Vincent Girardin is a quality-focused négociant based in Meursault, known for producing wines across a wide range of Côte de Beaune appellations from Grand Cru down to village level with a rigorous approach to fruit selection and a commitment to expressing the individual character of each site with clarity and precision. The Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru represents Girardin’s most prestigious white wine acquisition, drawn from the 7.36-hectare vineyard situated immediately above Le Montrachet on the upper slope of the Puligny-Montrachet hillside. Chevalier-Montrachet’s position on stonier, shallower soils at higher elevation than Le Montrachet produces Chardonnay of extraordinary mineral tension, citrus precision and structural purity that distinguishes it from the rounder, more textured character of the Grand Cru below.

The 2012 Burgundy white wine vintage occupies a distinctive position in the appellation’s recent history: following the exceptional 2010 and the challenging 2011, the 2012 produced wines of reliable quality and good concentration across the Côte de Beaune, with the finest examples from Grand Cru sites showing a combination of good ripeness and natural acidity that suggests very comfortable long-term development. For a Chevalier-Montrachet from a quality-focused négociant in this vintage, now at more than a decade from harvest, the wine should be approaching the beginning of its most complex and rewarding phase of development, with the primary citrus and floral character giving way to the mineral and nutty complexity of mature Grand Cru white Burgundy.

Chevalier-Montrachet is among the most consistently sought-after white wine Grand Crus in Burgundy, commanding prices that reflect both the extreme scarcity of the appellation’s production and the global demand for Grand Cru white Burgundy at the highest quality level. A 2012 from a quality négociant with careful sourcing credentials represents a genuinely interesting proposition for collectors who seek mature Grand Cru white Burgundy from a reliable producer without the extreme premiums attached to the domaine wines of Leflaive, Jadot or Ramonet.

Deep gold with a complex and developing nose of mature peach, lemon confit, white truffle, chalk, toasted almond and a long, saline mineral thread from the Chevalier-Montrachet stony, shallow soils. Full-bodied with excellent natural acidity providing remarkable freshness, good concentration and a very long, mineral, Grand Cru finish of real complexity. Drinking well now; best through 2032.