White Burgundy has never been better. It’s also never been more expensive. But follow SommSelect’s proven tactic of looking to less glitzy appellations for their most committed winemakers, and you can still find true hidden gems. Case in point: Justin Girardin’s 2020 Santenay Blanc "Les Terrasses de Bievaux.” In a corner of the Côte d’Or more famous for its reds than its whites, the young and passionate Justin Girardin has turned out a bottle of Santenay Blanc that frankly feels akin to a Chassagne or Puligny masterpiece. It carries all the hallmarks of the world’s most sought-after white Burgundy: textural density, invigoratingly electric structure, the capacity to develop for over a decade in your cellar. This is a beauty to pour alongside some of the category’s most coveted names. Of course, the twist here is that this village-level bottling costs less than more famous producers’ Bourgogne Blancs. A White Burg slam dunk like Justin’s Santenay Blanc is rare and getting rarer every day. Every lover of world class white wine owes it to themselves to go deep on this!
When it comes to white Burgundy, few names carry the import and gravitas of Girardin. This is a family that’s been cultivating vines in Santenay since the late 16th century, and the clan has produced some of the most talented Chardonnay producers in the world. Justin’s uncle Vincent is one of the acknowledged masters of Meursault. His cousin Pierre makes a stunning range of whites and reds from across the Côte de Beaune. Justin’s father Jacques stayed closer to home, establishing his eponymous domaine as one of Santenay’s most important. In 2017, Justin took over. He’s now the 13th generation of Girardin to work these vines. And as at so many other well-established addresses, the younger, widely-traveled youngster brought some new ideas with him. He converted the vineyards to organic farming, began aiming for a more rigorously mineral rather than opulent style, and quickly established himself as a rising star. This is white Burgundy made in the mold of living legends like Jean-Marc Roulot or Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey – chiseled and filigreed, wines of rigorous depth rather than fruity bombast.
Santenay, though, is an unexpected place for Justin to be turning out such beauties. This is the southernmost tip of Côte d’Or, a village typically thought of as the last stop for pedigreed Pinot before you get to the less-esteemed Côte Chalonnaise. The limestone ridge around which all of the Golden Slope’s best vineyards congregate actually peters out in parts of Santenay, giving way to marlstone. But Justin’s prized plot of Chardonnay that makes up his Santenay Blanc is a carefully-chosen limestone outcropping, which accounts for the wine’s polish and Puligny-esque verve. After hand harvesting, the Chardonnay is lightly pressed, fermented spontaneously, and aged in 15% new oak. Justin doesn’t do any batonnage, and favors lightly toasted wood for its very subtle influence. The result is a wine of simultaneous shimmering brilliance and nuance.
Justin’s 2020 Santenay Blanc "Les Terrasses de Bievaux" is tightly coiled upon opening, so we recommend popping it 30 minutes prior to drinking to really allow the aromas to unfurl. It pours a limpid pale yellow with flecks of silver. The nose is a laser beam of crushed white rocks, seaspray, chalk, white flowers, lemon zest, warm spice, and a faint hint of gunflint and smoke. The 2020 vintage was warm and dry, and that comes through in some generous fruit rounding out the wine’s rigorous backbone – notes of just-ripe white peach, ripe apple flesh, and apricot pit. On the palate, it’s electrifying, packed with deep minerality, a coiled spring of tension married to dense texture. In short, it’s exactly the sort of white Burgundy we fall hard for, and the kind that’s going to go for a decade or more in your cellar despite the modest price. So just be sure to grab enough to last that long!
