Pierre Girardin : Griotte-Chambertin Grand cru 2019

Tasting characteristics and advice for Pierre Girardin’s Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru 2019

Tasting

Appearance

The wine displays a deep, intense ruby-red hue, with garnet highlights at the rim of the glass.

Nose

The nose reveals a complex bouquet dominated by ripe red fruits, notably black cherry and raspberry. Elegant woody notes of cedar and vanilla mingle with subtle floral touches and humus, evoking damp earth and the forest floor. With aeration, nuances of truffle and game gradually emerge.

Palate

On the palate, the wine offers a velvety texture that caresses the palate with elegance. Concentrated flavors of juicy red fruits, led by black cherry and blackberry, unfold generously. The tannic structure, present yet silky, shows no roughness. Fine complexity reveals itself throughout the tasting, with spicy notes and a crystalline mineral touch characteristic of limestone terroirs. The finish is long and persistent, leaving a thoroughly satisfying impression combining fruity intensity and structural complexity.

Food and wine pairings

This Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru 2019 pairs perfectly with feathered game meats such as roast duck, goose, or salmis de canard. It also matches beautifully with roast lamb dishes in sauce, boeuf bourguignon, or rib steak. Soft, washed-rind cheeses such as Époisses or Bergues, as well as well-aged alpine-style cheeses, make excellent choices. Wild mushroom preparations, notably tarts or morel sauces, also create a lovely harmony with this wine.

Serving and cellaring

Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru 2019 is best enjoyed at a temperature between 16 and 18°C. Opening it 30 to 45 minutes before serving or decanting will allow the wine to fully reveal its aromatic complexity. This wine has a cellaring potential of around 15 to 25 years, with an ability to evolve for up to 40 years under optimal storage conditions. It should be stored at a stable temperature (10-14°C), away from light, lying down.

A Gevrey-Chambertin Grand Cru by a rising star of Burgundy

The estate

Founded in 2016 by Pierre-Vincent Girardin, Domaine Pierre Girardin represents the thirteenth generation of a winegrowing family established in Burgundy for more than two centuries. Based in Meursault in Champs Lins, this young producer released its first vintage in 2017. Pierre Girardin now owns the estate and oversees all its viticultural and winemaking operations. He manages around 7.3 hectares across Burgundy, including parcels inherited from his father Vincent as well as vines under long-term contracts. In 2018, the estate equipped itself with an ultra-modern cellar in Meursault, reflecting this winegrower’s ambition and quality-driven vision. Quickly recognized by international critics as one of Burgundy’s most promising talents, Pierre Girardin practices organic and biodynamic viticulture, favoring a minimalist approach in the cellar to let the purity of the terroirs shine through.

The vineyard

Griotte-Chambertin is one of the nine Grands Crus of the commune of Gevrey-Chambertin, in the Côte de Nuits. This vineyard of around 2.64 hectares occupies a distinctive geographic position, immediately south of Chapelle-Chambertin, entirely surrounded by other Grand Cru parcels. The name “Griotte” refers to the word “Criots,” derived from “craie,” evoking the limestone nature of the subsoil. The plot has a bowl-like shape on the slope, with remarkably shallow soils, sometimes no more than 30 centimeters deep. The soil composition reveals poor, stony earth, brown-red at depth and lighter toward the border with Chapelle-Chambertin. The bedrock, very compact and frequently outcropping, is made up of friable Bajocian limestone, rich in fossils and pebbles, offering exceptional drainage. The exposure faces east, mid-slope, creating ideal conditions for growing pinot noir. This combination of thin soils, limestone geology, and a distinctive microclimate produces wines of exceptional complexity and great cellaring potential.

The vintage

The 2019 vintage is widely recognized as one of the most remarkable for Burgundy red wines of the new millennium. The growing season was marked by exceptional heat and dryness, with temperatures significantly above historical averages and rainfall well below normal for most of the ripening period. These conditions initially raised concerns, recalling certain hot vintages of the past. However, cool nights in August and September helped preserve the grapes’ acidity despite the overall heat, while late-season winds encouraged physiological ripeness without excessive sugar accumulation. The best producers harvested with remarkable precision, understanding that in hot years, the difference between optimal ripeness and over-ripeness is measured in days rather than weeks. The 2019 vintage shows that contemporary Burgundy has significantly improved its ability to manage hot-vintage conditions, combining fruit richness with the structural finesse characteristic of great Burgundian wines.

Winemaking and aging

The grapes for Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru 2019 were hand-harvested into ventilated crates at the optimal point of balance between phenolic ripeness and acidity preservation. After rigorous sorting, the clusters were vinified whole in small stainless-steel tanks equipped with floating lids, allowing precise temperature control. Fermentation took place with indigenous yeasts at low temperature. Extraction was intentionally minimal, favoring pump-overs rather than punch-downs, in keeping with Pierre Girardin’s gentle intervention philosophy. Maceration continued for two to three weeks. Pressing, particularly long and gradual over around three hours, made it possible to extract dry matter without tannic harshness. The wine was then aged in French oak barrels for 11 to 12 months, with 35 to 50% new oak. Cellar temperatures were deliberately kept cool to limit oxidation. After barrel aging, the wine was transferred to stainless-steel tanks for a few months of rest before bottling. The wine was bottled without fining or filtration, following a biodynamic lunar calendar.

Grape variety

100% Pinot Noir