Domaine Roulot is one of the iconic producers in Meursault and Jean-Marc Roulot is in my view one of the most talented winemakers in Burgundy. It was therefore a great treat when I had the opportunity to visit Domaine Roulot during this year’s Grands Jours de Bourgogne.
Photo: Jean-Marc Roulot tasting one of his fine 2012s
Domaine Roulot … the rising star of Meursault
In my view Domaine Roulot is – still – the rising star of Meursault … the wines have been very fine for many years now – but In my view Jean-Marc Roulot is still improving his wines year after year and is adding especially more refinement and balance to some already great wines.
In my view Roulot and Coche-Dury are now clearly ahead of the rest of the producers in Meursault … and there are indeed many fine producers in Meursault.
The style of the Domaine Roulot Meursault’s
It’s always difficult to describe the wines from a producer without being too general and end up lacking the adequate words – I will however give it a go!
In my view Domaine Roulot stands for the pure, precise and intense terroir driven Meursault’s. The wines are intense and focused rather than opulent and big. There is a house style, but it’s somehow more discrete than the ones employed by Coche-Dury and Lafon.
The wines offer a crystal clear impression of the terroir … and they offer little or no “makeup” that cover or dilute this expression – this is the real deal!
I really enjoy and adore this style as it in my view offer a great expression of the Meursault terroirs.
Tasting of the 2012s
This was my first visit to this fine estate and Jean-Marc Roulot had prepared a nice tasting for the groups attending. Jean-Marc served a selection of the 2012s a few 2011s and a couple of older wines at the tasting.
Jean-Marc is a very friendly guy .. but also very serious about his winemaking and explaining the terroirs of Meursault. He is extremely aware of the importance of the terroir .. not only on the vineyard level … but also the location of the plot within the vineyards is very important for the quality – and he is very eager to explain this to the visitors – I will try to communicate this information in a separate article about the Meursault vineyards. It was a very interesting and educational visit.
Tasting notes – Domaine Roulot 2012
Roulot was just about to start bottling his 2012s – so it was a very good time to explore the wines. All the wines presented showed very well with only small signs of reduction.
Domaine Roulot, Bourgogne Blanc 2012
The Bourgogne Blanc 2012 from Roulot is a lovely expressive wine for its level. In the nose white and yellow fruits with a nice citrus infused minerality. On the palate lovely weighty fruit … well-structured by a crisp acidity .. quite powerful for a generic Burgundy. The aromatic profile is intense and relatively dark with a nice complexity … very impressive for this level.
(Drink From 2016) – Good – (85 – 86p) – Tasted 17/03/2014 – cask sample.
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Domaine Roulot, Meursault 2012
The “generic” Meursault 2012 from Roulot is showing all the qualities of the vintage. The bouquet is quite forward offering a quite intense aromatic profile of white and yellow fruits spiced with a quite intense citrus infused minerality. On the palate lovely fruit – intense and finely focused by the fine acidity … quite weighty but fresh and crisp. A quite powerful village in the making.
(Drink From 2018) – Very Good – (88 – 89p) – Tasted 17/03/2014 – cask sample.
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Domaine Roulot, Meursault Les Meix Chaveaux 2012
The Miex Chaveaux 2012 is a step up in weight and concentration. On the palate pure and rather intense white and yellow fruit … quite extrovert and openly knit. On the palate very good midpalate weight for this level …. lovely pure fruit … with a nice focusing .. slightly salty minerality. A lovely … somewhat voluptuous Meursault .. a charming effort.
(Drink From 2021) – Very Good+ – (89 – 90p) – Tasted 17/03/2014 – cask sample.
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Domaine Roulot, Meursault Les Luchets 2012
The Meursault Les Luchets 2012 – located on the slope above Meix Chaveaux is showing more mineral character and refinement. In the nose airy white orchard fruit with hints of acacia and a lovely citrus infused minerality. On the palate lovely midpalate fruit – good weight – firmly structured by a lovely crunchy minerality and a crisp acidity. Really love the airy transparency of this wine … and the fresh and mineralic finish is gorgeous. A truly beautiful village.
(Drink From 2022) – Fine – (91 – 92p) – Tasted 17/03/2014 – cask sample
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Domaine Roulot, Meursault Tesson 2012
The Meursault Tesson 2012 is a step up in concentration and intensity from the Les Luchets. In the bouquet deeper and more intense fruit .. balanced more toward the intense yellow fruit … with a deep more powerful minerality underneath the ample fruit. On the palate … same story layers of deep and quite powerful fruit on the midpalate .. brought forward by a deeply constituted minerality and a crisp and focusing acidity. A truly fine Meursault in the making … this is clearly in 1er cru territory?
(Drink From 2022) – Fine+ – (91 – 93p) – Tasted 17/03/2014 – cask sample.
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Domaine Roulot, Meursault Porusot 2012
The Porusot is a step up in mineralic intensity in its own slightly edgy way. The nose offers an equal balance between white and yellow orchard fruits infused by a citrusy deep minerality. On the palate quite ample deep fruit supported by a quite powerful slightly rustic minerality. This is a forward and powerful Meursault .. forward with a slightly rustic charm … refinement is just not the strong point of this terroir. Nevertheless a lovely wine.
(Drink From 2024) – Fine+ – (91 -93p) – Tasted 17/03/2014 – cask sample.
