2013 Vincent Girardin Pouilly-Fuisse Les Vieilles Vignes 750 ml

Under-$30 White Burgundy BARGAIN of 2013: “Black Clouds Over Meursault”

While our late-June visit to Burgundy featured some of the more fascinating tastings of the last decade, when it came to securing allocations of the top 2013s, we largely came up empty. It wasn't for lack of trying.

From Meursault to Fuissé, the 2013 growing season was described as “économiquement difficile, mais qualitativement magnifique” (“difficult economically, but qualitatively magnificent”). The good news came in the form of a bevy of electrifying white Burgundies, infused with luscious apple/pear cores, braced by riveting acidity. The bad? Yields in the top cellars were down nearly 30% from the norm.

Of our dozen cellar visits, none was more riveting than our stop at Maison Vincent Girardin. From 1:30 to 5 p.m. on June 30th, we were treated to a breathtaking 2013 lineup that ranked among the most unforgettable tastings of 2014.

If Girardin’s Grand Crus were the highlights of the afternoon, it would be this STUNNING old-vine Pouilly-Fuissé that ranked among the most compelling bargains of 2013. Here’s why.

The winter of 2012-2013 was frigid. March, too, was unseasonably cold, delaying flowering. From April to June, one storm after another pummeled the Mâconnais. Total precipitation was nearly double the norm. Some producers joked, claiming they saw ducks swimming in the vines.

“It was one thing after another,” the veteran vigneron shrugged as we sniffed and swirled his 50-year-old-vine Pouilly-Fuissé. “We had already doubled up on passes through the vines, doing our best to fend off mildew. Then, just when we thought things couldn’t possibly get any worse, there was the storm of July 23rd."

On July 23rd, black clouds billowed over Beaune. The wind picked up. Mothers grabbed their toddlers, racing for cover. The first drops of rain splattered on cobblestone courtyards like small water balloons. Then thunder cracked and the sky opened up. Hail pelted the Côte de Beaune, ravaging the limestone hillsides above Meursault and Pommard. Three hours later, the vignerons trekked their vines, evaluating the damage. In Corton-Charlemagne, up to 80% of the crop had been destroyed in less than an hour. But just an hour south, on the steep slopes around Fuissé and Davayé, Girardin’s three old-vine Pouilly-Fuissé parcels were saved — setting the stage for one of the more glorious vintage stretch runs in memory.

The 2013 Vincent Girardin Pouilly-Fuissé Vieilles Vignes is drawn from three tiny parcels, all between 50 and 60 years of age! This is an absolutely magnificent white Burgundy that more than held its own against most of the village Meursaults and Chassagne-Montrachets tasted last June.

Brilliant green-gold. Wonderfully pure aromatically 30 minutes after decanting, the nose features an alluring mix of apple, pear, and ripe lemon, lightly touched with new-wood vanilla. Rich, juicy, dense, and beautifully textured on the attack, slowly peeling away fine layers of lemon curd, white peach, and apricot, finishing with great vibrancy and persistence. Drink now — but only if you’re impatient — or lay this white Burgundy classic down until the early 2020s.

$36 on release. $25 today — EXCLUSIVELY on WineAccess. Due to the tiny yields, just 3,000 bottles made it stateside, 600 of which have been earmarked for WineAccess. Sorry, in advance.