Domaine Roulot, Meursault 1er Cru Clos Des Bouchères, Burgundy, France, 2022

Overview of the Wine
Guy Roulot, a legendary producer of some of the finest Meursaults, if not some of the world’s finest white wines, took his family’s small production domaine to stardom. Guy’s marriage to Geneviève Coche and his own hard work added more prime parcels to the family’s holdings, which he vinified and bottled separately – a novelty for a domaine which had been distilling, rather than vinifying, their grapes just a generation before. As a result, Domaine Roulot has become the master of the lieu-dit, not to mention the five premier cru parcels they farm in Meursault and Monthelie. Guy’s sudden death in 1982 left the family in transition, as his son, Jean-Marc was in Paris pursuing a career in acting. A series of three winemakers aided in the changeover until 1989, when Jean-Marc was at last ready to take on the direction of the estate. 

Since then, Jean-Marc’s progress has brought even more notice to a domaine that had already enjoyed a great reputation. The wines of Domaine Roulot are now among the most sought after wines in all of Burgundy.  Jean-Marc has been successful in fine-tuning the domaine’s particular, stand-out style.  While Domaine Roulot had once pioneered the single-vineyard bottlings of Meursault, they were now influencing other domaines to follow suit, thereby raising the stakes in this exalted appellation. What sets the domaine even further apart is Jean-Marc’s commitment to a bright, chiseled, thoroughbred style of Meursault, while many other wines of this village tend towards richness and concentration. Jean-Marc’s wines certainly express a certain depth and sumptuousness thanks to the appellation’s terroir, however his wines also show focus and restraint. Their elegance and amazing precision lend themselves to long aging in the cellars. Jean-Marc loves cooking and believes the strong mineral backbone of his wines and their fresh acidity marry well with food. This is why one is more likely to find their wines in restaurants rather than in wine shops.

Organic and Biodynamic.

Grape / Blend
Chardonnay

Origin
Cote de Beaune, Burgundy, France

Winemaker's Tasting Notes
Clos des Boucheres is in the heart of Meursault amongst the best vineyards in Burgundy and therefore the world. Fermented in large barrique, 15-18% new wood. Lees are stirred every few weeks until malolactic fermentation occurs. After which the wine is Aged in barrel sur lie for 11 months, then racked to stainless steel for 7 more months of aging before bottling.

93-96 Points - Burghound
Moderate reduction is enough at present to push the fruit to the background. On the palate though there is a really lovely sense of verve to the refined elegant and beautifully detailed middle weight flavors that flash evident minerality on the strikingly well-balanced and long finish. This is really classy and if you're someone who enjoys finesse look no further as this is quite fine. (Drink starting 2034)

95 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Roulot's 2022 Meursault 1er Cru Clos des Bouchères delivers aromas of pear peach green apple and orange oil mingled with toasted nuts white flowers and bread dough. Medium to full-bodied supple and satiny it's rich and layered with a gourmand charming profile and a long saline finish. Jean-Marc Roulot seemed happy with his 2022 portfolio a vintage that has the merits of combining high quality with normal quantity narrowly avoiding spring frosts thanks to dry windy weather. The order of the day here is crushing before pneumatic pressing with pressure increasing in small increments to deliver a large juice yield for comparatively little pressure. In the cellar as has been the case for several years Roulot is using less new oak adding ceramic vessels and foudres. Everything I tasted was as usual on the lees in stainless steel where the wines spend six months after their first year in barrel. The other news at this address even if it's outside the purview of this publication is that Roulot is producing a series of eaux de vie de Marc de Bourgogne from his different lieux-dits which makes for a fascinating comparative tasting just as it's fascinating to compare their vinous equivalents side by side. Published: Jan 18 2024

93-95 Points - Vinous 
The 2022 Meursault Clos des Bouchères 1er Cru which has been produced since 2011 has a fresh and quite marine-influenced bouquet that gains intensity with aeration: sea spray cockle sheds and touches of peach skin lend a soupçon of exoticism. The palate is very well-balanced with a silver bead of acidity. There?s just the right amount of spiciness here; it?s quite linear towards the finish but this reeks of sophistication. (Drink between 2026-2053)

Product size: 750ml