2011 Vincent Girardin Meursault Les Vieilles Vignes 750 ml

40- to 60-Year-Old-Vine Meursault … and the Laws of Supply and Demand

Over the last 18 months, we’ve offered precious few whites from the Côte de Beaune, and just a couple from the top estates of Chassagne- and Puligny-Montrachet and Meursault. It hasn’t been for lack of effort.

We first strolled the ruelles of Meursault in 1979, knocking on cellar doors at every turn. These were tough economic times, and while it’s hard to imagine today, the likes of Ramonet, Niellon, and Leflaive were making more white Burgundy than they knew what to do with. We forged friendships all over town and were treated to unforgettable cellar visits, where we’d taste perfectly aged, 20- and 30-year-old Chardonnays infused with lemon curd and honey, bottles locked in suspended animation.

Fast-forward 35 years. The names on the cellar doors are the same, as vineyards rarely change hands in Meursault. But now it’s the sons and daughters of our oldest friends who tend the vines. The Renault compacts have been replaced by BMW sedans and Range Rovers. Wineries have been completely refurbished or even rebuilt from the ground up, fitted out with pneumatic presses, state-of-the-art fermentation tanks, and plenty of new oak barrels.

As to the laws of supply and demand, there’s far too much of the latter, and particularly in 2011-2014, far too little of the former.

We first met a young Vincent Girardin in Santenay in 1982. Girardin was farming all of two hectares, just shy of five acres. His father soon retired, transferring additional acreage to his son. Then, as is often the case in Burgundy, Vincent married the daughter of another vigneron, his wife, Véronique. By 2011, the Girardins had added dozens of small parcels — many less than a half-acre in size. The family estate had grown to an impressive 20 hectares.

In 2007, Vincent Girardin followed the example of Bize-Leroy and Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and introduced the strictest biodynamic farming protocols on each of his parcels. Not long after, a brand-new winery was constructed just east of Meursault, just over the railway line. No expense was spared. Little by little, Vincent backed off the use of new cooperage, crafting white Burgundies of exquisite purity, intensity, and persistence. While Girardin’s Grand Cru Bienvenues Bâtard-Montrachet and Premier Cru Chassagne-Montrachet “Cailleret” were the finest wines in the cellar in 2011, as has been the case for many years, we were bowled over by Chardonnays drawn off Vincent’s oldest parcels, especially the 2011 Meursault “Les Vieilles Vignes.”

This is a coup — albeit one of modest magnitude. Drawn from several small parcels, all first planted between 1955 and 1975, the 2011 Meursault “Les Vieilles Vignes” is a Burgundian work of art. Bright green-tinged yellow. High pitched aromas of white peach, Anjou pear, anise, and mint. Firm and energetic on the attack, tightly wound, both saline and juicy, infused with fine layers of ripe citrus, honey, and citronelle, finishing with terrific penetration and zest. Drink now-2025.

$55 on release. $40 this afternoon — as if discounting means anything when it comes to white Burgundies of this caliber from one of the top names on the Côte de Beaune. 240 bottles perfectly stored and shipped via temperature controlled trucks. Sorry in advance.