We had rain when we needed it and a hot August, which made for thick and ripe skins. He started his wine business in 1982, making just over 650 cases. Girardin makes wines from over 60 different appellations. The rain wasn't catastrophic in the early days of the harvest, he said. Serious growers plough between rows of vines, thus forcing the roots deep into the soil.
Deep roots are less likely to soak up water immediately.
Girardin definitely went for maximum extraction with his '99s. He carried out a cold pre-fermentation maceration for 15 days, which is a longer than in most Burgundian wineries that use this technique. But Girardin extends the wine's contact with the lees in an unusual way. After racking the wines into stainless-steel tanks, he recovers the fine lees from the barrels and puts them to the tanks. He then leaves the wine and lees in the tanks for some time before bottling.