High up on the hill between Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet, above the legendary premiers crus, Laurent and Hélène Martelet of Comtesse de Chérisey tend a parcel that is like very few others in these exalted appellations. This premier cru vineyard called La Genelotte is a monopole, meaning the Martelets are its sole proprietors and farmers. In a region where vineyard plots are famously sliced up, divided, and farmed and vinified differently by multiple—sometimes many—vignerons, the Martelets’ position as sole guardians of La Genelotte is an utter rarity. Being there makes you feel as though you’re in Burgundy in a prior era, which makes sense as this domaine has remained in the family for over two centuries.
     In a way, it’s a shame that more of Meursault and Puligny’s revered winemakers don’t get to work with these vines up here, with their special microclimate that differs from both of those appellations. In another way, however, it’s difficult to imagine anyone doing a better job of translating this terroir than the Martelets. Year in and year out, regardless of how favorable the vintage was, they make exquisite wines. At five years old, the 2015 Genelotte is a masterpiece—a regal and refined Chardonnay whose chiseled, flinty frame bespeaks its terroir and the Martelets’ devotion to making fresh, mineral, and age-worthy whites. And I’ll let you in on a little secret: At our KLWM holiday parties, a few older vintages of Comtesse de Chérisey’s Genelotte usually come out and they are always among the most memorable wines of the night. Buy a few bottles to enjoy now as well as a few to drink in five and ten years. You will be so glad you did.