Domaine Roulot
Guy Roulot, a legendary producer of some of the finest Meursaults, if not some of the world’s finest white wines, took his family’s small production domaine to stardom. Guy’s marriage to Geneviève Coche and his own hard work added more prime parcels to the family’s holdings, which he vinified and bottled separately – a novelty for a domaine which had been distilling, rather than vinifying, their grapes just a generation before. As a result, Domaine Roulot has become the master of the lieu-dit, not to mention the five premier cru parcels they farm in Meursault and Monthelie. Guy’s sudden death in 1982 left the family in transition, as his son, Jean-Marc was in Paris pursuing a career in acting. A series of three winemakers aided in the changeover until 1989, when Jean-Marc was at last ready to take on the direction of the estate.
Since then, Jean-Marc’s progress has brought even more notice to a domaine that had already enjoyed a great reputation. The wines of Domaine Roulot are now among the most sought after wines in all of Burgundy. Jean-Marc has been successful in fine-tuning the domaine’s particular, stand-out style. While Domaine Roulot had once pioneered the single-vineyard bottlings of Meursault, they were now influencing other domaines to follow suit, thereby raising the stakes in this exalted appellation. What sets the domaine even further apart is Jean-Marc’s commitment to a bright, chiseled, thoroughbred style of Meursault, while many other wines of this village tend towards richness and concentration. Jean-Marc’s wines certainly express a certain depth and sumptuousness thanks to the appellation’s terroir, however his wines also show focus and restraint. Their elegance and amazing precision lend themselves to long aging in the cellars. Jean-Marc loves cooking and believes the strong mineral backbone of his wines and their fresh acidity marry well with food. This is why one is more likely to find their wines in restaurants rather than in wine shops.

Guy Roulot, a legendary producer of some of the finest Meursaults, if not some of the world’s finest white wines, took his family’s small production domaine to stardom. Guy’s marriage to Geneviève Coche and his own hard work added more prime parcels to the family’s holdings, which he vinified and bottled separately – a novelty for a domaine which had been distilling, rather than vinifying, their grapes just a generation before. As a result, Domaine Roulot has become the master of the lieu-dit, not to mention the five premier cru parcels they farm in Meursault and Monthelie. Guy’s sudden death in 1982 left the family in transition, as his son, Jean-Marc was in Paris pursuing a career in acting. A series of three winemakers aided in the changeover until 1989, when Jean-Marc was at last ready to take on the direction of the estate.
Since then, Jean-Marc’s progress has brought even more notice to a domaine that had already enjoyed a great reputation. The wines of Domaine Roulot are now among the most sought after wines in all of Burgundy. Jean-Marc has been successful in fine-tuning the domaine’s particular, stand-out style. While Domaine Roulot had once pioneered the single-vineyard bottlings of Meursault, they were now influencing other domaines to follow suit, thereby raising the stakes in this exalted appellation. What sets the domaine even further apart is Jean-Marc’s commitment to a bright, chiseled, thoroughbred style of Meursault, while many other wines of this village tend towards richness and concentration. Jean-Marc’s wines certainly express a certain depth and sumptuousness thanks to the appellation’s terroir, however his wines also show focus and restraint. Their elegance and amazing precision lend themselves to long aging in the cellars. Jean-Marc loves cooking and believes the strong mineral backbone of his wines and their fresh acidity marry well with food. This is why one is more likely to find their wines in restaurants rather than in wine shops.
Technical Information
Wine | Blend | Vine Age | Soil Type | Vineyard Area* |
---|---|---|---|---|
Bourgogne Aligoté |
Aligoté | 20-80 years | Clay, Limestone | N/A |
Bourgogne Blanc (vines planted in village of Meursault) |
Chardonnay | 30-40 years | Clay, Limestone | 2.64 ha |
Auxey-Duresses Blanc |
Chardonnay | 60 years | Clay, Limestone | .48 ha |
Meursault Les Tessons, Clos de Mon Plaisir |
Chardonnay | Planted in 1951, 1961 | Clay, Limestone | .85 ha |
Meursault Les Tillets |
Chardonnay | Planted in 1974 | Clay, Limestone | .49 ha |
Meursault Les Meix-Chavaux |
Chardonnay | 50 years | Clay, Limestone | .95 ha |
Meursault Les Vireuils |
Chardonnay | Planted in 1950s | Clay, Limestone | .67 ha |
Meursault Porusots 1er Cru (a blend of two vineyards-Le Porusots, and Porusots Dessous) |
Chardonnay | 25-50 years | Clay, Limestone | .42 ha |
Meursault Les Luchets |
Chardonnay | Planted in 1929 | Clay, Limestone | 1.03 ha |
Meursault-Bouchères 1er Cru |
Chardonnay | 30-40 years | Clay, Limestone | N/A |
Meursault-Charmes 1er Cru |
Chardonnay | Planted in 1940s | Clay, Limestone | .28 ha |
Meursault-Perrières 1er Cru |
Chardonnay | Planted in 1960s | Clay, Limestone | .26 ha |
Bourgogne Rouge (a blend of parcels in Volnay and Puligny) |
Pinot Noir | N/A | Clay, Limestone | N/A |
Monthelie Rouge |
Pinot Noir | Planted in late 1980s | Clay, Limestone | .36 ha |
Auxey-Duresses 1er Cru Rouge |
Pinot Noir | 30-40 years | Clay, Limestone | .73 ha |
Bourgogne Blanc ** |
Chardonnay | N/A | Clay, Limestone | N/A |
Meursault Les Vireuils ** |
Chardonnay | N/A | Clay, Limestone | N/A |
Meursault-Genevrières 1er Cru ** |
Chardonnay | Clay, Limestone | ||
Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru “Le Cailleret”** |
Chardonnay | N/A | Clay, Limestone | N/A |
Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru ** |
Chardonnay | N/A | Clay, Limestone | N/A |
Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru ** |
Chardonnay | N/A | Clay, Limestone | N/A |
* "ha" = hectares; one hectare equals roughly two and a half acres |
VITICULTURE / VINIFICATION
• Vineyards are farmed organically
• The majority of vines are pruned in Guyot, with some in Cordon
• Soils are plowed regularly
• Yields are limited by de-budding
• A rigorous sorting of the grapes follows the harvest
Whites: • All of the whites (except the Aligoté) are fermented in oak barriques, an average of 15-18% of which are new
• Aligoté ferments in stainless steel
• Whites are lightly stirred on their lees every three to four weeks, until malolactic fermentation
• Wines undergo malolactic fermentation
• Aligoté ages in stainless steel and is bottled after one year
• Bourgogne Blanc ages in both barrel and stainless steel
• Whites (except Aligoté) age in barrel sur lie for 11 months, then are racked to stainless steel for 7 more months of aging before bottling
Reds: • Grapes are de-stemmed
• Vinification in open top, wooden cuves
• Must is kept at a low temperature for 3-4 days before fermentation starts
• Fermentation lasts about 12 days, with pump-overs and occasional punch-downs
• Reds age for 12-15 months in barrel, 15-18% of which is new
General Information
- Country
- France
- Region
- Burgundy
- Appellation(s)
- Bourgogne Aligoté, Bourgogne, Monthelie, Auxey Duresses, Meursault
- Producer
- Jean-Marc Roulot
- Founded
- ca 1930
- Annual Production
- N/A
- Farming
- Organic (certified)