From: Meursault, Côte d'Or, Burgundy, France
Varietal: Chardonnay
Tasting Notes and Critical Acclaim: "Pale fresh lemon. This is very classy in Jean-Philippe’s style and develops something a bit extra behind, filling the mouth, with enough acidity, fine and balanced. Drink from 2027-2033." –Jasper Morris, Inside Burgundy (October 2023)
Pairing: This focused, precise, and tension-filled Meursault plays well with dishes like roast chicken or turkey, veal, rabbit in mustard sauce (check out the recipe below), grilled or sautéed shrimp, white fish like cod or sea bass, and even smoked trout or salmon. Lemony shrimp and bean stew, halibut with brown butter, lemon, and sage, seared halibut with anchovies, capers, and garlic, or monkfish with caper butter are just some delish pairing ideas to get you started. Other examples include sheet-pan tarragon chicken with onions, Hainanese chicken and rice, or sheet-pan chicken with apple, fennel, and onion.
By David Tanis
White Wine-Braised Rabbit With Mustard
By David Tanis
About.
Perhaps more than any of his peers, Fichet is testing the limits of transparency, to find the very soul of Meursault’s terroirs. It was Meursault’s destiny to have its soils revealed in this way: their intense stoniness is magnified by an exceptionally low water table, forcing the vines’ roots deep underground. Even if uneconomical, Fichet would rather produce a very small amount of wine from his best sites than to lose their unique character in a blend. Fichet has flown largely under the world’s radar. He began as a grower in 1981 but was forced to rebuild his domaine from scratch in the 1990s, having lost all his best fruit sources—including a piece of Meursault-Perrières—for lack of long-term contracts. But he learned from this experience. By 2000, he had used carefully negotiated long-term fermage and mètayage agreements to create an extraordinary new domaine, brimming with exceptional sites. Fichet’s methods reflect his philosophy: he is famously meticulous and abhors taking short cuts. His low yields, the foremost key to quality, are achieved through severe winter pruning rather than by green harvesting. And he believes his wines’ expressiveness is enhanced through a patient 18-month élevage, with little new oak and by avoiding aggressive lees stirring.
Wine Notes: Organic practicing, this 100% Chardonnay comes from 3 parcels in Meursault, including Les Clous et le Limousin. Vineyards are situated on the southern slopes of the village & are as follows: les Chaumes Narvaux, just above Bouchères and Gouttes d’Or, Limouzin, directly below Genevrières, plus a little Criots. Grapes are hand-harvested. Fermentations take place in barrel and wine goes through malo whike aging 12+ months in barrel (1/6 new), plus 3-6 months in tank.
