France · Côte de Beaune

Vincent Girardin

A Bourgogne producer built from two inherited hectares in 1980, now represented by Chardonnay from Bourgogne and Meursault alongside Volnay red wine.

The producer

Vincent Girardin began independently in 1980, aged 19, with two hectares inherited from his parents, continuing a Santenay family wine history that reaches back to the 17th century. By 2011, the domaine was reported at about 40 hectares across the Côte de Beaune and Beaujolais. Bourgogne Chardonnay Terroir Noble, Meursault Vieilles Vignes and Volnay Vieilles Vignes show how that spread becomes different bottles: broad Chardonnay, a site-specific white, and red wine with supple tannin.

Vineyard work excludes herbicides and insecticides, using natural compost, hand-harvesting and sorting to bring sound fruit into the cellar. Meursault Vieilles Vignes is fermented and aged on fine lees in 500-litre French oak barrels, with 10% new wood, creating floral and nut aromas, a creamy mid-palate and fresh finish. Terroir Noble moves through lemon, apple, pear and stone fruit, while Volnay offers red fruit and gentler grip.

Known for

Bourgogne and Beaujolais wines, including Chardonnay and Volnay

Notable facts

The story

Two hectares in Santenay

In 1980, Vincent Girardin was 19 when he began independently with two hectares inherited from his parents in Santenay. The vines came from a family whose winemaking history reached back to the 17th century, but the starting estate was small: two hectares rather than a developed multi-vineyard holding. He built the domaine over the following decades, and by 2011 it was reported at approximately 40 hectares, divided between 20 hectares in the Côte de Beaune and 20 in Beaujolais. The Beaujolais side included land acquired from the La Tour du Bief estate in 2010.

From the atlas

Vincent Girardin

At A Glance

Vincent Girardin is a Bourgogne house whose documented story begins with two inherited hectares in 1980 and reaches a reported 40 hectares by 2011. The useful bottles show Chardonnay at Bourgogne level and in Meursault, alongside Volnay on the red side; vineyard work without herbicides or insecticides and sparing new oak keep the focus on fruit, acidity and texture.

The Producer

Vincent Girardin began independently in 1980, aged 19, continuing a Santenay family winemaking line that reaches back to the 17th century. In 2012, Vincent and Véronique Girardin transferred management to Jean-Pierre Nié of Compagnie des Vins d’Autrefois in Beaune, while Eric Germain remained central to the wines as house oenologist. The result is a house with a long family starting point but a continuity of cellar direction visible in Chardonnay such as Meursault Vieilles Vignes.

Place

The house works across the Côte de Beaune, where its range includes wines from Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet, Saint-Aubin, Santenay, Savigny-lès-Beaune, Beaune, Aloxe-Corton, Volnay, Pommard and Saint-Romain. Those names on a label are not interchangeable: Meursault Vieilles Vignes is a Chardonnay drawn from named Meursault sites, while Bourgogne Chardonnay Terroir Noble gathers fruit from Puligny, Chassagne and Meursault for a broader white Burgundy expression.

By 2011 the reported estate covered about 20 hectares in the Côte de Beaune and 20 in Beaujolais, the latter enlarged through the 2010 acquisition of La Tour du Bief. The house also works with long-standing outside growers, so the bottle name and appellation remain the practical guide to where its grapes were grown.

Soil And Site

Meursault Vieilles Vignes comes from Corbins, Les Forges, Sous la Velle, Le Pré de Manche and Les Vireuils. Its old Callovian limestone and Argovian marl are paired with Chardonnay vines averaging 50 years old; that combination sits behind a white described as full-bodied and structured rather than merely fruity.

The site work is equally concrete: Guyot pruning, de-budding, trellising and other green work shape the Meursault vines before harvest. These choices concentrate attention on healthy, sorted fruit, then leave the wine with enough material for its rich, creamy opening and fresh finish.

