2023 Domaine Buisson-Charles Meursault "Les Tessons"

The 2023 Meursault Le Tesson is pretty and ethereal, bursting with aromas of pear, peach and apple mingled with hints of honeysuckle and orange oil. Medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy, it's seamless and suave, with an elegant, satiny profile and a long, perfumed finish. Louis Essa has now taken the reins at this nine-hectare domaine, an estate that boasts an enviable patrimony of old vines derived from Louis's grandfather's massal selection. Louis has brought changes to the estate's red wine making, retaining more stems, but it's the whites that are the estate's calling card: here, the order of the day is harvesting late, long and gentle pressing whole bunches (the family transitioned from a vertical to a pneumatic press in 1985, without any intermission of mechanical pressing), brief settling and vinification and élevage in wood, followed by several months in tank before bottling. Later press fractions are liable to be declassified to retain low pH musts. Essa is opposed to "foulage" (the crushing of grapes before pressing, which liberates more solids and dry extract) and doesn't care for reduction, seeking a floral, pure-fruited expression of Chardonnay, stances that are just as influential as his views on harvest dates in determining the profile of the wines. Where these Burgundies really stand out for me, however, is for their unusual mid-palate plenitude and alliance of elevated maturity with low pHs, a theme that holds true in the lovely 2023 vintage.(WK)