Pierre Girardin

In the village of Meursault, located in the Côte de Beaune, Pierre-Vincent Girardin has established one of Burgundy’s most talked-about young wineries. Although he released his first vintage as recently as 2017, his name is already mentioned alongside the region’s leading producers thanks to his close attention to the finest vineyards and his precise, minimal-intervention approach to winemaking.

History

Pierre-Vincent is a 13th-generation member of his family, which has been involved in winemaking in Burgundy. His father, Vincent Girardin, was a well-known producer who, in 2011, sold his commercial business and most of his vineyards, but retained 4.5 hectares of the finest plots for his son.

Pierre-Vincent grew up in the cellars and vineyards and began working actively at the age of 15. In 2016, he founded his own estate in Meursault, and in 2017, at the age of just 21, he released his first wines. A new, modern winery was built next to Château de Meursault so that he could fully control every stage of production.

Today, the estate has grown to around 6.5 hectares, and his goal is to reach around 10 hectares.

Vineyards

Alongside the family-owned plots, Pierre-Vincent utilises long-term contracts with winegrowers with whom his father worked for years to source grapes from an impressive list of sites.

The range varies from simple Burgundy appellation wines to village and premier cru wines in Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet, Pommard, Volnay, Bonnes-Mares and Chassagne-Montrachet, as well as several Grand Crus, including Corton-Charlemagne, Bâtard-Montrachet and Le Montrachet itself.

He has also acquired around 6 hectares in the Jura, the wine from which is vinified separately in Meursault and sold as Vin de France.

Terroir

The vineyards are situated on the typical clay-limestone slopes of the Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits. The combination of limestone, marl and clay, coupled with an eastern and south-eastern exposure, gives Burgundy its signature balance of freshness, minerality and depth. Pierre-Vincent often says that he wants to emphasise the mineral aspect of these soils, rather than aiming for richness or heaviness.

Grapes

The blend is approximately 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay, the two classic Burgundy varieties. Plots in the Jura add a small amount of Chardonnay and Savagnin to the range.

Winemaking

Farming is organic, biodynamic methods are used in the vineyard, and bottling is carried out in accordance with the lunar calendar. Yields are kept low.

For the white wines, Pierre-Vincent commissioned François Frères to make special 456-litre barrels to minimise the influence of new oak and preserve the wines’ freshness and clarity.

Red wines are produced from whole bunches using gentle extraction similar to maceration, with minimal or no contact with the skins, resulting in silky tannins.

The wines are aged for around 12 months in barrels, 15 months for the grands crus, with a few additional months in vats, and are bottled without fining or filtration.

Wines

The range is extensive, but each cuvée is produced in very small quantities, averaging around 1,400 bottles.

The white wines include Bourgogne Éclat de Calcaire, several lieux-dits from Meursault such as Les Casses Têtes, Puligny-Montrachet Les Folatières, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru, as well as the grand crus Corton-Charlemagne, Bâtard-Montrachet and Le Montrachet.

The red wines range from Bourgogne Pinot Noir to Beaune 1er Cru, Pommard Les Épenots, Volnay Clos des Chênes and Vosne-Romanée Les Suchots, amongst others.