Is Les Narvaux Meursault's best non-1er Cru Vineyard?

Is Les Narvaux Meursault’s best non-1er Cru vineyard?

If my final and only bottle of non-poxed (1 for 3) 2013 Jean-Marie Bouzereau Les Narvaux is any indication of how great this vineyard is, then the answer is a resounding “yes.” Time has certainly served this wine well. Acidity and minerals are supercharged yet held in check with an unctuous richness of stone fruit, sweet florals, caramel, and perfectly-integrated oak. Elated that I was able to catch this at peak after dumping two disastrous bottles down the sink. Although my cost basis was $90+ (3x$30 on closeout), I can’t help but feel this is a wine that’s more than deserving of a $50+ shelf price. As I’m far from an expert on the single vineyards of Meursault, I’m curious to know if anyone feels there are other single vineyards in the village worth checking out that are void of Premier Cru status. Thanks!

Meursault is rich in fantastic Lieu-Dit Village Vineyards

The three top(?) producers in Meursault have:

Coche-Dury:
Meursault Les Chevalières
Meursault Les Rougeots

Roulot:
Meursault Les Tessons, Clos de Mon Plaisir
Meursault Les Tillets
Meursault Les Meix-Chavaux
Meursault Les Vireuils
Meursault Les Luchets


Comte-Lafon:
Meursault Clos De La Barre

I’d say all of these can give Narvaux a run for it’s money.

I would definitely add Arnaud Ente to this list…Their ‘Le Seve du Clos’ is out of this world and ‘Clos des Ambres’ is also not too shabby.

Coche-Dury has also a Meursault Les Vireuils, although it is rarely (or never) labelled as that. It is usually fantastic.

…but those both come from the lieu-dit l’Ormeau which no one would rate especially highly: the quality has more to do with vine age and Arnaud’s winemaking.

In terms of potential I would rate Tesson first, followed by Narvaux, Rougets and Chevalières tied. But it’s partly a question of style. Moreover, terroir is so seldom the limiting factor in wine quality that it’s a somewhat academic point.

The best villages is the Narvaux from d’Auvenay ( d’Auvenay’s En la Richarde is maybe even better but this is normally premier cru , but now decclassified I believe ).
For Coche , the Rougeots is power , Chevalieres more finesse , the are equally good . The Vireuils is one of Coche’s regular Meursault’s , the other one being the Narvaux . One goes to the US , the other one to Europe ( I think Narvaux to Kermit Lynch in the US ) . I think that Rougeots and Chevalieres chez Coche are the better wines .
And I love the les Tessons from Roulot but Coche is better imho .
Agree with Arnaud Ente Clos des Ambres being top , at least in some vintages . This wine needs time to open up .

The best villages is the Narvaux from d’Auvenay ( d’Auvenay’s En la Richarde is maybe even better but this is normally premier cru , but now declassified I believe ).
For Coche , the Rougeots is power , Chevalieres more finesse , the are equally good . The Vireuils is one of Coche’s regular Meursault’s , the other one being the Narvaux . One goes to the US , the other one to Europe ( I think Narvaux to Kermit Lynch in the US ) . I think that Rougeots and Chevalieres chez Coche are the better wines .
And I love the les Tessons from Roulot but Coche is better imho .
Agree with Arnaud Ente Clos des Ambres being top , at least in some vintages . This wine needs time to open up .

I usually get the regular Meursault by Coche-D, and according to the seller it should always be Vireuils.

I would rate Tessons very high, had a Buisson-Charles last week that was fantastic for a Village.
Narvaux is a very good vineyard, but I do think Leroy could still make better wine from Tessons (all other conponents equal, e.g. vine age …)

If you look at historic classifications from multiple sources (Lavalle 1855, 1862 classification, Rodier 1920) the debatable consensus best village terroirs in Meursault are:

Le Tesson
Le Rougeot
Les Chevalieres
Les Grands-Charrons
Les Petits-Charrons

These vineyards are all located north of the classic 1er crus of Meursault, and just above the village of Meursault. These 5 vineyards are located at almost the same altitude as the 1er crus south of the village.

The WineHog site has a great article about this topic, it’s behind a paywall so I can’t post a link. He makes an argument, that I agree with, for Le Tesson as the best village terroir based on historic classification, location of the vineyard and the quality of the wines produced there today. Domaine Roulot is the only Le Tesson that I buy (or used to buy as the price and availability has moved against me). Based on my tastings, it’s his best village wine, and can rival the 1er crus in his stable.

Can only agree with everything you have said here, Herwig.

And once you exclude Coche, Ente, Roulot … and look at accessible producers, still the same ranking and characteristics?

That’s definitely true William, but I thought it was worth mentioning, especially since the 2007 La Seve du Clos outshined the 2009 Coche-Dury Rougeots! At least, for my pallete…

Like William said / suggested, it’s hard to separate lieu dits, viticulture / vine age, and winemaking. One could write a nice book on this topic.

Very good Tesson from Pierre Morey and Fichet.

The problem is that there is no ‘control experiment’, and I would always rather drink a great producer’s communal wine than a poor producer’s grand or premier cru. Lalou’s Narvaux is better than most Montrachets, and I would opt for JM Roulot or Anne Morey’s Tesson over the vast majority of premier cru Meursault. So what you are really asking, I suppose, is who are the top producers of wine from Meursault’s best lieux-dits that remain relatively under-valued?

For me, one of the better values in lieu-dit Meursault these days is definitely Girardin’s Narvaux, since 2008 they have taken a new direction with much less new oak and working of the lees, and longer elevage. The wines are now very serious, but I don’t think that has been fully registered in the marketplace yet.

If you can source Boisson-Vadot / Pierre Boisson / Anne Boisson Chevalières or Grands Charrons for a good price, don’t hesitate - 2015 is especially strong.

Coche-Bizouard makes a great under-the-radar Chevalières, the 2017 is superb and I bought large formats as it’s my daughter’s vintage.

Fichet’s Chevalières is also terrific, in his chiseled, tensile style.

There are plenty of others but those spring to mind.

You guys are a treasure trove of helpful insights. Most of this is over my head, but I’ll be sure to refer back to this thread for years to come as I continue to explore and drink through these wines when I can afford to do so.

Just want to throw out Caillot and Jobard ‘En La Barre’ into the mix.

If you want to drink good Meursault you can afford, try producers like Bouchard, Dublere and Buisson-Charles. I would bet you get more than one good bottle out of three. Focus more on producer and less on which vineyard is the best non-1er cru.

drink good Meursault you can afford

I agree…Bouchard for me without a doubt as it is easily available in Quebec Canada every year.

Mark, not on point to your original question, but are you sure they were pox’d versus damaged in some other way? I haven’t had or heard of a single premoxed 2013 (maybe my luck), so it could be that you were buying from a source that didn’t take care of the wines? Just a thought.

Mark, in Chicago, I have had good luck dealing with Flickingers. They do prearrival offerings on Dublere wines that are quite good.