Domaine Girard Pays d'Oc Pinot Noir 2021
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Pinot Noir is rarely successful in the Languedoc. However, the higher altitude of this vineyard permits more even ripening of the grapes, and thus avoids the jammy style that often occurs with this variety in the south of France. A terrific value in Pinot Noir that is true to form.
The Girards tend 12 hectares of vines in total, sell some cuvées to négociants and bottle only a portion of their production under their own name. Their La Garenne cuvée comes from a 2.5 ha vineyard of that name, a plot on a steep east-facing slope with a very rocky limestone soil. The chalky soil brings out the characteristic flinty, mineral and green notes of Sauvignon Blanc. On La Garenne's well-drained, warm slopes the grapes achieve exceptional ripeness and fruit.
The Girards have an impeccable cuverie and vinify with modern technology: a pneumatic press, stainless steel vats, a temperature control system during fermentation, and air-conditioned space for aging in vats and stocking bottles. They counterbalance technology by practicing old-fashioned vineyard work, where herbicides and treatments are used sparingly, and by never adding commercial yeasts to induce fermentation or add flavors.
Their Sancerre is everything one hopes for: it is bright, lively, pleasantly aromatic, has zippy acidity but low astringency.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
A catchall term for the area surrounding the Languedoc and Roussillon, Pays d’Oc is the most important IGP (Indication Géographique Protégée) in France, producing 85% of this country’s wine under the IGP designation. (IGP indicates wine of good quality, not otherwise elevated to the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) status.)
The near perfect Mediterranean climate combined with dry, cool winds from the north, optimal soils, altitudes and exposures make Pays d’Oc an ideal wine growing region. Single varietal wines and blends are possible here and while many types of grapes do well in Pays d’Oc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Grenache and Cinsault are among the most common.