pear and fruit peel, white and green peppers, again, very dense but never still thanks to this extraordinary acidity, an exquisite attribute of this vintage, the Meix Chavaux ends tighter than the two previous climates, very close to another not-so-distant vintage, the Poruzots. I realize that the concept of maturing has not even entered my mind since the beginning of this tasting, simply because I don’t even need to ask, everything is obvious, everything flows, there is alcohol but where is the alcohol? It’s matured in wood, but where is the wood?

Raphael GIMENEZ-FAUVETY ‘s tasting notes – Retailer ; “De Corps et d’Esprit” in Paris

This is one of the Estate’s renowned successes for this vintage, without doubt the colder exposure and the elevated position on the hillside contributed to enhancing the match between terroir and weather. A little less spicy than the Meursault, still with the white pepper, and a mixture between black radish and ginger, the hints of pastry are milky and fresh, like choux pastry stuffed with vanilla ice cream, threshed grains, aniseed, whisked egg whites, acacia honey, all perfectly balanced, there is length, sincerity, precision and a fine minerality and it is delightful right to the end. A 3^rd of September harvest.

Raphael GIMENEZ-FAUVETY ‘s tasting notes – Retailer ; “De Corps et d’Esprit” in Paris

The nose is here more aerial, the grapes used to make this wine come from higher up on the hillside on average, there is a mix of flavours of white fruit, citrus fruit, a white meat aspect and touch of girolle mushrooms, even of wax. The lactic side one gets in Burgundy is here combined with honey and bread crust. Alongside the pear and the apple, discreet, one finds grapes, just as discreet, the wine expresses itself in a very vertical manner, with a little empyreumatic touch of hot metal. Fleshy in the mouth, more fruity than in the village, with a maturity which is a little more advanced as well, during retro-olfaction, the soil sometimes comes out in front of the fruit which, without being fragile, is competing all the time with the expressive power of the soil. After many swishes about in one’s mouth, one can discern guava, grapefruit, mandarin and liquorice. The finish is long with Chassagne-style scorching stones, very slightly austere at the moment, despite that it has a great structure, and the wine promises harmony over the short and medium term.

Raphael GIMENEZ-FAUVETY ‘s tasting notes – Retailer ; “De Corps et d’Esprit” in Paris

The nose is finer, eucalyptus, savory, floral, a note of blood orange (a theme found multiple times in this vintage; in 2008 it was passion fruit). The palate displays more demonstrative fruit, especially white fruit, accompanied by lassi lactic notes, citrus too, lime, passion fruit (as previously mentioned), apple peel. Very powerful finish, with lots of length. Tasting blindly, I would be embarrassed in thinking it might be Pessac-Leognan or a Trimbach Grand Cru. Meursault will take back its identity later, but for now the cold power dominates, though this wine inspires confidence.

Cooler due to its location and exposure, it makes sense to find here subtle vegetal notes of cilantro, fine herbs and even a touch of grass and delicate flowers.  With air comes the attributes of the village, beaten cream, white truffle.  Everything is understated, fine, classy.  The palate is superb, a fruit monster, pear, spiced grape, citrus, orange, almost bitter orange, very long, toasted but certainly not hot, very structured, great Village wine.

Nose of fresh ginger, coriander, white pepper, luminous.  Fresh palette, spiced grape, cherry pulp, violet, liquorice, clove, star anise.  A wine that appears to get younger, finishing with the intensity, the structure, and the energy of a Poruzots.  Crazy persistence.  93+

Higher up, more impoverished soil, without forcing, the wine becomes more mineral.  Complex honeys, flowers, earth, white truffle, mushrooms (ceps), lots of complexity, one is very close to a premier cru.
Palette of white fruits and notably grape, chewy and plentiful, it finishes with beautiful length and empyreumatic notes.

This time, the nose is almost alpine, small mountain flowers, violet, pine resin, bergamot, very fresh, a spicy note between fresh ginger and ground white pepper.  The palette is so refreshing that for an instant one may forget that there is alcohol in the wine.  Classy minerality with lots of fruit, an energetic acidity that prolongs the finish beyond the reach of Village wine.  Superb success for those who love precise and tense wines.

(For me, a small note of alcohol and very Roulot in style, without a doubt because of the terroir)