Mercurey wine: the village and its four premiers crus
8 bottles, from €33.00 to €48.00Mercurey is the largest appellation in the Côte Chalonnaise, and the most expensive of the three we stock, ahead of Rully and Givry. Seven bottles here, all 2022, from €33.00 to €48.00, with a median of €39.90. Two estates share the selection: Domaine du Four Bassot with four cuvées, Domaine Jeannin-Naltet with three. Five Pinot Noir reds, two Chardonnay whites.
Four of the five reds are labelled premier cru, including one climat farmed as a monopole. That is where the price gap with the rest of affordable Burgundy opens up, far more than in the village name itself. The first table ranks the seven labels by tier, so you can see exactly what each extra euro buys.
Domaine du Four Bassot - Mercurey 1er Cru Le Clos Fourneaux Monopole Rouge 2022
A Mercurey monopole, a dense premier cru, tobacco and black fruit.
Domaine du Four Bassot - Mercurey Le Crêt Blanc 2023
Pear, peach and flint: a white Mercurey shaped by the limestone of the Crêt.
Domaine Jeannin-Naltet - Mercurey 1er Cru Clos des Grands Voyens Rouge 2023
The Clos des Grands Voyens: black cherry and violet on silky tannins.
Domaine Jeannin-Naltet - Mercurey 1er Cru Les Naugues Rouge 2022
Les Naugues: plum and blackberry lifted by leather, a Mercurey premier cru built to last.
Domaine Jeannin-Naltet - Mercurey Vieilles Vignes 2024
An expressive, supple Mercurey, with smooth raspberry and cherry fruit, from old vines.
Domaine du Four Bassot - Mercurey Vieilles Vignes La Charmée Rouge 2022
Old vines from Mercurey, dense black fruit and well-defined pepper.
Domaine Jeannin-Naltet - Mercurey Blanc 2023
A stony white Mercurey, with pear and the toastiness of the barrel in perfect balance.
Domaine du Four Bassot - Mercurey 1er Cru Les Croichots Rouge 2022
A Côte Chalonnaise premier cru all in silk, redcurrant and liquorice on the finish.
What each price level brings in Mercurey
Mercurey has no grand cru: the hierarchy stops at premier cru. Between the village appellation and a classified climat, the gap here is €6.90 to €15.00. The table ranks them in order, from least to most expensive, with the estate, the colour and what the extra really pays for.
| Cuvée and climat | Status and colour | Price | What the price buys |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Charmée, vieilles vignesDomaine du Four Bassot, 2022 | Village, red | €33.00 | The way into the appellation. Pinot Noir from old vines, a well-exposed plot, ageing in oak barrels. The bottle to open without waiting. |
| Le CrêtDomaine du Four Bassot, 2022 | Village, white | €35.00 | Chardonnay on limestone soil, barrel-aged. Marked minerality and freshness: the more upright of the two whites. |
| Mercurey blancDomaine Jeannin-Naltet, 2022 | Village, white | €36.00 | Vines on the village's limestone and clay soils. A broader profile than Le Crêt, to serve with a dish rather than as an aperitif. |
| Les CroichotsDomaine du Four Bassot, 2022 | Premier cru, red | €39.90 | The least expensive classified climat in the cellar, €6.90 above the village wine. The most economical way to taste the difference. |
| Le Clos FourneauxMonopole, Domaine du Four Bassot, 2022 | Premier cru, red | €44.00 | Monopole: the estate is the sole grower of the clos, from pruning to bottling. No one else makes this wine. |
| Clos des Grands Voyens and Les NauguesDomaine Jeannin-Naltet, 2022 | Premiers crus, red | €46.00 and €48.00 | The top of the selection, from an estate based in the village. Les Naugues is the one to put in the cellar for ageing. |
The four premiers crus are all red. The two whites are village-level, at €35.00 and €36.00, which puts them on a par with the premiers crus of Rully.
Six ways into the appellation
Each bottle in the cellar has a specific role: discovering, entertaining, keeping. Here is how we divide them up, and where to go if Mercurey is beyond your budget.
La Charmée, vieilles vignes
Mercurey Pinot Noir at the lowest price on the page, €33.00. Old vines, ageing in oak barrels, a plot renowned for its exposure.
The best first tryLe Crêt, Chardonnay
The white from Domaine du Four Bassot, €35.00, on limestone soil. Minerality and freshness, with oak ageing that stays discreet.
The other white, from Jeannin-Naltet, is €36.00Les Croichots, premier cru
The most affordable classified climat in our cellar, at €39.90. Exactly the median of the seven bottles presented here.
€39.90Le Clos Fourneaux, a monopole
A premier cru farmed solely by Domaine du Four Bassot, at €44.00. No other version of this clos on the market.
MonopoleLes Naugues, for the cellar
The top of the page at €48.00, from Jeannin-Naltet. A climat described for its structure and ageing potential rather than immediate pleasure.
To lay down for a few yearsRully, the step below
The neighbouring appellation, from €26.00 to €32.00, with five whites and three reds. Domaine du Four Bassot also makes wine there, which allows a direct comparison.
