Pierre Girardin : Corton-Charlemagne Grand cru "La Croix" 2020

Tasting Notes and Serving Suggestions for the Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru "La Croix" 2020 by Pierre Girardin

A Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru Shaped by the Upper Slopes of the Corton Hill

The Estate

Domaine Pierre Girardin was founded in 2016 in Meursault, in the heart of Burgundy, by Pierre-Vincent Girardin, who represents the thirteenth generation of winegrowers in his family. The estate was built around a handful of historic parcels kept by his father, Vincent Girardin, after the sale of his own domaine, and has since grown to around thirteen hectares across the Côte de Beaune and the Côte de Nuits. Today led by Pierre-Vincent Girardin himself, the estate favors organic farming and a minimal-intervention approach aimed at letting each terroir express its own personality.

The Vineyard

The grapes for this Corton-Charlemagne come from old chardonnay vines, over seventy years of age, planted on the upper section of the Corton hill, on the Aloxe-Corton side near the hill's well-known cross. The parcel lies between roughly 280 and 330 meters in altitude, on steep slopes of around 20 to 23 percent, with soils made up of limestone marl in shades of yellow, ochre and brown, resting on limestone bedrock covered by a thin layer of rendzina. The vines are farmed organically, and the grapes are harvested by hand.

Winemaking and Aging

The Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru "La Croix" 2020 is vinified with a careful, low-intervention approach. After hand-harvesting, the wine is aged in custom-made 456-liter barrels designed to limit the imprint of oak, followed by a complementary aging period in stainless steel tanks. The wine is bottled without fining or filtration, preserving the purity and precision of the fruit and the terroir.

Grape Varieties

100% chardonnay.