BOYER-MARTENOT MEURSAULT LES TILLETS 2014
There’s something about Meursault. There are always comparisons made between Chardonnays made all over the world against the ‘motherland’ of white Burgundy, and an occasional case can be made that something might loosely resemble a Puligny or Chassagne. But the distinct, specific streak of toasty, resiny minerality combined with an insistent grilled nut character, is pretty unique. Nothing tastes like Meursault.
We did not know this small estate when it was presented to us though we were familiar with the top-of-the-hill lieu dit ‘les Tillets’ from Guy Roulot bottlings we had years ago (Roulot has since become a Meurault superstar a la Coche Dury, so we don’t see much of any of it these days). Boyer Martenot owns land in several Meursault climates and a couple in Puligny. The family estate is over 100 years old and Vincent Boyer is the fourth generation of winemakers and definitely something of a ‘Meursault whisperer’.
We had him in the store for the video but he is clearly a man of few words who lets his juice do the talking. He is a terroirist, choosing to sit back and gently facilitate the dirt doing the talking. What’s his secret? He’s not saying. His approach in the vineyard is ‘hands on’ lutte raisonée (the short explanation being ‘failsafe’ organic), all the fermentations are done with the indigenous yeast, and the majority of the bottlings from the single parcels. The wines are, across the board, bright, precise, intensely expressive of the terroir but delicate and refined in every other way.
Our attraction to the Tillet among his stellar lineup is the very ‘Meursault’ profile from predominantly thinner, chalkier soils at the top of the hill, and the price performance. This is Meursault in its purest, most native, “less-is-more” sense with the subtle perfume of nuts, mineral, oyster shell, and stone fruits wafting from the glass, a bright, vigorous palate with plenty of verve, and a long, unmistakably classic finish for this particular village. We have had $80 wines from big time names that are considerably less pure and compelling, which kind of makes this one a bargain for the genre as well…$52.98