Located in Meursault, and sold in 2012 by its founder, the Vincent Girardin house has succeeded in reconstituting, in just a few years, an estate settled in the most beautiful terroirs. Especially those of the Côte de Beaune area. Vines that winemaker Eric Germain remarkably knows how to showcase.
Expanding and establishing a vineyard in the biggest terroirs of Burgundy is a challenge. It is difficult today to meet a winemaker of the region without hearing him damn the exorbitant prices of the vines or simply the lack of supply. The path traveled in a few years’ time by the Vincent Girardin house is therefore exceptional. Thanks to original agreements with vine growers, in the form of service delivery, the estate has regained an enviable surface. It is now at the head of 20 hectares, the surface area that it managed before Vincent Girardin, its founder, decided to sell it to the Compagnie des Vins d'Autrefois and dismantles the estate in 2012.
At that time the goal announced by Eric Germain, Vincent Girardin's former right-hand man, was precisely to settle again in the great terroirs, those of the Côte de Beaune area in particular. The pair he formed with Marco Caschera for the commercial part quickly took a high cruising speed and reaped the benefits.
The challenge seemed complex and ambitious to hold but Eric Germain, from a family of winemakers in Meursault, quickly felt like a like a duck takes to water with this idea, confessing in passing a deep-rooted attachment to the terroir. In addition to being a wise oenologist, the man has also an expert knowledge of the vineyard, that of the Côte de Beaune especially. Last, but not least, example of this extension: the house took over at the beginning of the year the farming of 4 hectares of vines, plots in Meursault Premiers Crus Perrières and Blagny, Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Combettes, Volnay Premier Cru Santenots ... Vines entrusted to the house by a vine grower from Meursault who stopped his activity and without direct family succession. A producer with whom the house already had relationships in the form of purchases of grapes and musts.
Last year, the Girardin house had already taken over 3 hectares of vines in the most prestigious terroirs of Meursault: Perrières, Charmes, Genévrières. The inescapable references of the village are now widely present in the range of the winery. They rub shoulders with some of the most famous Grand and Premier crus of Chassagne-Montrachet, Puligny-Montrachet or Saint-Aubin. If we finally add the Corton-Charlemagne, the range of whites simply looks like the cave of an Ali Baba who would have turned into a lover of great white Burgundy wines. Sufficient? Not necessarily! “If we could double our estate, we would not hesitate,” explains Eric Germain. And as happiness never comes alone, the Vincent Girardin house, which had become known nearly 30 years ago by its easy and flattering wines, is now part of the great classicism of Burgundy: terroirs and wines worth aging.
Laurent Gotti
Domaine Vincent Girardin, Meursault 1er Cru AOC Les Perrières 2017
Beautiful bright and crystal-clear yellow color. Beautiful olfactory expression of good complexity where the fine woody aromas mingle with notes of apple, butter biscuits, white flower. Tasty and tense palate with a light and pleasant creaminess, an elegant structure, a rather persistent and tasty finish. Ageing: 2020 – 2025.
Domaine Vincent Girardin, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru AOC Les Blanchot-Dessus 2017
Beautiful bright and crystal-clear yellow color. Very discreet nose, retained by the youth. Delicate aromas of white flowers, lemon, butter and sweet spices. Rich and quite dense palate with a high acidity that is balanced by a beautiful creaminess, a savory body of excellent structure, a long finish and a beautiful intensity in retro-olfaction. A quality wine thanks to the creaminess that brings richness. Ageing: to enjoy now – 2028.
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