Tasted with Eric Germain in Meursault, 27 October 2021.
Domaine Vincent Girardin
“Les Champs Lins”
BP 48
21190 Meursault
Tel: +33 3 80 20 81 00
http://www.vincentgirardin.com
More reports with Domaine Vincent Girardin
Eric on 2021:
“There’s not a lot. Depending on the sector, we have between 50% and 70% lower volume.”
Eric on 2020:
“In 2020 we started harvesting on the 18th and picked all the reds first. Our first whites came in on the 24th August – finishing on the 31st. The reds started about 13° though were more like 13.5-13.7% as we were finishing. The whites have great pH 3.15-3.25 and that’s with malos finished. It was a very luminous season but not too hot. I plan to start bottling reds in December, finishing in January – we think the whites need a bit more time to patiné. All our reds have some whole clusters but rarely 100%”
The wines…
“I hope for wines that will develop well as the tannin fades,” says Eric – and I think he’s completely correct. There’s a bit of dryness showing in most of his reds but they remain quite texturally-sophisticated with no overt grain. As for the whites – Chapeau! Grand vin after grand vin. If they were sealed with DIAM, I’d buy them all!
Starting with the reds:
2020 Santenay 1er Les Gravières
Round, with faintly cushioned, darker red fruit. A bit of oak but there’s fresh energy here too – a nice mouth-watering direction to this wine. I like it!
2020 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Maltroie
Buy the grapes from here, not biodynamic though – no whole clusters.
Much more colour. High tones, freshness – dark fruit again but with clarity. Really ripe but it’s got a great mouth-watering energy and freshness – wine cordial but in a good sense
2020 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Morgeot
From Fairendes – all the work done by the team from here – not yet in biodynamics as the owner doesn’t want it.
Also lots of colour but less than the last. A little more composed, there’s depth to the dark fruit but less ‘gloss’ than the last. More direct, more mouth-watering again – that’s a nice wine – wide and mouth-watering, with chewy tannin in the finish but no grain – that’s very good!
2020 Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Marconnets
First vintage as part of the domaine here.
Also lots of colour here – nearly saturated. More airy and perfumed fruit – that’s very pretty. Structural, chewy tannin, some Savigny herb in the flavour complexity, lots of energy but a wine to have a little patience with – wait 3 years – or more – before attacking.
2020 Beaune 1er Clos des Aigrots
Near Clos des Mouches, near the Lafarge vines, like the last, domaine in Biodynamics
Again deeply coloured. Here the nose is a bit more sullen, compact, perhaps a faint pyrazine? Beautifully mouth-watering energy – practically juicy – no pyrazine in the flavours – here it’s lovely.
From here the vines haven’t been racked – the samples are from barrel:
2020 Volnay 1er Santenots
Santenots mainly from Plures and Blancs – over 2 hectares of old vines from 1965 and 1975. ‘Usually with very small grapes and all biodynamic.’ All whole cluster.
A nose of depth, perhaps a faint café de paris mushroom – but all the time growing more impressive. This is bright and energetic a small touch of wc energy and flavour here – that’s super and like all the others, so far, the style is for keeping. Lovely balance!
2020 Volnay 1er Champans
Once a purchase contract, today domaine. Vines cultivated organically since 1950! Biodynamic for the last 4 years.
This is a more forward nose, faintly saline, faintly reductive. Really wide, juicy – a finer texture – still some dryness of tannin but extra-sophisticated. That’s a beautiful wine, excellent wine…
Close to Pommard Rugiens, planted in the early 1970s, always organic and for the last 4 years, biodynamic. Like the last wine – 100% domaine produce.
A forward nose, more than accented with some reduction today. Hmm, that is the next step in terms of clarity and mouth-watering flavour – beautiful – I prefer the texture/flavour of the Champans today but this has some extra potential I think.
2020 Pommard 1er Grands Epenots
From old vines. Bought as wine but all elevage here – no whole clusters.
An airy, modestly saline nose – not showing too much. A little reduction in the flavour but a nice shape on the palate. The fruit has super clarity here – that’s a lovely middle flavour. Not showing all its potential today but there are many positive aspects here…
2020 Corton Perrières
Vines close to Charlemagne, ‘conventional culture but old vines that bring a lot of minerality.’ Always very small grapes here.
Sweeping – open, fine high-toned fruit – that’s got my attention! Rounder in the mouth – melting with (far too) easy flavour – cool fruit, delicious fruit only faintly with some wc accents. That’s a wine that needs to tighten its structure a bit but it already has volume and delicious flavour.
2020 Clos de Vougeot
‘From a domaine with similar convictions in the vineyard.’
The wc is more obvious in the aromas here. Lots of freshness, the flavour currently dominated by the barrel and whole clusters – but the shape is fine, mouth-filling and the tannin whilst drying – in the style of most here – has no grain to speak of. The finishing perfumed flavour is great!
2020 Charmes-Chambertin
An exchange of grapes for this, all whole cluster, vinified here.
You can actually see through this wine – the colour is less black! A little smoky from the whole clusters. Vibrant – there’s still plenty of CO2 in this wine but get past that and the finishing, slowly fading, flavour is delicious.
