Vincent Girardin Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru 2018
- Vintage
- 2018
- Country
- France
- Region
- Burgundy,Cote de Beaune
- Size
- 750ml
- Rating
- BH91
- Grape
- Chardonnay
Smoky green fruit, spiced apple, floral and subtle spice wisps serve as an elegant introduction to the vibrant and well-detailed if not especially dense medium weight flavors that possess both fine focus and excellent length on the sneaky long and youthfully austere finish. This isn't nearly as refined as the Combettes, but it offers somewhat better depth. This is certainly pretty and it offers the distinction of grand cru, but it lacks the necessary mid-palate stuffing to ascend to the next level. Drink: 2028+ - BH91
Vincent Girardin is a famous Burgundy domaine based in Meursault. It makes a wide range of wines from both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from around the Côte de Beaune, from grand cru sites such as Le Montrachet and Echezeaux, all the way down to vineyards falling under the village-level and regional appellations.
Grapes are bought from growers who can adhere to a certain code of practice, which includes things like using higher trellising for better photosynthesis and avoiding the use of herbicides and insecticides. In the winery, th grapes undergo slow fermentations using indigenous yeasts, followed by long maturation on the fine lees. Vincent Girarden does not use much new oak to mature its wines so as to allow terroir to express itself. The winery processes are aligned to lunar phases.
The domaine began in 1980 when 19-year old Vincent Girardin, the son of a long-standing family of Santenay winemakers, made his first wines from 2 hectares (5 acres) of vineyards inherited from his parents. As demand began to take off, he developed supply relationships with growers who shared his approach – a practice which was new to Burgundy.
Vincent Girardin sold the business in 2012 but Eric Germain, winemaker since the early 2000s, remained to ensure continuity. - Information from Wine Searcher