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Domaine Roulot, Meursault Clos des Boucheres 2012
The Meursault Clos des Boucheres is a quite new wine in the Roulot impressive line-up of Meursault wines – the first vintage was 2011. This gorgeous vineyard located above the northern part of Porusot and just south of Goutte d’Or. This vineyard combines refinement with some of the mineralic power found in the Porusot – the result is delightful and delicate. In the nose gorgeous airy white fruit with a lovely almost filigree citrus infused minerality. On the palate airy and refined fruit … just so effortless with a lovely transparency and mineralic lift. This is a remarkably refined and elegant Meursault … an adorable wine.
(Drink From 2022) – Very Fine – (93 – 94p) – Tasted 17/03/2014 – cask sample.
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Domaine Roulot, Meursault Perrieres 2012
Les Perrieres is the missing grand cru of Meursault with its sheer weight and underlying mineralic power. Roulot’s Perrieres is made from a perfectly located plot on the northern part of Perrieres Dessous … and it’s a quite big step up in quality and especially weight from the other lovely Meursault’s in the Roulot line-up. In the nose gorgeously pure white and yellow orchard fruits – notes of pear and more exotic fruit – brought forward and focused by a powerful yet refined minerality. On the palate crystal clear weighty and powerful – with ample and very pure fruit – focused and energized by a very intense minerality. The finish is long and very persistent … these are the qualities of a grand cru. A both impressive and gorgeous Meursault Perrieres … salute!
(Drink From 2026) – Very Fine+ – (94 – 95p) – Tasted 17/03/2014 – cask sample.
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Concluding remarks
The 2012s from Roulot are lovely wines made under very difficult weather conditions …. the quantities are down with 60% compared to a normal yielding year.
The overall impression of the 2012s from Roulot is very fine … they are intense mineral driven Meursault’s … they are focused and well-structured but with a more weighty fruit and powerful acidity than the 2011s. Compared to the 2011s they have a more powerful aromatic profile, but they are perhaps lacking the very delicate balance found in the 2011s. In comparasion with the 2010s they seem to be lacking the ultimate force of nature found in the 2010s.
Despite the difficult weather conditions in recent years we have been blessed with a number of very fine vintages for the whites … 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011. The vintages mentioned all have their individual qualities … and only time will show if one of them edges ahead quality wise … my favorite at the moment is the 2010s … but I love and adore the drama and energy in the 2008s. Will be very interesting to see where the 2012s fit in amongst these lovely vintages.
I will leave it to the readers to judge if the slight hint of botrytis found in many 2010s is a good thing … or if it somehow clouds terroir and the purity of the fruit. The 2012s somehow seem to deliver a slightly more nude a pure expressoion of the fruit. I have very mixed feelings about this issue … especially since I really like the 2010 whites.
Bottom line the 2012s from Roulot are lovely and intense wines … can’t wait to taste them again from bottle.
Tasting Notes for this producer
- Domaine Roulot Meursault Les Meix Chavaux 1992 June 30, 2020
- Domaine Roulot Meursault Charmes 2007 June 27, 2020
- Domaine Roulot, Meursault Meix Chaveaux 2008 December 23, 2016
- Domaine Roulot, Meursault Les Luchets 2011 September 4, 2016
- Domaine Roulot, Meursault Les Tillets 2010 August 29, 2015
- Domaine Roulot, Meursault Les Tillets 2013 August 24, 2015
- Domaine Roulot, Bourgogne Blanc 2013 August 19, 2015
- Domaine Roulot, Meursault Tesson 2013 August 16, 2015
- Domaine Roulot, Meursault Poruzot 2013 August 10, 2015
- Domaine Roulot, Meursault Charmes 2013 August 9, 2015
- Domaine Roulot, Meursault Clos des Boucheres 2013 August 9, 2015
- Domaine Roulot, Meursault Perrieres 2013 August 8, 2015
- Domaine Roulot, Meursault Meix Chaveaux 2010 December 12, 2014
- Domaine Roulot, Meursault Les Luchets 2012 December 11, 2014
- Domaine Roulot, Meursault Les Luchets 2012 May 27, 2014
- Domaine Roulot, Meursault Porusot 2012 May 25, 2014
- Domaine Roulot, Meursault Tesson 2012 May 15, 2014
- Domaine Roulot, Meursault Les Meix Chaveaux 2012 May 8, 2014
- Domaine Roulot, Meursault 2012 May 6, 2014
- Domaine Roulot, Bourgogne Blanc 2012 May 4, 2014
- Domaine Roulot, Meursault Clos des Boucheres 2012 April 25, 2014
- Domaine Roulot, Meursault Perrieres 2012 April 20, 2014
- Domaine Roulot, Meursault Les Tesson 2011 April 7, 2014
- Domaine Roulot, Meursault Les Tessons 2007 April 2, 2014
- Domaine Roulot, Meursault Perrieres 2005 March 31, 2014
- Domaine Roulot, “R” Meursault 2010 February 11, 2014
- Domaine Roulot, Meursault Les Luchets 2008 September 17, 2013
- Domaine Roulot, Meursault Les Vireuils 2010 September 16, 2013
- Domaine Roulot, Bourgogne Blanc 2010 September 6, 2012
- Domaine Guy Roulot, Le Meix Chavaux 2010 July 19, 2012
- Domaine Roulot, Les Tessons – Clos de Mon Plaisir 2008 May 8, 2012
- Domaine Roulot, Meursault Tillets 2009 February 15, 2012
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