Domaine d’Auvenay’s 2016 Meursault “Les Narvaux” is a village-level Meursault that is treated—both in the vineyard and the cellar—with the seriousness more often associated with top premier cru sites. The estate, owned by Lalou Bize-Leroy, is tiny (about four hectares across many appellations) and known for strict biodynamic farming, very low yields, and painstaking selection. “Les Narvaux” is a high-slope lieu-dit in Meursault, situated above Genevrières, a position that often brings extra cut and mineral drive to Chardonnay.

The 2016 vintage in Burgundy was marked by severe spring frost and correspondingly small quantities, which helps explain why this wine is so rarely seen and tasted. When it does appear, it can be exceptionally strong.

This bottle received an excellent review from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, with William Kelley awarding 95+ points. Kelley writes that the wine “unfurls in the glass with a youthfully reserved bouquet of smoky green pear, pastry cream, sesame and lemon oil,” a description that captures both its current restraint and its layered aromatic range. On the palate, he calls it “full-bodied, immensely concentrated and multidimensional,” emphasizing a combination that is not always easy to achieve in Meursault: power without loss of shape. He also highlights the tension in the structure, noting it is “simultaneously elegantly textural and searingly intense, with tangy acids and a mouthwateringly stony finish.”

Kelley places it firmly among the estate’s reference points, calling it “one of the domaine’s emblematic bottlings,” and adds that it is “even more refined than the Auxey-Duresses Les Boutonniers.” In practical terms, that suggests a wine built for long aging, with concentration and acidity aligned rather than competing.