Jean Michel Gaunoux, Meursault 1er Cru La Goutte d'Or 2021

Description

About the Producer

Practicing lutte raisonnée in the vineyard, Jean-Michel works the soil without pesticides, practicing green harvesting to ensure low yields. Via traditional vinification methods, Gaunoux’s wines see 15-30% new oak and are bottled after 15-16 months; they are neither filtered nor fined, and their aging potential is outstanding. Producing the richest wines in Meursualt, "Perrieres" is located mid-slope, at the southwestern end of the commune, above the main vineyard road and just north of "Charmes". There are 14.86ha in "Perrieres", with soils of clay and limestone that are covered with stones that reflect sunlight back onto the vines. Cited as a "tete de cuvee" vineyard in the 1861 original classification, "Perrieres", according to Jancis Robinson, "might well have been classified as a Grand Cru." Yielding powerful wines that tend to be steely, high in acidity and minerality, "Perrieres" is believed by many to produce the best wines in Meursault. Coming in at a close second to "Perrieres", "Genevrieres" contains four sub-climats that also lie in the southern section of Meursault, just north of "Charmes". Facing east, at an altitude of 240-280m, with red soils that contains a high proportion of iron and clay, "Genevrieres" produces elegant wines that are richer and less steely than the wines of "Perrieres" with notes of citrus and exotic spices. Limited to 5.33ha, "Goutte d'Or" is the smallest of the 1er Cru sites that is cultivated by Jean-Michel Gaunoux. Translated as "drops of gold", "Goutte d'Or" sits at a high elevation, on par with "Perrieres" and "Genevrieres", but here, the soil is clay heavy with a limestone base, where the vines take root on slopes that face east.