Vincent Girardin, Pommard 1er Cru AOC Les Grands Epenots

About Vincent Girardin

The domaine originates in Santenay where Vincent s father, Jean Girardin, divided up his estate between his four children when Vincent attained the age of 18 in 1982, providing 3 hectares for each of them. Vincent began to bottle his own wines, purchased some additional vineyards, and rented others. In 1994, the year of his marriage, he began a negociant business under his own name and moved to Meursault as he could not expand his Santenay location. The negociant business has thrived, providing profits which have enabled Vincent to purchase further vineyards, including a proportion of the former Domaine Henri Clerc. Today the domaine comprises 22 hectares, almost all-in white wine appellations. The plan is to concentrate more on this side of the business with less emphasis on the negociant aspect. Together at the moment, they constitute a 40,000-case winery situated in the industrial zone across the railway line. For the whites, the grapes are picked earlier to retain natural acidity, there is less new oak, and richer lees: the grapes are now crushed before pressing, without excessive debourbage or lees stirring. The premiers and grand crus receive just 25% new wood and are racked into older wood during the summer. His reds are of consistently high quality, with the emphasis being on the purity of fruit and smooth, supple tannins. However, it is with whites that he really excels, producing a range of wines that are characterized by their depth of fruit and exquisite balance.