"89 Points, Neal Martin, Vinous.com
The 2023 Meursault Village has a tightly wound bouquet with fresh apple blossom and grilled walnut scents unfolding in the glass. The palate is well balanced with hints of tangerine and white pepper on the entry. This is quite a pithy Meursault with good weight and persistence and an expressive finish. Drinking Window 2026 - 2035"
This top division 12 hectare property, based in the heart of Meursault, is run by the young and talented Charles Ballot. The Ballot & Millot families began acquiring vineyards in Meursault in the mid 17th century. When Charles’s parents married, they brought together some exceptional holdings, including extremely well situated parcels of the two finest premier crus, Perrières and Genevrières.
The ages of the vines range from 30 years for Les Criots to 70 years for the Genevrières. An extremely stringent form of viticulture is practiced in the vineyards, with no herbicides and minimal use of other treatments. In fact everything is now organic but he will not become certified as such. All the wines are barrel fermented, with around 25% new oak for the 1er Crus and 10% for the village wines. The Meursault Village is from 7 very different parcels, each offering their own attributes – from deep soils to rock.
Jasper Morris MW, insideburgundy.com
Charles Ballot began picking on 6th September. His philosophy is to wait for the end of the vegetal cycle and then pick when temperatures are reasonable (which was not really possible in 2023). He describes 2023 as a very regular large crop, except for his old vines in Genevrières (40) and Perrières (50 hl/ha). He feels that the wines have a similar balance to 2022, with decent acidity, and alcohol levels from 13.5% up to 14% for Perrières. Began fermentation in barrel then a lunar knot stopped the fermentation in a couple of later picked cuvées which he had to put back in tank to finish. All wines had just been racked to tank before the new harvest, with plenty of lees.
