Puligny Montrachet Les Folatières 2012 - Vincent Girardin

Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières 2012 — Vincent Girardin

This Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières 2012 from Vincent Girardin embodies a noble, precise and profoundly mineral expression of Chardonnay from the Côte de Beaune. From one of the most renowned climats of Puligny-Montrachet, this wine combines white-fruit purity, limestone tension and the classical elegance of a great white Burgundy: ripe lemon, citrus zest, fresh pear, yellow apple, white peach, white flowers, fresh almond, fine hazelnut, delicate butter, warm stone, chalk, oyster shell, light smoke and a long saline finish.

Vincent Girardin is recognised for precise, expressive Burgundies that remain faithful to the personality of the great terroirs of the Côte de Beaune. Les Folatières, an emblematic climat of Puligny-Montrachet, is distinguished by a rare combination of finesse, energy and mineral depth. The 2012 vintage, structured, concentrated and fresh, gives here an elegant, taut and already complex wine, while retaining fine capacity for evolution.

Terroir: Les Folatières, limestone finesse and Puligny-Montrachet nobility

The Les Folatières climat in Puligny-Montrachet is one of the most sought-after Premier Crus of the Côte de Beaune. Its limestone and stony soils encourage Chardonnays of great finesse, marked by tension, aromatic precision and persistent minerality. Puligny is distinguished by a straighter, more saline and more chiselled expression of Chardonnay.

At Vincent Girardin, Les Folatières translates into a wine that is both broad and taut, where fruit richness remains balanced by terroir freshness. In 2012, the natural concentration of the vintage reinforces depth, while the limestone frame maintains energy, precision and length on the palate. The result is a Puligny-Montrachet of great distinction, already expressive yet still capable of evolving.

Tasting notes

Appearance: pale gold with brilliant reflections, slowly evolving towards deeper gold, luminous, dense and still fresh in fine examples. The colour reflects the ripeness of the 2012 vintage, the purity of Chardonnay and a gradual evolution towards greater aromatic complexity.

Nose: pure, profound and highly elegant, with ripe lemon, citrus zest, fresh pear, yellow apple, white peach, white flowers, fresh almond, fine hazelnut, delicate butter and warm stone. With aeration, nuances of chalk, oyster shell, light smoke, fine honey, sweet spices, fine dried fruits, discreet vanilla and white truffle may appear.

Palate: broad, satiny, fresh and perfectly structured, with dense substance carried by precise limestone tension. Flavours of ripe lemon, zest, pear, yellow apple, white peach, almond, hazelnut, fine butter, chalk, warm stone and oyster shell unfold with depth and elegance. The finish is long, saline, chalky and persistent, with an impression of purity, relief and great Burgundian nobility.

Expression of the 2012 vintage

The 2012 vintage in Burgundy produced white wines often marked by concentration, freshness and fine aromatic intensity. For a Puligny-Montrachet terroir such as Les Folatières, this year combines density of substance, limestone tension, fruit precision and strong ageing capacity.

Today, this Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières 2012 from Vincent Girardin can offer fine complexity after measured aeration, while retaining remarkable freshness. With time, it will gain hazelnut, fine honey, white truffle, noble butter, melted spices, light smoke, warm stone and iodised nuances, while preserving Chardonnay precision and the salinity of the terroir.