La Paulée de Meursault
Burgundy's most generous harvest lunch, where every guest brings their finest bottles.
- Tradition
- Meursault
- 15 min from Beaune
€65one way from Beaune with a private driver
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At a glance
- Venue
- Château de Meursault
- Nearby
- Meursault
Getting there
Private driver from Beaune: 15 min by road (9 km), €65 one way for the whole car.
Coming by train or plane? Transfers from stations and airports →
About the event
Each November, on the Monday after the Hospices de Beaune wine sale, about 700 guests gather at the Château de Meursault for La Paulée. It is a harvest-end lunch with one golden rule: everyone brings wine, and the best they can find. The meal is the last of the Trois Glorieuses, Burgundy's great wine weekend.
What to expect
Guests sit at long tables for a lunch of several courses, prepared by a caterer and sometimes by a well-known chef. The real show is on the tables. Growers and collectors open large formats, old vintages and grands crus, and pour them for their neighbours. Sharing is the whole point, and a guest who arrives with nothing to open is not welcome. The mood is joyful and generous.
History
A paulée is the traditional feast that marks the end of the grape harvest in Burgundy. In 1923 Count Jules Lafon, who owned vines in Meursault and Volnay, and Jacques Prieur gave the Meursault version its modern form. They turned a grower's harvest meal into a gathering of growers, merchants and friends, where the finest bottles are opened and passed around the tables.
In 1932 the lunch gained a literary prize. Each year the mayor of Meursault awards a writer 100 bottles of Meursault, offered by a different grower. Colette received it in 1951 and Maurice Druon in 1960. Today La Paulée closes the Trois Glorieuses, which also include a dinner at the Clos de Vougeot and the Hospices de Beaune charity auction. In 2025 the 92nd Paulée, presided over by the writer Jean-Baptiste Andrea, was held in the village's Hubert-Rougeot sports hall with nearly 800 guests. The 93rd, expected on Monday 16 November 2026, should move into the newly renovated cuverie of the Château de Meursault.
Good to know
Tips for the day
Places are limited and there is a long waiting list, so this is not an event you can join on the day. Every guest must bring at least one bottle. If you cannot attend, the Château de Meursault also hosts ticketed paulée dinners, including its own each October and the Paulée de Printemps in March. Meursault is about 15 minutes south of Beaune by the D974. Invited guests are best dropped at the door and collected after a lunch that runs well into the afternoon, which spares them the parking and the drive home; over the weekend, your driver can also take you around the village cellars.
Around here
What to combine with La Paulée de Meursault on the same day, nearest first.
- Food & markets
Marché aux truffes de Noyers
An autumn Sunday, usually in late October, sometimes followed by a second market in NovemberNoyers - Christmas
Les Fééries de Noël de Dijon
Usually from the last Saturday of November to the first Sunday of JanuaryDijon
Meursault
1 km awayMonthélie
2 km awayAuxey-Duresses
2 km away
Guides about La Paulée de Meursault
Questions
The 2026 dates of La Paulée de Meursault have not been announced yet. Usual timing: the Monday after the Hospices de Beaune auction, at lunchtime; in 2026, expected on Monday 16 November.
Did you know? Since 1932 the Paulée has awarded a literary prize paid in wine. The winning writer receives 100 bottles of Meursault, offered by a different grower each year.
Sources
A private driver for the day
No parking to find, no one left as the designated driver: everyone enjoys a glass.