Pierre Girardin
Summary
Pierre Girardin, the 13th-generation winemaker who established his boutique Meursault domaine in 2017 at age 22, crafts approximately 30,000 bottles annually of terroir-focused Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from prime limestone-clay vineyards across the Côte de Beaune. His distinctive approach balances traditional methods with selective innovations, including custom barrel specifications featuring longer aging and lighter toasting, while his meticulous attention to detail throughout the small-scale operation reflects his rapid emergence as a significant young talent in Burgundy.
Heritage & Leadership
Pierre Girardin represents the 13th generation of his family's winemaking tradition in Burgundy. Born in 1994, he is the son of Vincent Girardin, who established his own successful domaine in Santenay in 1980. When Vincent sold his namesake business to a Burgundian négociant family in 2011, he strategically retained 4.5 hectares of his finest vineyards specifically for Pierre. In 2017, at just 22 years of age, Pierre officially launched his eponymous domaine based in Meursault, marking a new chapter in the family's viticultural history.
Pierre's early immersion in winemaking began alongside his father, where he gained practical experience in both vineyard management and cellar techniques. His formal education includes viticultural studies at the Lycée Viticole in Beaune, providing him with technical knowledge to complement his inherited understanding of Burgundian terroir. Pierre now serves as both proprietor and winemaker, personally overseeing all aspects of production from vineyard to bottle.
Vineyards & Wines
The domaine encompasses 4.5 hectares of vineyards spread across several appellations in Burgundy's Côte de Beaune. These holdings include parcels in Chassagne-Montrachet, Puligny-Montrachet, Meursault, Volnay, Pommard, and Santenay. Pierre supplements his estate-grown fruit through purchasing agreements with trusted growers, allowing him to produce wines from additional prestigious sites including Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru and several premier cru vineyards.
In the white wine portfolio, Chardonnay dominates with bottlings from Meursault, Chassagne-Montrachet, and Puligny-Montrachet. For red wines, Pierre works exclusively with Pinot Noir from sites including Volnay, Pommard, and Santenay. Many of the vineyards contain older vines, with some parcels exceeding 60 years of age. The soils vary by location but typically feature the limestone-clay composition characteristic of the Côte de Beaune, with varying proportions that contribute to each wine's distinctive character.
Philosophy & Practice
Pierre's winemaking approach balances respect for tradition with selective modern techniques. In the vineyard, he implements sustainable farming practices with meticulous attention to soil health. Harvest is conducted by hand, with careful sorting both in the vineyard and at the winery to ensure only optimal fruit enters production.
For white wines, Pierre employs whole-cluster pressing followed by settling of the juice for 12-24 hours before transferring to barrels for fermentation. His red wine production typically includes partial whole-cluster fermentation (varying by vineyard and vintage), with gentle extraction methods to preserve fruit purity and terroir expression. Aging takes place in French oak barrels, with new oak percentages calibrated according to each wine's structure and appellation status—typically ranging from 15% for village wines to 50% for grand crus.
Pierre's barrel program is particularly distinctive, as he collaborates with specific coopers to create barrels with longer aging and lighter toasting than industry standards. This approach reflects his commitment to allowing vineyard character to remain the focal point of his wines. Total production remains deliberately small, averaging approximately 30,000 bottles annually across all appellations, enabling Pierre to maintain direct oversight throughout the winemaking process.