Vincent Girardin Auxey-Duresses Rouge Village ‘Vieilles Vignes’ 2019

Auxey-Duresses sits in the side valley that runs west from Meursault into the hills. The village is Côte de Beaune limestone through and through, a little cooler and a little higher than the slope in front of it, which is why Pinot Noir from here keeps its freshness in a warm year.

Vincent Girardin is a Meursault house best known for its whites, but the reds get the same cellar and the same restraint. This cuvée comes from the domaine’s oldest Auxey parcels, vines that give less fruit and more depth with each passing decade.

2019 was a generous vintage on the Côte de Beaune, and it suits Auxey well. Red cherry and raspberry, a touch of dried rose, wild thyme, and the fine, dusty tannin that marks the village. Twelve months in barrel with little new oak, so the fruit and the limestone do the talking.

Village old vine Burgundy, seven years on and open now. Bottles like this are getting harder to find at any price.