Maison Roche de Bellene, Meursault Premier Cru, Charmes, Burgundy

An introduction to Maison Roche de Bellene, Meursault Premier Cru, Charmes, Burgundy

Planted entirely with Chardonnay, Les Charmes is one of Meursault’s largest and most recognised Premier Cru vineyards, located on a gentle slope at the bottom of the Cote d’Or escarpment at the southern end of the village. Maison Roche de Bellene source their Meursault Les Charmes from old-vine parcels planted on south-east facing clay-limestone soils at an elevation of 235m. The wine can be slightly reductive in youth and will reward cellaring for up to ten years.

Performance

Understanding Maison Roche de Bellene, Meursault Premier Cru, Charmes, Burgundy

Potel buys this Chardonnay as a base wine from one of his partner vignerons, who work sustainably, hand-picking and fermenting with wild yeasts. The wine is then transferred to Potel’s cellars where he ages it in his own barrels (30% to 100% new oak, vintage dependant) for around 12 months, before bottling usually filtered but unfined. The wine is aromatic with a notable flinty minerality. When reviewing the 2014, The Wine Advocate’s Neal Martin described the wine as ‘a powerful Meursault that will deliver long-term pleasure’.

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