Meursault · Côte de Beaune · Bourgogne
Domaine Roulot
Jean-Marc Roulot
Domaine Roulot stands among the greatest white-wine estates on earth. Under Jean-Marc Roulot the wines — precise, saline, full of nervous energy — sell out before they reach bottle, and have redefined what Meursault means for a generation of drinkers.
Like the man — actor, distiller, vigneron — the wines are full of spirit and intensity.
The Domaine
The family has been in Meursault since 1820, but it was Guy Roulot — with his marriage to Geneviève Coche and his shrewd assembly of prime lieux-dits — who lifted the estate to greatness. After Guy’s sudden death in 1982, a young American named Ted Lemon kept the cellar before founding Littorai; Jean-Marc returned in 1989, pausing his acting career in Paris, and has expanded the holdings ever since. The domaine remains the master of the lieu-dit, alongside five premier cru parcels in Meursault and Monthélie.
In the Vines
Organic farming since the early 1990s: no herbicides, only ploughing, and treatments managed to protect the vineyards’ microbial life. Jean-Marc prunes early and short, and would always rather pick two days early than one day late.
In the Cellar
Élevage runs about eighteen months — a year in barrel on fine lees with natural yeasts, then six months in tank. New oak stays between 10 and 30 percent. Bâtonnage is used sparingly: “It creates richness, but it also creates heaviness, and one loses purity.” Austere on release, the wines take on tremendous scale with age.
In the Library
Four cuvées currently rest in the Library, including village lieux-dits and premier cru bottlings.