Meursault Narvaux 2024 Domaine Vincent Bouzereau

Meursault Les Narvaux 2024 from Domaine Vincent Bouzereau is the domaine's most precious and ambitious village cuvée, vinified separately for many years because of the exceptional quality of its terroir. The finest balance between a Meursault village and a Meursault Premier Cru, Les Narvaux is a cuvée with rich, mineral structure that stands apart. A fresher, more linear profile than its richer neighbours, reaching toward elegance and minerality rather than opulence and butter, speaking with candour and precision about what this particularly well-positioned Meursault terroir offers that is truly singular.

Terroir and vines

Les Narvaux sits above the Premier Crus, on the upper slopes of Meursault, at a slightly higher altitude than the neighbouring great village appellations. This elevation is the key to this terroir's particular character: a natural freshness and mineral tension that temper the natural generosity and opulence of Meursault. The soils comprise pebbles, clay and limestone, a substrate with remarkable natural drainage that gives Chardonnay its rich structure and characteristic mineral touch. One of the parcels, once abandoned due to phylloxera, was entirely cleared and replanted by Vincent's father in the 1970s, vines now around fifty years old, in mass selection inherited from this family tradition. Viticulture is managed with considered care, Guyot-trained, balanced bud-break, and hand-harvested. Vincent Bouzereau treats Les Narvaux with the same parcel-by-parcel attention as his other vineyards and crus. Vinification is traditional: cold pressing in tank for 24 hours, fermentation with wild yeasts exclusively, ageing of 15 to 18 months on lees in oak barrels of which 30 per cent are new, racking after malolactic fermentation, filtration if needed.

Tasting profile

The colour is brilliant golden gold, luminous and with good density. The nose is powerful and well-balanced, with aromas of green apple, citrus zest, white flowers and wet stone, a freshness and precision that immediately distinguish this altitude terroir from the richer, butterier mid-slope Meursaults. The palate subtly brings together white flowers, fresh butter and dried fruits, with a citrus finish and fine structure. The palate is lively and precise, with a taut structure and pronounced minerality. The texture is silky with a light oiled quality, carried by a fresh natural acidity well-integrated and bringing tension, length and elegance. The finish is long, citrus and saline, with a persistence and precision that confirm the quality of this remarkable lieu-dit.

The domaine

The Bouzereau family has been making wine from generation to generation since the sixteenth century. Vincent Bouzereau settled in Meursault in 1990, today managing a ten-hectare domaine spread across eight villages of the Côte de Beaune. Alongside his wife Aline and now their children Louis and Clotilde, he constantly seeks to refine his methods of viticulture, vinification and ageing for ever more precise and honest production.

Food pairing

This Meursault Les Narvaux will accompany traditional jambon persillé bourguignon beautifully, fine fish in beurre blanc, scallops in chive cream, sole meunière, grilled langoustine, poultry in cream with morels or grilled shellfish. It will also pair well with Comté aged 24 months. Served between 12 and 14°C with 20 minutes of decanting suggested, it will reveal the full structured richness, taut minerality and particular elegance of an altitude Meursault signed by one of the commune's most honest winemaking families.