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Ballot-Millot, Tessier, Jobard |
The village of Meursault has a reputation for a rich style of white Burgundy, which the French refer to as beurre et noisettes, butter and hazelnuts. Yet there's a generation of younger producers here who prefer to emphasize the soulful, mineral intensity these hillside terroirs can impart. Tasting over the last few years, we've never been in any doubt that Ballot-Millot is one of the finest white wine producers anywhere on the Côte. Charles fashions wines that invariably brim with verve, tension and energy. His wines spend 12 months in barrel then a further 4-6 months in steel, so they spend a second winter in the cellar, which allows them more time to knit together. Nor is it just whites; his red wines invariably make us swoon. The name Jobard is a longstanding reference point for fine white Burgundy. Over the close-to-twenty years he has been in charge, Antoine has been fine-tuning the family style of long, restrained élevage established by his father over no less than fifty vintages. Antoine's Meursault takes fruit from parcels across the village and is a very finely balanced wine of weight, vibrancy, minerality and intensity. Arnaud Tessier's father had habitually sold most of his production to local négociants, but when Arnaud took over he decided he would bottle as much as he could under his own name. With such good sites in the family portfolio it was a rational decision, and twenty years on Domaine Tessier is flourishing. Arnaud is a ferocious worker who spends a lot of time in the vineyards, usually alongside his wife Catherine. They farm 7.5 hectares, organically. Their wines are very much in a racy, high-energy style, and Arnaud keeps the amount of new oak low. The natural vibrancy of the domaine style has dovetailed with the fresh vigour of the vintage to make an exceptionally attractive set of 2024s. /NT
Read our full vintage report here. |
