Meursault is another of those village names that needs no introduction at all. It lies only a few kilometres from Beaune, beyond Pommard and Volnay. Its boundary on the Beaune side runs through the red wine growing vineyards of Volnay Santenots, some of which lie in Volnay and some in Meursault. The village is the home of a number of the top white Burgundy Appellations and this makes it an easy mistake to miss out on the wonderful reds that the village also produces. On the other side lie the white Appellations of Charmes and Perrieres as well as the hameau de Blagny, a tiny hamlet tucked up into the woods. The vineyards around Blagny produce both reds and whites that are able to be sold under either the Meursault or Blagny name and Monsieur Ampeau has a good holding here, as well as parcels of the other top whites. These splendid vineyards give way seamlessly to those of the adjoining village of Puligny Montrachet and any visit to Meursault or Puligny should include a gentle drive along the tiny lanes that criss-cross the short distance between the two villages. A word of warning here, getting lost is almost inevitable, so focus on the church spire.

The Ampeau family long ago decided to adopt a simple but highly unusual philosophy towards the marketing of their wines. If it is not mature, they do not sell it. As a consequence their cellar today is an archive of vintage Burgundy which contains some real gems from the past. They also have the advantage of making some absolutely cracking wines, which means that a bottle of theirs is a time capsule of some of Burgundy's best. I have long admired their wines which are hardly seen in the UK and I still have a bottle of their Meursault Villages 1978 in my cellar. I also have a ridiculous story of the fate of a bottle of Perrieres 1983 which I told Michel on one of our recent visits. He reciprocated by insisting that we sampled a bottle of the 1988 which I had told him a few minutes earlier was the year when I had visited him and bought the bottle in question. Hardship indeed! If anyone does not believe that Burgundies are built to last, they really should try some of this fascinating stock of 20+ year old wines.

Michel Ampeau's wines are so out of the ordinary and his stocks and prices vary more than those of other vignerons who sell their stock within a handful of years of the vintage, that we are listing some of his wines only and are not quoting prices. We believe that his wines will appeal most to those who know Burgundy well and will be fascinated by the chance to try wines that have disappeared forever in almost every other case. Both his red and white wines are quite superb, however because of the international reputation of Meursault’s white wines, demand for his white wines always exceeds that for his reds. So, in order to ensure a fair distribution, he restricts the sale of his whites to one third of any purchase of his reds. This means that some "balance" will need to be struck in any individual order. If you would like to purchase some of these wines please email us at www.cusomersupport@justburgundy.com