Les Blancs:
2020 Meursault Les Grands Charrons
Deep, saline freshness for this nose slowly adding some brighter top notes. Wide, growing in intensity, mouth-watering – ooh that’s a great start – completely delicious, fine cut – excellent wine.
More aromatic volume, here with a little toasty accent. Lots of gas today but with a style of flavour that melts over the palate then brings bright points of finishing complexity – a wine that talks with you – bravo!
Domaine, biodynamic, direction Javiller and Roulot, mid-parcel. About 50 years old vines
Much more fruit freshness is visible here. Mouth-filling, vibrant, delicious proper Tillets. Mineral, gorgeously flavoured. Bravo again.
A little less aromatic volume and slowly adding some florals. That’s a beautiful, mouthwatering flavour. Gorgeous, melting, Meursault – a faint softness of texture to boot. Benchmark!
Half from domaine the rest from bought grapes, the latter conventionally farmed but with very few treatments and ploughed. More chalky here.
This nose, narrower but also with more clarity of fruit. Wide, more mineral and mouth-watering – slightly more structural in style – the flavour melting over that palate again – so long – another really top wine.
Three biodynamic parcels all in the top part – 40-50-year-old vines.
Airy, cool – very attractive. There’s more impact, more concentration but delivered in a wide and fresh manner. The finish is so engrossing like squeezing the essence of flavour from a stone – super, super, super…
2020 Meursault 1er Les Genevrières
One parcel at the top with vines that are 60 years old, and are showing a little degeneration in one part of the vines (yellow vines, low yielding)
More depth and weight of aroma – certainly the more visible barrel pushing this. But the form and freshness resembles that of the Charmes – just a little change to the suppleness of the fruit and middle flavours.
All organic, one part in the middle, the other next to Clos de Perrières – a little more than 1 ha in total, some missing plants so a low yield.
An open and more mineral style, almost silky. Definitely more mineral and structurally defined in the mouth – that’s really a very fine, mouth-watering flavour -I wasn’t sure that the Genevrières was a step up but this definitely is – bravo – a great finish too – the winemaker talks of the austerity of this wine – well, I would drink it now without hesitation!!!
From Fairendes but not written on the label – like the red
An airy width of inviting aroma. Incisive, concentrated. Beautifully mouth-watering – the clarity is really top here. Then radiating out and vibrating with energy in the finish. A great Morgeot!
2020 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Caillerets
One of the oldest vines in Caillerets
Some riper fruit at the core of this nose but framed with a lovely freshness. In the mouth too – here’s a wine that majors on ebullient energy and no fat to the texture – but you have so much tasty flavour – juicy flavour. A faint austerity versus the last, riper fruited too but clearly very excellent!
Younger vines – only 50 years old!
A density to the fruit here – but always delivered with refreshing balance. Really an incisive freshness but always balanced with delicious, energetic flavour – zesty, saline – then a top finish!
Buy these biodynamic grapes and the team here have done all the vineyard work since last year. 0.30 ha
The width here is peppered with small bursts of complexity – that’s lovely. Concentrated, wide but never fat – intense, super-citrus, growing with a saline-accented agrume. You know I’m a great fan of this place and this is great again!
2020 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Champsgain
Plenty of airy, aromatic width. Direct, mineral, sinuous, melting with flavour – such an excellent wine – and really great finishing too, so persistent!!
2020 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Les Pucelles
A little less aromatic impact but very fine fresh clarity of citrus. Mouth-filling, extra mineral – love the structural side of this. Not ‘grand vin’ like some vintages (2019) but still fabulous.
Do all the vineyard work here.
Top to bottom freshness, though a more modest width of aroma. Structural, more saline minerality, more intensely mouth-watering – Pucelles is easier to drink today but this could be the greater wine in 5-6 years it certainly has more power this year.
2020 Corton-Charlemagne
Roughly equal parts of the 3 villages.
Airy and attractive – it’s an invitation. Hmm – that’s so good – easy entry then a constant ramping up of the intensity – so mouth-watering. Growing again in the finish, here with some minerality. Simply excellent.
The same small parcel in Aloxe in a conventional culture that, since 2004, has always been separated for this cuvée. It’s the same area as Coche-Dury and Michel Juillot (of Mercurey). It was sold by an heir of Louis Latour but isn’t made every year. Never more than 20% new oak, from Seguin-Moreau and Gauthier.
A more composed core of aroma – slowly growing in form. Whereas the last grew in intensity, this is more incisive and more directly intense – dynamic finishing, faintly saline. Grand vin
2020 Bienvenues Bâtard-Montrachet
An all biodynamic, single parcel, one barrel – half the vines have been pulled out so it’s hard.
More open, airy, floral accented aromas. This impresses with the width of minerality, beautifully mouth-watering with a width of intensity and tannin-accented flavour. Beautiful and hauntingly long with a little floral extra…
Lovely – despite the aromas being framed with some creamy oak. No fat but here is the purity of rock and fruit only the creaminess of the oak is a distraction – vibrantly finishing too. What a wine!
Just a hint of barrel again – but here is a complexity of aroma too. Extra density but delivered in airy style – grand wine – vibrant, ultra complex – ultra great!