Bouchard Père & Fils : Meursault 1er cru Domaine 2018

Characteristics and Tasting Advice for the Meursault 1er Cru Domaine 2018 from Bouchard Père & Fils

Tasting

Appearance

The color shows a golden hue with slightly green highlights, characteristic of a high-quality chardonnay.

Nose

The nose reveals beautiful aromatic intensity with notes of dried fruits and citrus, accompanied by floral nuances. Delicate touches of oak and stone fruit complete this complex bouquet, enriched by aromas of hazelnut and almond.

Palate

On the palate, this wine charms with its generosity and breadth while retaining fine elegance. The texture is silky and round, with remarkable concentration. Natural acidity provides the tension needed for balance, while the finish lingers on buttery, honeyed, and mineral notes.

Food and Wine Pairings

This Meursault 1er Cru Domaine 2018 pairs perfectly with fish in sauce, especially when prepared with an Armorican sauce. It also matches beautifully with grilled shellfish, pan-seared scallops, or poultry with cream and morels. Moderately assertive cheeses also make excellent pairings.

Serving and Cellaring

This Meursault 1er Cru Domaine 2018 is best enjoyed at a temperature between 12 and 14°C. A brief aeration of around twenty minutes allows the wine to fully express its aromatic complexity. This wine can be cellared until around 2028 in good cellar conditions.

A Generous, Balanced Meursault Premier Cru from Burgundy

The estate

Founded in 1731 in Beaune, Burgundy, Bouchard Père & Fils is among the region’s oldest and most prestigious houses. Owned by the Bouchard family for 264 years, it was acquired by Joseph Henriot in 1995, then by Artémis Domaines (François Pinault group) in 2022. Now led by Emmanuel Dumont under the Artémis umbrella, the House owns around 130 hectares, including 12 hectares in Grand Cru and 74 hectares in Premier Cru. In 2025, a major restructuring created the Domaine des Cabottes (35 hectares of the finest crus), while Bouchard Père & Fils retained 60 hectares. Certified organic since 2025, the House has ceased its négociant activity to focus exclusively on its estate-owned vineyards.

The vineyard

The Meursault vineyard covers nearly 396 hectares, 96% of which are devoted to white wine production. The appellation includes nineteen climats classified as Premier Cru, representing around 30% of the total area. The highest-quality plots are situated mid-slope, with exposures ranging from east to south. The soils, composed mainly of marl and limestone, provide ideal conditions for expressing chardonnay, producing wines that combine aromatic finesse with structure on the palate.

The vintage

The 2018 vintage stands out for particularly favorable climatic conditions in Burgundy. The mild, rainy winter helped replenish the soils’ water reserves. The hot, sunny summer encouraged a gradual, harmonious ripening of the grapes, concentrating aromas while preserving the necessary freshness. The dry fall offered optimal conditions for harvesting, making it possible to achieve ideal phenolic ripeness. This year produced wines that are concentrated, structured, and generous, with excellent aging potential.

Winemaking and aging

For this Meursault 1er Cru Domaine 2018, the grapes were pressed slowly to preserve the vintage’s natural acidity. Fermentation took place in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks, favoring a natural process. After fermentation, the wine was transferred with the gross lees into oak barrels for fifteen months of aging. The proportion of new oak, limited to 10–15%, helps respect the wine’s fruity character. Minimal use of sulfites from pressing encourages natural fermentation and preserves aromatic authenticity.

Grape variety

100% chardonnay.