Story

The estate grew from Vincent Girardin’s original two hectares into a reported 40 hectares by 2011, with Côte de Beaune holdings matched by Beaujolais vineyards. That expansion brought more vineyard ground into the range, while the 2012 handover placed management with Jean-Pierre Nié and retained Eric Germain in the cellar. The named wines therefore span a Bourgogne Chardonnay, a village Meursault and a Volnay rather than one single style.

Its farming direction changed before the transfer: herbicides and pesticides were abandoned in 1997, biodynamic certification arrived in 2007, and the certification was relinquished in 2010 for operational flexibility. The working methods remained rooted in biodynamic principles, a continuity that matters most when the fruit reaches the press and barrel cleanly sorted.

Vineyards And Cellar

The vineyards use natural compost, herbal teas and decoctions, high trellising, hand-harvesting and sorting both on the vine and in the winery. With no herbicides or insecticides in the stated practice, the work aims to bring intact grapes into the cellar; fruit quality then carries the floral, citrus and stone-fruit character found in the whites.

For Meursault Vieilles Vignes, hand-picked Chardonnay is lightly crushed and pneumatically pressed before fermentation and malolactic conversion in 500-litre French oak barrels, only 10% of them new. Fifteen months on fine lees builds a creamy mid-palate, while limited new oak avoids turning the wine into a barrel flavour. Across the house, new oak is used sparingly; a 2012 profile reported that 80% of barrels came from François Frères.

Wines

Bourgogne Chardonnay Terroir Noble is the broad white: Chardonnay from Puligny, Chassagne and Meursault, with ripe lemon, apple, pear and a floral note over stone fruit and a buttery, creamy texture. Its freshness and mineral character keep the body from feeling heavy.

Meursault Vieilles Vignes narrows the address to five named Meursault climates and older Chardonnay vines. It has more structural weight: floral and nut notes, a rich creamy attack, body and freshness shaped by barrel fermentation and extended lees ageing.

Volnay Vieilles Vignes supplies the red counterpoint. The house describes its reds as fruity with supple tannins, so this is the bottle to seek for red fruit, softer grip and a lighter-bodied contrast to the layered, lees-aged Chardonnay wines.

In The Glass

Start with the whites: Terroir Noble brings ripe lemon, apple and pear, then moves toward stone fruit and melted-butter richness. Freshness and mineral character lengthen the finish, so the texture reads creamy rather than sweet or blunt.

Meursault Vieilles Vignes takes that Chardonnay shape further. Floral notes and nuts lead into a rich, creamy palate; 15 months on fine lees supplies width, while its freshness keeps the full body moving through the finish. Volnay Vieilles Vignes changes the register to fruit and supple tannin, with grip gentler than the structural weight of the Meursault.

A Bottle To Understand It

Choose Meursault Vieilles Vignes. It is Chardonnay from five named Meursault climates, grown on old limestone and marl by vines averaging 50 years, then fermented in 500-litre oak barrels with only 10% new wood and aged on fine lees for 15 months. Floral and nut aromas, a rich creamy attack and fresh structure put site, cellar and texture in the same glass.

Anecdote

In 1980, Vincent Girardin was 19 when he left the family framework to begin on his own. His starting material was not a purchased estate or a ready-made cellar portfolio, but two hectares of vines inherited from his parents in Santenay, where the Girardin family’s winemaking history dated back to the 17th century. He made wine from those vines under his own name and built the business over the following decades. By 2011, the domaine was reported at approximately 40 hectares: 20 in the Côte de Beaune and 20 in Beaujolais, including land acquired from the La Tour du Bief estate in 2010.

Final Word

Vincent Girardin is most clearly encountered through the shift from Terroir Noble’s citrus-and-cream Chardonnay to the older-vine, lees-aged Meursault, then across to Volnay’s fruit and supple tannin. The labels turn a wide Bourgogne address into distinct wines with different body, texture and finish.

Sources

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