Aleth Girardin

She was studying to become a lawyer, but things did not quite turn out as planned. Today, some 30 years further down the road, Aleth Girardin is a respected winemaker in Pommard. She has a passion for pinot noir and runs a seven hectare domaine with vines in Pommard, Beaune and Meursault. Aleth Girardin comes from a family that has been winemakers for four or five generations. Both her parents came from Pommard and it is their domaine that is now carrying her name.

At Domaine Aleth Girardin the average age of the vines is generally high, in some cases very high. In most cases it is 60 to 65 years, but both the Epenots and the Rugiens were planted in 1906 by Aleth Girardin’s great grandfather. These old vines require a lot of work and they only produce 25-30 hectoliters per hectare.

A large portion of the domaine’s vines are located in Pommard. Aleth Girardin bottles two different village Pommards – Vignots and Noizons – and five premier crus – Refêne, Charmots, Epenots, Rugiens-Bas and a plain Pommard premier cru made up of Pèzerolles, Argillière and young vines from Epenots.

Both Epenots and Rugiens-Bas have been mentioned as candidates for being promoted to grand cru status, but Aleth Girardin is not holding her breath. It is a very long process and she feels that there is still a long way to go.

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