Vincent Girardin Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru 2021BâtardMontrachet Grand Cru 2021

Vincent Girardin Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru 2021 is a prestigious white from the Côte de Beaune in Burgundy (France), widely recognised for its power and aromatic complexity. Made exclusively from Chardonnay, this Grand Cru stands out for its energy and excellent balance between rich fruit and lively acidity.

The Wine AdvocateRP 95Reviewed by: William Kelley

Germain made only two barrels of the 2021 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru, a magnificent wine showing aromas of tangerine, pear, buttery pastry and waxy lemon peel. Full-bodied, silky and harmonious on the palate, with a layered texture and great concentration, supported by a deep core of fruit and vibrant, incisive acidity.

Reputations, once formed, are hard to change, and one recurring challenge of my work is trying to change them. Time passes, teams change and approaches evolve, but stereotypes persist. So I can only repeat that the wines now made under the Vincent Girardin label are excellent, and I'm very happy to have some in my own cellar.

Readers will remember the story: Vincent Girardin started as a grower in 1982, founding his négoce house in 1990 based on the family holdings. He stood out early on for insisting on buying grapes rather than must or finished wine. When the expansion of Girardin's holdings became too demanding, Eric Germain, brother of Jean-François Germain of the renowned Domaine Henri Germain in Meursault, was brought in in 2002 to oversee production.

Germain, in his own words, aimed "not just to make good wines, but great wines" that could also age. Under his leadership, winemaking practices were profoundly transformed, an evolution that has continued since the house was bought by Compagnie des Vins d’Autrefois in 2011.

Wines once marked by oak and some excessive exuberance are now tense, precise and beautifully differentiated by the expression of each terroir. There's far more attention to detail in the vineyards (21 hectares of which are now owned by the house), which are gradually being converted to biodynamics.

Élevage is now longer, while Germain uses much less new oak and little bâtonnage. He has also stopped racking the new barrels, finding this helps their integration over time.

So Vincent Girardin is now a very serious source of high-quality white Burgundy, and it's completely unjustified to keep thinking of this producer as merely "commercial". Success in a year like 2020 might be played down, but such a solid showing in a vintage like 2021 is much harder to dispute, and that's exactly what Germain has achieved.

Harvest began on 18 September and ran to the end of the month, deliberately seeking full ripeness. The portfolio this year includes some truly remarkable cuvées. The decision to protect the vines against frost also proved right, as it was precisely these cuvées that transcended the vintage's limitations.

Published: 18 January 2024