Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All Vintages
Nicolas Potel, after his first steps as winemaker in the family Estate in Volnay: le Domaine de la Pousse d'Or, he built up his own negoce in 1996 then, in 2000, Maison Potel-Aviron in Beaujolais region. In 2005, Nicolas built up his own Estate, Domaine de Bellene, in Beaune with 15 Ha of organic vines in Côte de Beaune.
In 2008, after the departure from SAS Nicolas Potel company, Nicolas Potel launches his new negociant business called Maison Roche de Bellene. The philosophy is the same as Nicolas used to in Nuits-Saint-Georges: we have been keeping the same source of wines and the same relationship with growers that Nicolas have been working with the last 15 years. One extremely important difference from the past is the we are now only focusing on offering the finest wines, in limited cuvées in order to achieve our goal: being the only "Haute Couture" negociant in Burgundy.
Known to offer a magical balance of smoothness and freshness, Meursault's quality is hard to rival. The village lies in the middle of Côte de Beaune, just south of Volnay. Meursault is said to mean “mouse’s jump” because in the past the plots producing Pinot Noir and those producing Chardonnay were no more than a mouse’s jump from one another. Today the village is almost exclusively Chardonnay. A tiny bit of Pinot Noir is produced here with the best coming from Les Santenots on its northern side near Volnay.
While there are no Grands Crus, Meursault’s numerous acclaimed Premiers Crus can compete with any other top-notch white Burgundy. Some to know are Les Perrières, Les Genevrières, Les Charmes, Le Poruzot, Les Bouchères and Les Gouttes d’Or.
Meursault produces outstanding village level wines as well. In general great Premiers Crus and even village level Meursault (Chardonnay) have enticing aromas of lime peel, tropical fruit, crushed rocks, spice and hazelnut. On the palate there is a wonderful balance of brightness and a seductive length with flavors of white peach, pineapple and citrus.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.