2017 Meursault Village

I tasted this spring with Yoann Hervey, who assists Jean-Philippe Fichet in the vines and especially in the cellar, where he’s taking on an increasing share of winemaking duties. Hervey described 2017 as a generous year, with yields up to 50 hectoliters per hectare, especially in Puligny-Montrachet Les Referts. The wines average about 13.4% alcohol, and very little chaptalization was done. The Rully and Chassagne-Montrachet cuvées had not yet completed their malolactic fermentations at the beginning of June but most of the rest of the Fichet wines finished back in January. “The wines are rounder after the malos and very easy to taste today,” noted Hervey, who told me that they showed similarities to the ‘15s.

As to winemaking techniques here, Fichet always ferments his wines entirely in fûts using wild yeasts, then does a short six-hour débourbage and begins his élevage with a generous amount of lees. But he does not believe in stirring the lees. When I asked Hervey when the estate’s ‘17s should be best to drink, he recommended waiting seven years for the Meursault Les Chevalières and five or six for the other Meursaults. But he emphasized that these wines should gain in minerality as they age and last well. The ‘16s, he added, are closed up today and need time.