Ropiteau Frères Puligny-Montrachet 2023
A classy Puligny-Montrachet with seductive aromas of white peach, apricot and buttery notes, which is elegantly structured and supported by delicious minerality.
The Puligny-Montrachet appellation was created in 1937 on soils separated by only a few metres from the Grands Crus. For the most part, the vines are grown in brown limestone soils, or soils where limestone alternates with marls and limey-clays, which play a great part in giving the wines in this appellation their structure. In some parts the soils are deep, while in others the rock is exposed at the surface and the clayey alluvia soils are coarser higher up the slope and finer at the foot. The vines are planted at elevations of 230 to 320 metres, with east and south-easterly exposures, which helps to protect them from the northern winds and is ideal to optimise sunlight exposure which ensures good maturity and concentration of flavour in the grapes.
Whole bunches of grapes were gently pressed for two and a half hours, and the temperature of the must was lowered to 12°C. It was then immediately transferred to barrels without settling to preserve the maximum lees, which imparted the wine with texture and complexity. The wine was aged for 12 months without racking or stirring to bring out all of this wine’s natural minerality. A proportion of 40% was in new French oak barrels.
| RRP | £101.95 |
| Vintage | 2023 |
| Alcoholic strength | 13% |
| Country | France |
| Region | Burgundy |
| Subregion | Puligny-Montrachet |
| Grapes | Chardonnay 100% |
| Dry/Sweet value | 1 |
| Contains sulphites | Yes |
| Vegetarian | No |
| Vegan | No |
| Milk | No |
| Eggs | No |
| Organic | No |
| Biodynamic | No |
| Closure | Cork |
The arrival of the railway into Meursault in 1848 incited Jean Ropiteau to establish his own wine merchant house. At just 24-years-old, this young man, whose Burgundian family's roots date back to the 16th century, quickly realised that this new means of transport would enable him to promote the wines of Burgundy far and wide. The wine house expanded throughout the 20th century but remained faithful to its values. In 1940, Jean’s great-grandson, Auguste Ropiteau purchased the current Meursault cellars and a property in the Hospice de Beaune which he acquired for a modest price as it was a time when fine wine sales were hardly favourable. This proved to be a great success, and before long the Ropiteau name became synonymous with the ‘grand’ Meursault. By acquiring a remarkable patchwork of some of the finest parcels or ‘climats’ within the Golden Triangle, Ropiteau Frères has become a specialist in Côte de Beaune and most notably in Meursault. The wines display all the hallmarks of fine Burgundy expressing the nuances of the climats from this renowned terroir.
