Appellation
Meursault
Identity card
VillageAOPWhiteRed
Burgundy › Côte de Beaune · Recognised on 31 July 1937
- Grand cru
- Premier cru
- Village
- Regional
Key points
- Mostly white: red production is marginal.
- White premier cru: at most 55 hl/ha and at least 11.5% natural alcohol.
- On the Meursault side, Blagny-area whites may be called Meursault.
Grape varieties
Red
Allowed as a small share of the red wine: Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris (15% at most of the vines in each plot)
Only interplanted among the vines
Production rules
57
hl/ha
Maximum yield
10.5
% ABV
Minimum natural alcohol
9,000
vines/ha
Minimum planting density
Minimum ageing: At least until 15 March after the harvest
- Maximum yield
- How much wine a hectare may produce under the appellation (a higher, exceptional ceiling often exists). The lower it is, the less can be made: one of the levers on how concentrated the grapes are. For reference: 35 hl/ha to 80 hl/ha across 128 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum natural alcohol
- The alcohol the grapes' own sugar must be able to give, without enrichment: a ripeness threshold at harvest. For reference: 9 % ABV to 14 % ABV across 78 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum planting density
- The fewest vines allowed per hectare. For the same yield, more vines means fewer grapes on each. For reference: 4,000 vines/ha to 9,000 vines/ha across 136 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum ageing
- A minimum ageing period the specification requires before the wine may be sold to consumers.
Terroir
- Lie of the land: A Côte front about 150 m high, heavily faulted
- Soils: Alternating limestone, marl and dolomitic limestone
- Soils: Premiers crus low on the slope, on limestone or marl
Wine style
- White
- Almond
- dry
- toasty notes
- long finish
- Red
- Black cherry
- red fruit
- freshness
- finesse
Boundaries: INAO, AOC vineyard plot delimitation (September 2026 edition) · Open Licence
Specification
4 June 2026
Arrêté du 4 juin 2026 (NOR AGRT2610194A) homologuant le cahier des charges de l'AOC « Meursault » (JORF n°0132 du 7 juin 2026, texte n°34 ; publié au BO-AGRI n°24 du 11 juin 2026). Appellation initialement reconnue par décret du 31 juillet 1937.
Labelling terms
- "Premier cru" and/or the name of one of 19 listed climats
- Red: "Côte de Beaune" may follow the name
Nearby appellations
Sources
- Official sourceArrêté du 4 juin 2026 homologuant le cahier des charges de l'AOC « Meursault »— Ministère de l'agriculture et de la souveraineté alimentaire — Bulletin officiel (BO-AGRI)
- Reference bookThe Oxford Companion to Wine— Oxford University Press
- Trade bodyFiches d'appellation des vins de Bourgogne (surfaces et récoltes)— Bureau Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bourgogne (BIVB)
A Côte de Beaune village of about 400 hectares in 2010, 130 of them delimited as premier cru, Meursault has no grand cru. Its specification calls it long known for its whites: at a time when Burgundy's fine wines were overwhelmingly red, Meursault stood out by making mostly white. The whites, from Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc, have a heady bouquet; since 1923, la Paulée, an end-of-harvest banquet, has helped make them known.
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Meursault
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