Maranges 1er Cru Clos des Loyeres 2023, Yves Girardin

Chateau de la Charriere, Domaine Yves Girardin, Santenay

With a brilliant garnet red colour, this is a great example of Pinot Noir from one of the less popular areas of the Cotes de Beaune. On the nose, ripe fruit aromas and toasted notes are to the fore. The palate is rounded and full with rich, gentle tannins and fine spicy notes which persist in the mouth-filling finish. (2019 - 13% abv)

This wine is 100% Pinot Noir from vines, grown on a mixture of limestone and clay, that are on average about 30 years old. The grapes are hand picked and sorted in both the vineyard and on a sorting table in the winery.
After their passage on the sorting table, the grapes are totally destemmed and then macerate for 15 days in vats. This period commences with 5 days cold maceration with the object of extracting the fruit characters from the grapes. This is followed by an increase in temperature during which pumping over and punching down liberates the tannins present in the grape skins. And finally, the temperature is raised to around 32øC for 5 to 7 days to stabilise colour and tannins. It then spends 10 to 12 months in oak barrels of which 25% are new oak and after a light filtration is bottled when the moon is in its waning phase which gives exceptional freshness and fruit to the wines. It is best served at 16øC or 17øC.

The Girardin family have cultivated the vine for 13 generations, and the domaine developed in the sixties thanks to Jean Girardin, notably with the acquisition of Chateau de la Charriere.

Having spent his childhood amongst the vines and in the cellar, Yves developed a passion for all aspects of wine and viticulture. In 1981 the family holding of 12 hectares was divided, and Yves found himself owning 3 hectares. Wishing to grow and diversify his range of appellations, he bought vines in Chassagne-Montrachet and Pommard and today has a total of 21.5 hectares.

In 2003 Yves acquired Chateau de la Charriere, the family property, and developed the Domaine with the construction of a new cellar. In 2011 Benoit returned to the Domaine after studying at Beaune and Bordeaux in order to continue the family involvement.