Producer
This dynamic grower-turned-négociant moved from Santenay to large premises in Meursault a few years ago, and quality has moved up a gear with him. Girardin is now doing the opposite of many producers: reducing volume and raising standard. For example, he now refuses to buy from growers who use insecticides or herbicides, part of his own move towards a biodynamic approach.
Vineyard
Les Gravières is a good-sized southeast-facing premier cru close to the border with Chassagne-Montrachet. The grapes for this wine are hand-harvested from vines averaging fifty years old, grown on clay and limestone soil.
Winery
The grapes went through a selection process on entering the winery, then were crushed, totally destemmed and transferred to the tanks. After a period of cold maceration, the wine began fermenting, with pumping over used to extract. The cap was gently pressed afterwards to give a blending component. The wine was transferred to oak barrels, of which forty-five percent were new, where it was aged for eighteen months, then bottled unfined and unfiltered.
