Following breakfast at Hotel/ Restaurant Le Chevreuil, were we had dinner and stayed for the night - See: Dinner at Restaurant Le Chevreuil in Meursault, with the Wines of Domaine Matrot - Burgundy (and Champagne) Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: From Lyon to Paris, we walked over to Cave Ropiteau Frères for a tour of the historic cellars and a tasting of the outstanding wines. Both Hotel/ Restaurant Le Chevreuil and Cave Ropiteau Frères are in the center of Meursault.
Cave Ropiteau Frères
In 1848, France was undergoing a revolution. The provinces, less affected than Paris, became a melting pot where people came together to build a modern world in peace and fraternity. In the same year, the arrival of the railway in Burgundy incited Jean Ropiteau to found his Wine Merchant House with his brothers-in-law. At only 24 years old this young man, whose Burgundian roots date back to the XVIth century, very quickly foresaw this means of transportation as a way of promoting the wines of Burgundy.
At the beginning of the 20th century the House kept on expanding but remained faithful to its values. In 1940, his great-grandson, Auguste Ropiteau, purchased the current cellars, which we toured, from the Hospices de Beaune.
Situated in the center of Meursault, the cellars from the XVth and XVIIth century are among the most prestigious in Burgundy. With about 900 barrels in its cellars, Ropiteau Frères is today one of the biggest producers of oak matured white wine in Burgundy.
The Boisset Collection
Cave Ropiteau Frères belongs to the Boisset Collection. Boisset is a family-owned collection of historic and unique wineries bound together by a common cause: authentic, terroir-driven wines in harmony with their history, their future and the land and people essential to their existence.
With more than twenty historical and prestigious wineries in the world’s preeminent terroirs, including the Côte d’Or, Beaujolais, Rhône Valley, California’s Russian River Valley and the Napa Valley, each house retains its unique history, identity, and style, and all are united in the pursuit of fine wines expressive of their terroir.
Jean-Claude and Claudine Boisset founded their family winery, Jean-Claude Boisset, Burgundy, in 1961. In 1964, the winery acquired its first vineyard, Les Evocelles, in the Gevrey-Chambertin commune.
Jean-Charles Boisset was born in Vougeot in 1969. He studied business and finance at the University of London, followed by graduate studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. He earned a Masters of Business Administration from the University of San Francisco.
Jean-Claude Boisset bought Bouchard Aine & Fils in 1992 and J. Moreau & Fils, Chablis, in 1997.
Jean-Charles founded Domaine de la Vougeraie in 1999. In 2003, Jean-Charles Boisset purchased DeLoach Vineyards in California's Russian River Valley AVA, followed by Raymond Vineyards, located in Napa Valley, California, in 2009 and Buena Vista Winery, located in Sonoma, California, in 2011. In 2009, he bought Bouchard Aine & Fils, Beaune, France.
Jean-Charles Boisset married Gina Gallo in 2009. The couple has twin girls, born in 2011. In 2011, Jean-Charles Boisset and Gina Gallo purchased the former home of Robert Mondavi in Napa Valley.
Boisset Collection's Wineries in North America and France
Raymond Vineyards, Napa Valley
DeLoach Vineyards, Russian River Valley
Buena Vista Winery
Lockwood Vineyard, Monterey
Lyeth Estate, Sonoma
JCB by Jean-Charles Boisset
La Face Cachee de la Pomme, Quebec
Domaine de la Vougeraie, Premeaux-Prissey, France
Jean-Claude Boisset, Nuits-St.-Georges, France
Bouchard Aine & Fils, Beaune, France
J. Moreau & Fils, Chablis, France
Mommessin, Beaujolais, France
Louis Bouillot, Nuits-St.-Georges, France
Ropiteau, Meursault, France
Fortant, Sete, France
Antonin Rodet, Mercurey, France
The Cave Ropiteau Frères Portfolio
Cave Ropiteau Frères produces a wide range of wines, from the basic La Cuvée Ropitau to half a dozen grand cru wines.
Tasting
Following the tour of the historic cellars we sat down for a tasting of the outstanding wines of Cave Ropiteau Frères.
2016 Ropiteau Frères Puligny Montrachet Trezin Blanc
Wine-searcher average price in US$: 69
2015 Ropiteau Frères Chassagne Montrachet Blanc
Wine-searcher average price in US$: 60
2011 Ropiteau Frères Meursault 1er Cru Les Cras Blanc
Wine-searcher average price in US$: 66
2015 Ropiteau Frères Aloxe-Corton 1er Cru Les Les Vazolières Blanc
Wine-searcher average price in US$:73
2016 Hospices de Nuits Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Maladières - Les Brulées Cuvée
Wine-searcher average price in US$:98
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