DOMAINE SYLVAIN DUSSORT: COCHE-DURY’S NEIGHBOR PROVES MEURSAULT IS STILL WITHIN REACH
Meursault is considered one of the great white wine villages of Burgundy, held in highest esteem alongside its fellow Côte de Beaune villages of Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet. Illustrious names (and incredibly expensive), such as Jacques Carillon, Coche-Dury, Roulot, and Comte Lafon, come to mind when we talk about this famous village, but there are a number of other lesser known producers making excellent wines in this village, including Domaine Sylvain Dussort. Sylvain has been making wine since the 1980s and is currently preparing his daughter Anne-Caroline to take over the business, and so he has heavily involved her in the production of wine at this small but mighty estate. Sylvian's vines are some of the greatest in Meursault, and his estate is located right next to the ultra-famous Coche-Dury, whose wines regularly go for thousands of dollars. Thankfully, Sylvain's wines are still relatively under the radar, so you can actually snag a bottle of his old vine Meursault for under $100, which is an increasing rarity in this ever more coveted wine region.
When differentiating Meursault from it’s neighbors in Chassagne and Puligny, Meursault is generally accepted to make a richer, fatter style of Chardonnay with notes of butter and hazelnut, without quite the same level of ripping acidity of Puligny or the minerality of Chassagne (although your average Meursault has more overlap with Chassagne than Puligny). Sylvain does a beautiful job of balancing the expected richness of Meursault with some reduction and freshness along with subtle and well integrated oak influence. I did an audible double take when I first tasted the Meursault Vielles Vignes, and my immediate thought was that this was one of the most striking bottles of Meursault I had tasted in a long time - and I just spent 8 days in Burgundy with multiple days visiting Meursault! I would argue that in terms of bang for your buck, you are unlikely to stumble across many better bottles of Meursault. - MEG VAN TIL
