Jean Michel Gaunoux’s domaine is known primarily for its red wine production from Pommard’s finest Premier Cru sites, but the estate also maintains holdings in Meursault whose wines reflect the same commitment to traditional, minimal-intervention winemaking that governs the red wine programme. The Meursault Les Perrières holding occupies a Premier Cru-adjacent position within the Meursault village appellation, drawing on one of the village’s most revered place names, though the Les Perrières designation here refers to a village lieu-dit rather than the famous Premier Cru of the same name. The wines are vinified with the same restraint and patience that Gaunoux applies to the Pommard reds: limited new oak, natural fermentation and ageing that prioritises the honest expression of the vineyard over cosmetic correction.

The 2016 Meursault white wine vintage was shaped by the same devastating spring frosts that reduced red wine yields across the Côte de Beaune, with some estates in Meursault losing the majority of their crop. The wines that survived and reached maturity are characterised by exceptional concentration, high natural acidity and a structural integrity that promises development well into the 2030s, making the 2016 one of the most compelling white Burgundy vintages for cellaring of the past decade. For a traditionally made Meursault from an estate of Gaunoux’s philosophy, the low-yield 2016 provides the ideal conditions for expressing the vineyard’s mineral character with unusual clarity and intensity.

Village-level Meursault from a small traditional estate in a low-yield, high-quality vintage represents one of the more reliable categories for collectors of white Burgundy who seek wines of genuine terroir character at prices below the Premier Cru tier. The Gaunoux Meursault Les Perrières is a wine for patient collectors: not an immediate crowd pleaser, but a wine of precision, concentration and mineral depth that will develop beautifully over the next decade from a winemaker whose approach is entirely aligned with what the 2016 vintage demands.

Pale gold with a concentrated and mineral nose of lemon oil, chalk, white pear, toasted almond and a restrained floral note from the Meursault limestone terroir. Full-bodied on the palate with excellent natural acidity, remarkable concentration for its level of appellation and a long, mineral, structured finish that speaks to the vintage’s low yields and fine conditions. Best from 2024 through 2035.