Meursault 1er Cru, “Santenots”

This unique premier cru sits right on the border of Meursault and Volnay; white wines from here are labeled Meursault, and red wines Volnay, and Francois owns a fifth of a hectare of Chardonnay in the steep Santenots-Blanc climat, planted in the early 1970s. The plot’s soils of Bathonian limestone and brown scree produce a broad, powerful wine that combines rich body and punchy minerality in an impressively dynamic whole. This passes 16 months in about one-quarter new barrels before bottling.