Biodynamic. Single-vineyard Pinot Noir from 100-year-old vines. Irancy is a small hamlet with just over 300 inhabitants, situated roughly equidistant between Auxerre and Chablis. The village lies two kilometres from the Yonne River and is surrounded by a large natural amphitheatre of vines. It is one of the most northerly AOCs in France to grow red grapes, and like the neighbouring wine villages of Chitry and Saint-Bris, the wines of Irancy only make rare appearances on the export market. The vineyards–interspersed with cherry orchards–are planted on slopes of Kimmeridgian limestone mixed with red clays. These highly mineral soils and the extreme northern location help to give these Pinots incredible energy, brightness and a tangy, chiselled minerality.
Goisot has a paltry 0.5 hectares in the lieu-dit of Les Mazelots. His viticulture and vine age are now delivering serious depth and flesh; in the context of Irancy, this wine is a superstar. These are some of the oldest Pinot vines in France and produce outstanding, super-mineral, savoury wines with irresistible energy. In the past, these could be big chewy wines that were hard to approach young, but Guilhem Goisot has brought more plushness and seduction in recent years as he has learned to tame the tannins and intense minerality of the terroir.