Bourgogne Chardonnay 2016, Ballot-Millot
Strågul, syrlig og stram. Kiwifrukt, moden pære, men med en god presisjon. Kan fortsatt lagres. Endel uenighet om kvalitet. 84-86 poeng.
Meursault Perrières 2016, Ballot-Millot
Mere spearmint, strågul og bittert. Litt vanskelig og grønn nå. Uforløst, steinaktig, noe gassbind, syrlig og stram. Viser fram vinmarken på en god måte. Kr. 1 020,-. Mange igjen bl.a. på Aker Brygge. 92 poeng
Meursault Les Narvaux 2016, Ballot-Millot
Åpen, rik og tilgjengelig i forhold til Perrieres. Krydder, god mineralitet, endel fat, kiwifrukt og elegant. Drikker godt allerede. 89 poeng.
Lead by the work of what connoisseurs call the “Big 3” in Meursault, Coche-Dury, Comtes Lafon, and Domaine Roulot, they proved that this humble village with no Grand Crus can often reach the heights of ANY Chardonnay from anywhere. Their work has also spurred a new generation of winemakers in Meursault to push the limits of quality. Winemakers like Arnaud Ente, Jean-Philippe Fichet, Antoine and Remi Jobard, and Boisson-Vadot, just to name a few, are now being highly sought after as fine addresses for riveting White Burgundy.
And now there is a new name to add to that list…Domaine Ballot-Millot.
The story at this fine domaine is one you encounter more often now in Burgundy. In 2001, a motivated, young vigneron, Charles Ballot took over from his father. Like many talented young winemakers, he wanted to raise the bar and leave his mark for his family’s domaine. The domaine already had a good reputation from his father’s day, and had been around as well quite a long time as the family had started to amass vineyards in Meursault starting at the end of the 17th century. They were also privileged to possess holdings in five Premier Crus in Meursault, including the famed, Perrières and Charmes, plus Genevrières, Bouchères and Poruzots, not to mention small holdings in the 1er Crus of Chassagne, Volnay, Pommard and Beaune. His first task was to start working the soils, reducing yields, and moving from chemical/systemic treatments to more natural ones. He soon added a sorting table in the vineyards and upgraded the press and in general found ways to work more precisely in the cellar. Today, the estate is comprised of 10 HA of vineyards, 7 of which are in Meursault proper. The relative vine age is old: Perrières (40+), Genevrières (70+), Narvaux (45-60), etc. Harvest is all done by hand, and fermentations take place with indigenous yeasts. Otherwise, everything in the cellar is done to encourage finesse and delineation over sheer power. The white wines see only 10-20% new oak (max 25%) and are raised without battonage. They are aged 12 months in barrel, and then racked to tank for additional 6 months of refinement as is now standard procedure at more and more of the top White Wine estates in Cote D’Or. The resulting wines tend toward the so-called “Roulot-school” of Meursault, more tensile and racy, as opposed to the fatter, honeyed and nutty style wines that dominated the landscape 20-30 years ago.
