2021 Griotte-Chambertin, Grand Cru, Pierre Girardin, Burgundy

Pierre Girardin

Pierre Girardin is a fifth-generation winemaker who took over the family estate in 2017. Under his guidance, the Domaine has gained recognition for producing exceptional wines that reflect the terroir of Burgundy.

The Girardin family owns vineyards primarily in the Côte de Beaune, focusing on renowned appellations such as Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet, and Santenay. These areas are known for producing some of the finest white wines in the world, particularly Chardonnay.

Pierre Girardin is known for his meticulous approach to winemaking. He practices sustainable viticulture, taking great care of his vineyards and working with low yields to ensure the concentration and quality of the grapes. In the cellar, he employs traditional winemaking techniques focusing on minimal intervention to allow the expression of the terroir.

The wines of Pierre Girardin are often described as elegant, precise, and expressive, showcasing the distinct characteristics of each vineyard: the white wines balance fruit flavors, minerality, and a beautiful texture. The red wines, primarily made from Pinot Noir, exhibit complexity, finesse, and a sense of place.

Griotte-Chambertin

Griotte-Chambertin is a Grand Cru appellation that falls under the Côte de Nuits subregion, renowned for producing some of the world's most sought-after Pinot Noir wines.

The vineyards are situated on the gentle slopes of the Côte d'Or, where the terroir plays a significant role in shaping the character of the wines. The soils here are composed of limestone, clay, and marl, providing excellent drainage and mineral richness to the vines. The area also benefits from a continental climate, characterised by warm summers and cool autumns, ideal for ripening Pinot Noir grapes to perfection.

Griotte-Chambertin wines are celebrated for their elegance, finesse, and complexity. They typically exhibit vibrant red fruit flavours such as cherry, raspberry, and strawberry, accompanied by subtle earthy undertones and a distinctive minerality. With age, these wines develop additional layers of complexity, gaining nuances of forest floor, spice, and truffle.

Producers in Griotte-Chambertin adhere to strict winemaking traditions, often employing traditional techniques such as whole-cluster fermentation and ageing in French oak barrels to craft wines of exceptional quality and finesse.

Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir is probably the most frustrating, and at times infuriating, wine grape in the world. However when it is successful, it can produce some of the most sublime wines known to man. This thin-skinned grape which grows in small, tight bunches performs well on well-drained, deepish limestone based subsoils as are found on Burgundy's Côte d'Or.

Pinot Noir is more susceptible than other varieties to over cropping - concentration and varietal character disappear rapidly if yields are excessive and yields as little as 25hl/ha are the norm for some climats of the Côte d`Or.

Because of the thinness of the skins, Pinot Noir wines are lighter in colour, body and tannins. However the best wines have grip, complexity and an intensity of fruit seldom found in wine from other grapes. Young Pinot Noir can smell almost sweet, redolent with freshly crushed raspberries, cherries and redcurrants. When mature, the best wines develop a sensuous, silky mouth feel with the fruit flavours deepening and gamey "sous-bois" nuances emerging.

The best examples are still found in Burgundy, although Pinot Noir`s key role in Champagne should not be forgotten. It is grown throughout the world with notable success in the Carneros and Russian River Valley districts of California, and the Martinborough and Central Otago regions of New Zealand.