Albert Grivault

140 years, one family, one clos

Albert Grivault was born in 1856 in Meursault. He had originally planned to become a banker in Dijon, but after his father’s death, his mother took him back to the village. The funds accumulated through the family business, a butcher shop, were instead used to run a distillery. In 1877, he inherited a distillery in Meursault, and in 1879, the year after phylloxera ravaged the village, he purchased the “Clos des Perrières” vineyard from the heirs of the Marquis de La Croix de Castries. It was a risky move, but the result proved to be excellent.

Throughout the 1880s, he continued to acquire vineyards, and in 1888 he opened a second distillery in Béziers, where he produced a spirit called “Fine-Bézirac.” His Burgundy wines were awarded a gold medal at the 1897 Paris Agricultural Exposition. In 1904, he donated a plot in Meursault-Charmes to the Hospice in Beaune, where a cuvée named in his honor is still auctioned annually.

After Albert Grivault’s death in 1909, management of the estate fell into decline. It then passed to his widow and, subsequently, to his daughters, Berthe Grivault and Mathilde Bardet. Due to the Great Depression, they were forced to lease the vineyards under a métayage agreement (a contract for joint cultivation with farmhands), and the estate effectively remained dormant until 1974. In 1980, management passed to his grandson, Michel Bardet, and his sisters, Marguerite and Denise Schwinyar. Since 2004, the estate has been managed by Michel’s children, Claire and Henri-Marc.

Six hectares, five appellations

At the height of its prosperity, Albert Grivault's estate covered 15 hectares, including a portion of Clos de Vougeot, sold in 1931, as well as the Charmes plot, donated to the Hospice in 1904. Currently, about 6 hectares remain, located across five appellations in the Côte de Beaune, primarily in Meursault, as well as in Pommard.

The centerpiece among them is the Premier Cru "Perrières," located on the southern edge of Meursault, which many wine connoisseurs consider the best climat in this village. The total area of "Perrières" is 13.21 hectares. Within it lies "Clos des Perrières", a walled monopole (a plot of land under sole ownership) that has not changed hands since Albert Grivault acquired it in 1879. Since Grivault also manages the Perrières vineyards located outside the Clos, this list includes both “Meursault-Perrières-Premier Cru” and “Meursault-Clos des Perrières-Premier Cru.” These are two different wines produced from grapes grown on neighboring plots.

Grapes

This estate grows Chardonnay for white wine and Pinot Noir for red wine.

Made in the vineyard, not the cellar

Albert Grivault's credo is: “Wine is made not in the cellar, but in the vineyard.” In practice, this means minimizing intervention in the winemaking and aging processes, and, in particular, a near-total rejection of bâtonnage (stirring the lees, a practice many Meursault producers use to give the wine body). The result is a more refined and understated style of Meursault, distinct from the stereotypical image of an oily flavor; these are wines that reveal their true value after being exposed to air and decanted.

Currently, Henri-Marc is in charge of winemaking, while Michel Bardet continues to oversee aging and commercial operations. These wines are capable of long-term aging. In honor of the estate’s 140th anniversary in 2019, 120 tasting participants were offered a bottle of “Clos des Perrières” that had been aged for over 50 years. This is something most Burgundian estates cannot replicate, since until the 1970s, most of them did not bottle their own wines.