Pierre Girardin : Chassagne-Montrachet 1er cru "Les Grandes Ruchottes" 2020

Tasting Notes and Characteristics of the Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru "Les Grandes Ruchottes" 2020 Pierre Girardin

Tasting

Color
This wine shows a pale gold color brightened by delicate green glints, clear and brilliant in the glass.

Nose
The nose opens on white-fleshed fruit and citrus, layered with subtle white floral nuances, a light toasty touch from barrel aging, and an underlying mineral character typical of this climat.

Palate
The palate is dense and precise, carried by a vibrant tension that unfolds into a long, saline finish, echoing the stony nature of the vineyard.

Food and wine pairings

This Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru "Les Grandes Ruchottes" pairs naturally with fine fish such as roasted turbot, with seafood, and with white meats or poultry served in a creamy sauce.

Serving and cellaring

Serve this wine at a temperature of 12 to 14°C (54 to 57°F). Decanting for thirty minutes to an hour is recommended, particularly for magnum bottlings, to allow the Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru "Les Grandes Ruchottes" 2020 to fully reveal itself.

A Chassagne-Montrachet Carved from a High, Stony Hillside

The Estate

Founded in 2016 in Meursault, in the heart of Burgundy, Domaine Pierre Girardin is run today by Pierre-Vincent Girardin, heir to a winegrowing family tracing its roots back thirteen generations. Starting from a small core of vines preserved by his father Vincent Girardin, the estate has expanded to roughly 13 to 14 hectares across the Côte de Beaune, alongside an experimental project of over 6 hectares in the Jura. Pierre Girardin has built its identity on precision, native-yeast fermentations, and minimal-intervention winemaking, quickly establishing itself among Meursault's most closely watched young producers.

The Vineyard

The grapes for this cuvée come from Les Grandes Ruchottes, a premier cru climat of the Chassagne-Montrachet appellation in the Côte de Beaune, Burgundy. Set among the highest slopes above the village, the plot is marked by thin, intensely stony soil over Bathonian limestone and marl, with a south to southeast exposure that supports ripening while retaining freshness. This elevated, rocky terrain gives the resulting Chassagne-Montrachet a distinctly mineral backbone.

Winemaking and aging

The grapes are pressed whole and slowly, with fermentation starting spontaneously through native yeasts. The Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru "Les Grandes Ruchottes" 2020 is aged for about a year in 456-liter barrels, with minimal lees stirring to preserve tension and freshness, before resting several months in stainless steel tanks ahead of bottling. The wine is bottled without fining or filtration, consistent with the estate's low-intervention approach.

Grape Variety

This wine is made from 100% chardonnay.