Armand Heitz Meursault 1er Cru Les Poruzots 2020

Armand Heitz Meursault 1er Cru Les Poruzots comes from a premier cru on the upper slope of Meursault, in the northern group of the commune's best vineyards.

Meursault's premiers crus form a band along the hillside, and Les Poruzots sits in the northern cluster alongside Genevrières and Les Bouchères, on stony limestone with a thin covering of marl. The vineyard climbs quite high on the slope, which keeps the site cool and the harvest a little later than the plots below it. Armand Heitz took over his family's vines in the 2010s and farms organically, with a regenerative approach that brings livestock, trees and hedgerows back into the vineyards. The fruit is whole bunch pressed, fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured in barrel with a measured hand on new oak.

A wine for the table rather than the aperitif, it suits lobster, veal in cream or a well made chicken pie, and rewards five to ten years in the cellar.

*Every effort is made to ensure the current vintage is accurate; however, variations can occur. If you are after a specific vintage, please contact us prior to ordering.

Type: White Wine
Style: Medium-bodied, Textural, Mineral-driven
Grape Varietal: Chardonnay
Tastes Like: Comparable to a premium oaked Chardonnay, but leaner, saltier and more mineral than a New World example
Alcohol Percentage: 13%
Closure: Cork
Size: 750mL
Appellation: Meursault 1er Cru AOC
Region: Meursault, Côte de Beaune, Burgundy, France
Terroir: The Les Poruzots premier cru on the mid slope at the Volnay end of the commune, on marl and limestone
Aging: Whole bunch pressed, fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured in oak barrels with restrained use of new wood
Serving Temperature: 12℃ – Serve chilled

Armand Heitz took over his family’s vines in the 2010s, working from Chassagne-Montrachet and Pommard, and has since become one of the more closely watched young growers of the Côte de Beaune. The vineyards are farmed organically with a regenerative approach that brings livestock, trees and hedgerows back among the vines, an old Burgundian arrangement that had all but disappeared.

Les Poruzots is a premier cru on the mid slope at the Volnay end of Meursault, on marl and limestone, giving wines with more flesh and breadth than the leaner sites higher up. The Chardonnay is whole bunch pressed, fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured in oak barrels, with the proportion of new wood kept deliberately restrained so the site rather than the cellar sets the tone.

Poultry: Perfect with roast chicken, poulet aux morilles or guinea fowl
Seafood: Excellent with scallops, lobster, turbot or crab
Mushroom: Pairs beautifully with morels, ceps or a mushroom tart
Cheese: Ideal with soft washed rind cheeses and aged Comté

Époisses: The great Burgundian washed rind, rich enough to meet the wine’s texture
Comté: Nutty and firm, echoing the wine’s oak-derived depth
Brillat-Savarin: Triple cream and buttery, balanced by the wine’s acidity
Charolais: A Burgundian goat cheese, bright and chalky against the wine’s weight

Poulet à la Crème et aux Morilles (Burgundian Chicken with Morels)

Ingredients (Serves 4):

• 1 free-range chicken, jointed into 8 pieces
• 30g dried morels
• 2 French shallots, finely chopped
• 200ml dry white Burgundy
• 300ml thick cream
• 40g butter
• 1 tbsp neutral oil
• 1 sprig thyme
• Salt and white pepper
• Steamed rice or fresh tagliatelle, to serve

Instructions:

1. Soak the morels in warm water for 30 minutes, then lift them out and reserve the soaking liquid, straining it carefully to leave any grit behind.
2. Season the chicken and brown it in the butter and oil in a heavy pan until golden. Remove and set aside.
3. Lower the heat, add the shallots and cook gently until soft and translucent without colouring.
4. Pour in the white wine and reduce by half, scraping up the caught juices.
5. Add the morels, the strained soaking liquid and the thyme, then return the chicken to the pan.
6. Cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
7. Lift out the chicken, stir the cream into the pan and reduce until the sauce coats a spoon.
8. Return the chicken to warm through, season with salt and white pepper, and serve with rice or tagliatelle.

The classic dish of the Côte d’Or table, Poulet aux Morilles is the natural partner to Meursault. The wine’s texture and gentle oak sit comfortably in the cream, while its underlying acidity keeps the sauce from cloying and its nutty depth mirrors the earthiness of the morels.