More about Jean-Marc Roulot

Jean-Marc Roulot is one of the defining figures of modern Meursault, the grower who made the case for a chiseled, mineral style of Chardonnay over the rich, buttery one. The wines bottled under his own name, rather than Domaine Roulot, hold to exactly the same standard.

The family domaine dates to around 1930, and Jean-Marc's father Guy built its reputation by bottling Meursault's lieux-dits separately. Guy died suddenly in 1982, while Jean-Marc was pursuing an acting career in Paris, and Jean-Marc took over in 1989. The vines are farmed organically. The whites ferment in barrel with only a modest share of new oak and sparing lees stirring, then spend about eleven months in barrel and several more in stainless steel before bottling.

The Jean-Marc Roulot label, begun in the early 2000s, is his small négociant line for vineyards the domaine does not own, from Meursault lieux-dits and premier crus up to Corton-Charlemagne and Chevalier-Montrachet. He buys grapes rather than wine, often from vines he farms himself, and makes them in the Roulot cellar alongside the domaine wines; even the labels are nearly identical. The family also owns an old still, built in 1866, and Jean-Marc's fruit liqueurs and eaux-de-vie, lemon, pear, apricot and raspberry among them, are made with the same precision.