Eight bottles
Which wine to open for which dish
Mercurey Pinot Noir has substance without being heavy; the village Chardonnay has richness without being flabby. Here are the five situations where these bottles really come into their own, with the temperature and treatment to give them.
| The dish | The bottle to open | Serving | The section |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roast poultry, veal in cream sauce Gentle cooking, reduced sauce | La Charmée, village red, €33.00 | 16 °C, no decanting | White meat |
| Rib steak, braised beef Grilled or slow-cooked meat | Les Croichots or Le Clos Fourneaux, €39.90 and €44.00 | 17 °C, decanted 30 minutes | Beef |
| Leg of lamb, slow-cooked shoulder Sunday dish | Les Naugues, premier cru, €48.00 | 17 °C, opened an hour ahead | Lamb |
| Fish in sauce, quenelles Beurre blanc, cream | Le Crêt, Chardonnay, €35.00 | 11 to 12 °C | White fish |
| Comté, Beaufort, tomme Aged cheeses | Mercurey blanc from Jeannin-Naltet, €36.00 | 12 °C, at the end of the meal | Pressed cheese |
A red served too warm tastes alcoholic; a white served too cold says nothing. Half an hour somewhere cool for the Pinot Noir, a quarter of an hour out of the fridge for the Chardonnay: that is enough.
The premier cru is not always worth it
Mercurey is often presented as the big step up in quality after Rully, with the price to match. The figures in our cellar tell a different story. From the same producer, Domaine du Four Bassot, the Rully rouge En Varot is €32.00 and the Mercurey village La Charmée €33.00. A one-euro difference. The village name on its own costs almost nothing.
What costs money is the classified climats. The four premiers crus range from €39.90 to €48.00, that is €6.90 to €15.00 more than the entry-level wine. That extra pays for denser substance, more ambitious oak ageing and the ability to age. It does not pay for greater immediate pleasure: on a bottle opened the same evening, an old-vine village wine often drinks better than a premier cru that is still closed. If you have no cellar, stay at €33.00 and keep the difference.
A second idea to correct: the Côte Chalonnaise is supposedly just a reservoir of cheap Chardonnay. In Mercurey, that is wrong. Five of our seven bottles are red, and all four classified climats are red. Here, Pinot Noir is the main subject and Chardonnay the exception.
Three words to know how to read on the label
Premier cru. The climat is named after the appellation and has an official classification. In Mercurey, this is the highest level: the appellation has no grand cru.
Monopole. A single estate farms the entire plot. This is the case for the Clos Fourneaux at Domaine du Four Bassot, which means there is no competing version to compare it with.
Vieilles vignes (old vines). An unregulated term, with no legal definition or minimum age. It signals the winemaker's intention, not a guarantee: price and tasting are what decide.
The Wine Wanderer Team
What we are asked most often
Where is the Mercurey appellation?
Mercurey is in the Côte Chalonnaise, in southern Burgundy, south of Rully and north of Givry. It is the largest appellation in the area. Our seven bottles come from two estates based there, Domaine du Four Bassot and Domaine Jeannin-Naltet.
Is Mercurey mostly red or white?
Mostly red. Of the seven bottles presented here, five are Pinot Noirs and two Chardonnays. The four premiers crus in our cellar are all red; the two whites are village-level, at €35.00 and €36.00.
How much does a bottle of Mercurey cost?
In this selection, from €33.00 to €48.00, with a median of €39.90. The entry price is the old-vine village La Charmée from Domaine du Four Bassot. The top of the range is the premier cru Les Naugues from Domaine Jeannin-Naltet.
How does it differ from the less expensive Rully?
Smaller than you might think at village level: Domaine du Four Bassot sells its Rully rouge En Varot for €32.00 and its Mercurey La Charmée for €33.00. The gap widens on the classified climats, where Mercurey goes up to €48.00 while our Rully section stops at €32.00. If your budget is around €30, a Rully premier cru remains a better buy than a Mercurey bought as cheaply as possible.
Are there any grands crus in Mercurey?
No, none. The appellation's hierarchy stops at premier cru, as in the rest of the Côte Chalonnaise. Our four classified climats, Les Croichots, Le Clos Fourneaux, Clos des Grands Voyens and Les Naugues, therefore represent the highest level available.
What is a monopole, and which one do you offer?
A monopole is a plot farmed by a single estate, which controls everything from pruning to bottling. The Clos Fourneaux, a premier cru made by Domaine du Four Bassot, is one such plot and costs €44.00. No other producer makes a version of this clos.
How long can these bottles be kept?
The old-vine village wine at €33.00 is made to be drunk young, within two or three years. The premiers crus last longer thanks to their structure and their ageing in oak barrels. Les Naugues, at €48.00, is the one whose product page stresses its ageing potential: it is the bottle to lay down rather than open straight away.
Which Mercurey should I start with?
La Charmée vieilles vignes, at €33.00. It is the lowest price on the page, from a named plot and with oak ageing. If you want to understand what a classified climat changes, add Les Croichots at €39.90 and open both on the same evening.
Which grape varieties go into a Mercurey?
Pinot Noir for the reds and Chardonnay for the whites, as everywhere in Burgundy apart from special cases. Our two estates work with exactly these two grape varieties. No blending between the two colours is practised in the appellation.
Which vintage, which format, and can you buy by the bottle?
All seven bottles are from the 2022 vintage, in 750 ml format. All are available individually, with no minimum case or required mix. So you can put together a price vertical, from the village wine at €33.00 to the premier cru at €48.00, in a single order.