2018 Jean-Philippe Fichet ‘Le Tesson’ Meursault AOC

VIN92-94 The 2018 Meursault Le Tesson has another very pretty and endearing bouquet with white flower mixed with orange pith and nectarine aromas, a hint of pop corn in the background. The palate is very well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, taut and linear. The saline finish conveys brightness and energy. This is another impressive 2018 from Fichet
BH89-92 This is both firmly reduced and still displaying residual malolactic hints. Otherwise there is once again fine richness to the round and plump flavors that possess a bit more volume if much less evident minerality on the already beautifully complex finale. This is also relatively tightly wound and will need at least a few years to develop better depth but in time, this promising effort should be excellent.
Estate Notes: These are wines with finesse and elegance, mineral, long in the mouth: the quintessence of the Meursault appellation. There is a complexity to this specific locality not found in the others.

Perhaps more than any of his peers, Fichet is testing the limits of transparency, to find the very soul of Meursault’s terroirs. 

It was Meursault’s destiny to have its soils revealed in this way: their intense stoniness is magnified by an exceptionally low water table, forcing the vines’ roots deep underground. Even if uneconomical, Fichet would rather produce a very small amount of wine from his best sites than to lose their unique character in a blend. 

Fichet has flown largely under the world’s radar. He began as a grower in 1981 but was forced to rebuild his domaine from scratch in the 1990s, having lost all his best fruit sources—including a piece of Meursault-Perrières—for lack of long-term contracts. But he learned from this experience. 

By 2000, he had used carefully negotiated long-term fermage and mètayage agreements to create an extraordinary new domaine, brimming with exceptional sites. Fichet’s methods reflect his philosophy: he is famously meticulous and abhors taking short cuts. 
His low yields, the foremost key to quality, are achieved through severe winter pruning rather than by green harvesting. And he believes his wines’ expressiveness is enhanced through a patient 18-month élevage, with little new oak and by avoiding aggressive lees stirring.

“Tesson”—Very similar to Chevalières in its minerality and fruit character, Tesson often has even more mid-palate weight and length. Focused like a laser beam, Fichet’s Tesson frequently surpasses wines from other producers’ premiers crus.