Among Burgundy villages, Meursault covers the widest appellation for white. There are about 130 ha. for 1er Cru, and 320 ha(!) for village AOC. So, especially when you choose village Meursault, you need to know which producer/ terroir makes better wine. Because there is a huge terroir variation, some producers make village Meursault under single lieu-dit, without blending grapes between multiple vineyards.
Domaine Froncois & Antoine Jobard makes among the top class lieu-dit Meursault village. I was home alone and thirsty a few nights ago, so I opened their 2005 Meursault "En La Barre". Yes, it's right next to Comte Lafon's "Clos de la Barre" in the north-eastern Meursault. Jobard makes very age-worthy Meursault. (I had their 2000 vintage a few weeks ago and it was fantastic.) 2005 was beautiful golden with the rich and powerful fruits, with the finesse. The character kept changing every 5 minutes, and I was so excited with every sip. It was a great pairing with my "shojin" steam-fry brussels sprouts!
Another famous lieu-dit of Meursault is "Les Narvaux", and it's shared by many prominent producers. This vineyard is situated right above 1er crus, "Genevrieres" and "Poruzots", and grapes from some of its plots are considered to make 1er cru level quality wines.
The following day, I opened 2004 Guy Bocard, Meursault "Les Narvaux". I brought it to our dinner at Canele in Atwater Village. 2004 was not an easy vintage, but the wine had the nicely balanced fruit and acidity. It made a nice pairing with my steamed clams appetizer. Then, after about 20 minutes, the wine started to loose its character and it became kind of tired.
Yet, I was still happy because my roasted leg of lamb (the top picture) was delicious, especially after eating mostly vegan food for the whole past week!
