2010 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru

Vincent Girardin remains here as a consultant following the passing of control of this company to the Compagnie des Vins d'Autrefois, with enologist Eric Germain, who had assisted Girardin in recent years, now in charge of winemaking.Germain told me that the chardonnay in 2011 gained in fullness and maturity of flavors and aromas during the last few days leading up to the harvest (he began on September 2 but picked a number of his top holdings on September 7 and 8)."The weather was dry and we didn't get an uptake of potassium, which would have compromised acidity," he told me."I can't say that one village did best, but the vines higher up on the hillside tended to produce wines with more tension in 2011."Potential alcohol levels were in the healthy 12.7% to 13% range, and the grand crus picked at 13.2% did not require chaptalization.This producer is now using its barrels on a five-year cycle--that is, no more than 20% new oak--and Germain believes that the lighter hand with the wood is augmenting terroir expression.There's no longer any use of enzymes or stirring of the lees.Interestingly, Germain believes that 2007, 2010 and 2011 are similar vintages with long aging potential.

Vincent Girardin recently sold his operation to Compagnie des Vins d'Autrefois, which previously had an ownership stake in the company. As part of the transaction, Girardin keeps eight hectares of vineyards, from which he will continue to supply the house. I am told that all the other fruit contracts remain in place, ensuring continuity in the maison's range. Long-time winemaker Eric Germain, who has worked alongside Girardin for ten years, remains at the helm. So far, it looks like a little has changed, but it is early days so we will see. Germain told me the 2010s were harvested beginning on September 5. The premier and grand crus spent 18 months in oak (20% new), followed by two months in steel before being bottled in April and May 2012. As I wrote last year, the Girardin wines have undergone a pretty dramatic stylistic shift over the last few years. Today, the wines are made in a brighter, more focused style with less of the overt richness and oak influence the winemaking team believes was contributing to the premature evolution of the wines.

"Fresh and invigorating, a bit like the 2000s in their energy," said Vincent Girardin about his 2010 whites. "Puligny-Montrachet was the best village, but only if you picked early, because these vines were very sensitive to rot," he added. Girardin has been steadily reducing his percentage of new oak in recent years; he has also been picking earlier, at lower levels of potential alcohol and with better acidity. The 2010s came in mostly in the 12.8% to 13% range and he did not chaptalize. He is also working more reductively, racking his new barrels protected from air, and not racking his old barrels until the assemblage. And he's doing a longer elevage these days: in fact, he had just finished bottling his '09s a few weeks before my visit. Girardin has bought an old Vaselin press, which he believes helps him preserve dry extract. He did a double pressing in 2010, then a 12-hour debourbage, so that he could start with all the fine lees. His hope is that this will allow him to bottle "juicy, less demonstrative wines that are more minerally and austere." (Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL)