Vincent Girardin - Meursault Les Vieilles Vignes 2021

The history of Maison Vincent Girardin is relatively recent. In 1980, at the age of 19, Vincent Girardin, the son of a family of winegrowers based in Santenay since the 17^th century, decided to strike out on his own and began producing wine from five acres of vines that he had inherited from his parents. From his earliest youth, Vincent had a passion for working with vines and great respect for the potential that they represent, and his ambition was to produce his own wine. The quality of his wines was quickly recognized by connoisseurs all over the world, and this enabled him to expand his activity, focusing primarily on the great white and red wines of the Côte de Beaune. To cope with the growing demand for his wines, he developed an approach that was new in Burgundy: he purchased grapes from producers who shared the same philosophy and the same high standards. In 2012, Vincent Girardin sold his operation to a long-standing partner of the Maison. Jean-Pierre Nié, President of the Compagnie des Vins d’Autrefois in Beaune, naturally decided to continue with the small team of nine people that had been faithful to the Maison for many years. Today, Eric Germain continues to uphold the style of the wines, and Marco Caschera markets them all over the world.

The vines are around the village of Meursault in the south of the Côte de Beaune. Origins from “Rougeot”, “Chevalières” and, “Tessons” vineyards. Soil: Chalk and clay soil. The slope is quite strong. 100% Chardonnay - Guyot pruning with different seasonal processes in the vineyard.

The grapes are harvested by hand and sorted out when picking the grapes. They are lightly pressed then in a pneumatic press at a low pressure to get a slow extraction. After a gentle racking of the must, the wine is put in French oak casks of 228 liters (15% new oak) for both of alcoholic and malolactic fermentations with wild yeasts and wild anaerobic bacteria for 14 months.

Aging on fine lies. A month before the bottling, the wine from the different barrels is put in a stainless steel tank to make the blend. The wine is finally fined and lightly filtered before bottling it according to the lunar calendar (“fruit day”).

Heady bouquet of dried almond, butter, and mineral notes. Once the wine is opened, we have fine notes of white flower, butter, and toasted bread. The touch of sugar on the palate reveals the fruit was very mature. Its mineral structure brings purity and freshness.

Producer: Domaine Vincent Girardin

Country: France

Region: Burgundy

Varietal: Chardonnay

Appellation: Meursault

Vintage: 2021

Size: 750ml