Meo-Camuzet Bourgogne Hautes-Cotes-de-Nuits Blanc Clos Saint-Philibert Monopole 2019

Meo-Camuzet is one of the most celebrated domaines of the C™te d'Or, located in the heart of prestigious Vosne-Romanee. The domaine boasts fourteen hectares of land in some of the most spectacular appellations and crus of Burgundy. The vineyard land in Burgundy is highly parceled out among families, which makes it rare for anyone to have enough vines to be able to bottle one grand cru, let alone the four that the Meos have. The early beginnings of the domaine left it in the hands of metayeurs, or share-croppers. The last twenty years have brought substantial changes that have fostered a new chapter for the Meo family. Founder etienne Camuzet was not only a passionate vigneron, but a full-time politician, and spent most of his time in Paris, representing the C™te d'Or. In order to keep his land in use, he offered it to capable share-croppers to farm. By the time his daughter had inherited the estate, she found herself with no successors, so the estate was passed down to her closest relative, Jean Meo.

Jean was also deeply involved in national politics, he served as a member of Charles DeGaulle's cabinet. Consequently, he, too, had to direct the domaine from afar. In the early 1980s, as many of the metayeurs were starting to retire, it became clear that the domaine needed a new direction. Jean's son, Jean-Nicolas had also spent most of his life in Paris. By 1985, it was his turn to take the helm. In lieu of continuing to rent out their highly-pedigreed vineyards, he made the bold decision to slowly start reclaiming the land for the domaine's own bottlings. He called upon the resident expert, one of Burgundy's greatest winemakers of all time, Henri Jayer, for guidance. Henri had spent over forty years farming parcels from Meo-Camuzet under his own label, while enjoying celebrity status in the Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant portfolio. For three years, he mentored Jean-Nicolas during the transition and finally decided to retire in 1988. Though Jayer passed away in 2006, his legacy endures to this day.