Santenay blanc Les Terrasses de Bievaux 2023 Domaine Justin Girardin
€35.00
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Product Details
- Format
- 75 cl
- Region
- Bourgogne
- Vintage
- 2023
- Ranking
- VILLAGE
- Appellation
- SANTENAY
- Degree
- 13°
- Color
- White
- Country
- FRANCE
- Award
- LES TERRASSES DE BIEVAUX
- Author
- Adrien
One of Burgundy's rare terraced vineyard parcels, this white wine from Domaine Justin Girardin captures the mineral precision and floral grace of a singular terroir on the Côte de Beaune.
The Santenay Blanc Les Terrasses de Bievaux 2023 from Domaine Justin Girardin is one of the most singular and compelling cuvées of the Côte de Beaune, a Chardonnay born from a steeply terraced terroir that is genuinely rare in Burgundy. Its history runs as deep as its soil is thin. Floral, mineral and vigorous, it embodies the essence of a vigneron of thirteen generations, present in Burgundy since 1570, who conducts his domaine in biodynamics with a simple and profound vision: to let nature express itself fully in every glass.
The terroir of Les Terrasses de Bievaux
The Terrasses de Bievaux stretch across the heights of Santenay, on the steepest and highest slope of the commune. The name of the lieu-dit tells its own story: Bievaux comes from the Latin Bedus, meaning watercourse, and the Burgundian patois vaus, meaning "undulating", in reference to the nearby spring from which flows a small stream that naturally cools the site. After the phylloxera crisis of the early twentieth century, all the vines on this slope were uprooted and the parcel abandoned for decades, despite its historical reputation for producing excellent white wines. It was only in 1986 that Justin's maternal grandfather began progressively replanting these steep slopes, dividing them into six small terraced parcels, a monumental and genuinely rare undertaking in Burgundy, to facilitate cultivation and manual harvest. Positioned in height and steeply inclined, with a south-westerly exposure amplified by the terraced configuration which captures more sun, this terroir is perfectly suited to Chardonnay: the soil is thin, covered in calcareous marls, with sparse stony topsoil, and the surrounding woods create a cool microclimate that bestows the wine with natural freshness and tension. The vines, some thirty-five years old, are farmed in biodynamics.
Tasting Profile
The colour is pale and luminous, clear and bright. The nose is floral and delicate, of great refinement: notes of fern and white flowers, acacia and honeysuckle, interwine with aromas of fresh yellow fruit, candied citrus and hazelnut, with a chalky, fresh minerality that signals the imprint of the terroir's calcareous marls. On the palate, the wine is vigorous, tense and precise: the acidity is lively and chiselled, bringing natural freshness that structures a substance both light and generous. The texture is creamy and silky, arising from twelve months of ageing in oak casks with only 15% new wood, discreet and perfectly integrated. The finish is long, mineral and distinguished, unfolding with elegance over notes of damp chalk and fresh citrus. A Chardonnay both accessible now in all its liveliness and promised a fine evolution over four to six years.
The Domaine
The Girardin family has been established in Burgundy since 1570. Justin Girardin, thirteenth generation, took the reins of the family domaine of 17 hectares in 2012 from his father Jacques, brother of the renowned négociant Vincent Girardin. Attentive to the well-being of his vines, Justin farms the entire vineyard in biodynamics, without official certification but with complete rigour and conviction. His philosophy is eloquently simple: to let nature express itself as much as possible in the vineyard and in the wine, intervening sparingly and respecting natural rhythms. Clonal biodiversity, manual harvest with triple sorting at the vine and on vibrating table, fermentation in indigenous yeasts at low temperature and precise, measured ageing in wood are the tools of a vineyard conducted like a living garden. His domaine stretches from Santenay to Savigny-lès-Beaune, passing through Chassagne-Montrachet, Pommard and Meursault, as many terroirs that Justin reveals with the same attention and passion.
Food Pairing
This Santenay Blanc Les Terrasses de Bievaux pairs beautifully with scallops in lemon beurre blanc, grilled sole with fresh herbs, cold langoustines in homemade mayonnaise, steamed prawns, sea bass fillet in herb crust or terrine of poultry liver with pistachios. It will also find harmony with soft-paste cheeses such as Chaource, Brie de Meaux or semi-dry goat cheese. Served between 10 and 12°C, it will reveal all the floral freshness and calcareous minerality of a Côte de Beaune Chardonnay of great sincerity.
The terroir of Les Terrasses de Bievaux
The Terrasses de Bievaux stretch across the heights of Santenay, on the steepest and highest slope of the commune. The name of the lieu-dit tells its own story: Bievaux comes from the Latin Bedus, meaning watercourse, and the Burgundian patois vaus, meaning "undulating", in reference to the nearby spring from which flows a small stream that naturally cools the site. After the phylloxera crisis of the early twentieth century, all the vines on this slope were uprooted and the parcel abandoned for decades, despite its historical reputation for producing excellent white wines. It was only in 1986 that Justin's maternal grandfather began progressively replanting these steep slopes, dividing them into six small terraced parcels, a monumental and genuinely rare undertaking in Burgundy, to facilitate cultivation and manual harvest. Positioned in height and steeply inclined, with a south-westerly exposure amplified by the terraced configuration which captures more sun, this terroir is perfectly suited to Chardonnay: the soil is thin, covered in calcareous marls, with sparse stony topsoil, and the surrounding woods create a cool microclimate that bestows the wine with natural freshness and tension. The vines, some thirty-five years old, are farmed in biodynamics.
Tasting Profile
The colour is pale and luminous, clear and bright. The nose is floral and delicate, of great refinement: notes of fern and white flowers, acacia and honeysuckle, interwine with aromas of fresh yellow fruit, candied citrus and hazelnut, with a chalky, fresh minerality that signals the imprint of the terroir's calcareous marls. On the palate, the wine is vigorous, tense and precise: the acidity is lively and chiselled, bringing natural freshness that structures a substance both light and generous. The texture is creamy and silky, arising from twelve months of ageing in oak casks with only 15% new wood, discreet and perfectly integrated. The finish is long, mineral and distinguished, unfolding with elegance over notes of damp chalk and fresh citrus. A Chardonnay both accessible now in all its liveliness and promised a fine evolution over four to six years.
The Domaine
The Girardin family has been established in Burgundy since 1570. Justin Girardin, thirteenth generation, took the reins of the family domaine of 17 hectares in 2012 from his father Jacques, brother of the renowned négociant Vincent Girardin. Attentive to the well-being of his vines, Justin farms the entire vineyard in biodynamics, without official certification but with complete rigour and conviction. His philosophy is eloquently simple: to let nature express itself as much as possible in the vineyard and in the wine, intervening sparingly and respecting natural rhythms. Clonal biodiversity, manual harvest with triple sorting at the vine and on vibrating table, fermentation in indigenous yeasts at low temperature and precise, measured ageing in wood are the tools of a vineyard conducted like a living garden. His domaine stretches from Santenay to Savigny-lès-Beaune, passing through Chassagne-Montrachet, Pommard and Meursault, as many terroirs that Justin reveals with the same attention and passion.
Food Pairing
This Santenay Blanc Les Terrasses de Bievaux pairs beautifully with scallops in lemon beurre blanc, grilled sole with fresh herbs, cold langoustines in homemade mayonnaise, steamed prawns, sea bass fillet in herb crust or terrine of poultry liver with pistachios. It will also find harmony with soft-paste cheeses such as Chaource, Brie de Meaux or semi-dry goat cheese. Served between 10 and 12°C, it will reveal all the floral freshness and calcareous minerality of a Côte de Beaune Chardonnay of great sincerity.