Maison Camille Giroud

In 1865 Camille Giroud, of Swiss origin, married Miss Deschamps, the daughter of a family of coopers and wine merchants long established in Beaune, and took over a small family-owned wine trade firm that he renamed Maison Giroud Deschamps. In 1903 the house took the name Camille Giroud and established its premises on Avenue de la Gare in Beaune. From 1903 to the 1940s Camille Giroud only bought musts and finished wines, banking on his talent as a wine maturer; wines went down to the cellar for many years, for decades even. In the 1950s his youngest son, Lucien, took over management of the house; the house records Lucien's motto as "Always a buyer, never a buyer." In 1967, short of cellar space, Lucien moved the house from Avenue de la Gare to Rue Pierre Joigneaux, a set of 19th century buildings with an enclosed courtyard and huge cellars. Lucien Giroud (d. 1989) left Bernard and François Giroud at the helm. In the 1990s, to ease serious financial difficulties, the brothers broke with family tradition, set aside wine purchases and progressively began buying grapes. They bought their first plot of vines in 1993, in Beaune Premier Cru Aux Cras, and in 1995 two more plots, in Beaune Premier Cru Les Cras and Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Au Crétot.

• 1865: Camille Giroud takes over a small family-owned wine trade firm, renamed Maison Giroud Deschamps
• 1903: the house takes the name Camille Giroud, with premises on Avenue de la Gare
• 1967: Lucien Giroud moves the house to Rue Pierre Joigneaux
• 1993 and 1995: first vine purchases, in Beaune Premier Cru Aux Cras, Beaune Premier Cru Les Cras and Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Au Crétot

Wine Spectator's January 2002 report on the sale credited Camille Giroud with a reputation for tight, firm wines that were aged in its large cellars and not sold until the owners decided they were ready to drink. The brothers refused to use new oak. By the 2000 vintage the Girouds were buying only grapes and making wines from 40 different appellations, totaling 5,000 cases of red wines and 2,750 cases of white wines a year. From the 1996 vintage on, the firm did not have enough money to buy top premier cru and grand cru grapes, so it made mostly village-appellation wines. The Girouds put the company's gross revenues for the previous year at $1 million.

• Pre-2001 reputation (Wine Spectator, 2002): tight, firm wines held in the cellar until judged ready to drink
• By the 2000 vintage: grapes only, 40 appellations, 5,000 cases of red and 2,750 cases of white a year

In 2000 Bernard and François Giroud decided to sell the company and entrusted the sale to Becky Wasserman, who had become the house's exclusive importer in the USA in 1988. In 2001 Ann Colgin, Joe Wender and a few other investors and lovers of old vintages decided to take over the house; wishing not to be too closely involved, they named Becky Wasserman as Manager. The sale document was signed on 18 January 2002, and Bernard and François left the house shortly afterwards. David Croix, a recently graduated 23-year-old oenologist originally from the Loire Valley who had apprenticed in Burgundy, Champagne and Beaujolais, joined in July 2001. Between 2001 and 2007 grape purchases were revised, long-term contracts with growers were planned, and a new vat house was built with temperature control, a sorting table, a de-stemmer, small stainless steel vats and a pneumatic press, while the cellar was reorganised and its hundreds of thousands of bottles inventoried. Appellations including Chambertin, Clos-de-Vougeot, Vosne-Romanée, Meursault, Pommard and Corton-Charlemagne returned to the range in the same period. David Croix was officially named Manager in 2007. Ann Colgin organised an auction in New York in 2002, and a second auction in Hong Kong in 2015 included wines made by David Croix.

• 2001: Ann Colgin, Joe Wender and a few other investors decide to take over the house; Becky Wasserman named Manager
• 18 January 2002: sale document signed; Bernard and François Giroud leave shortly afterwards
• 2001 to 2007: new vat house with temperature control, sorting table, de-stemmer, small stainless steel vats and pneumatic press
• 2007: David Croix officially named Manager

Carel Voorhuis took over from David Croix in October 2016. The two announced the succession in a joint statement in June 2016: after 15 years David Croix was leaving the head of the house and Carel Voorhuis was leaving Domaine d'Ardhuy to succeed him, with the 2016 vintage at both houses to be vinified by the two working as a pair. The house's work as a wine merchant-maturer rests on the careful selection of the best parcels for winemaking according to the vintage; for its Bourgogne Rouge it selected parcels in the Côte Chalonnaise near Givry, the Côte de Beaune near Volnay and the Côte de Nuits near Premeaux-Prissey. The red range includes village wines such as Marsannay Les Longeroies, Morey-Saint-Denis Clos Solon and Vosne-Romanée Les Chalandins; Premiers Crus including Beaune Aux Cras, Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Boudots and Vosne-Romanée Les Suchots; and the Grands Crus Corton Le Clos du Roi, Corton Les Renardes, Charmes-Chambertin, Clos de Vougeot Le Petit Maupertuis and Chambertin. The white wines include Bourgogne Aligoté, Pouilly-Fuissé, Meursault Les Vireuils Dessous, Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru Les Vergers and Tête du Clos, and Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru. The house describes its post-2001 style as one that "steps aside discreetly before the purity, flawlessness and characteristic features of the wines." The Bourgogne Wine Bureau credits the house with a reputation for wines with an extraordinary ageing potential.

• October 2016: Carel Voorhuis takes over from David Croix, having left Domaine d'Ardhuy
• Red Grands Crus: Corton Le Clos du Roi, Corton Les Renardes, Charmes-Chambertin, Clos de Vougeot Le Petit Maupertuis, Chambertin
• White Grand Cru: Corton-Charlemagne, from the climats Le Rognet et Corton and Le Charlemagne

Classic collectors' bottles, the Grands Crus, rare wines and vintages such as 1947, 1949 and 1959 stay in the cellar, while every year a set of vintages, including Premiers Crus and wines from 1976, 1978 and 1985, is sold as a collection. Wines offered in the collection include Volnay Premier Cru Carelle sous La Chapelle, Volnay Premier Cru Les Santenots, Volnay Premier Cru Clos des Chênes, Santenay Premier Cru Les Gravières, Beaune Premier Cru Les Grèves, Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Les Pruliers and Clos de la Roche Grand Cru, with vintage notes for years including 1976, 1978, 1985, 1993, 1996 and 1997. At the time of the 2002 sale the house stocked 350,000 bottles, many from vintages such as 1937, 1947, 1949, 1964, 1966, 1971 and 1978.

• Each year a set of older vintages, including Premiers Crus, is sold as a collection
• 2002: 350,000 bottles in stock at the time of the sale

Primary sources (producer's own site): http://www.camillegiroud.com/eng/chronology.html, http://www.camillegiroud.com/eng/red-wines.html, http://www.camillegiroud.com/eng/white-wines.html, http://www.camillegiroud.com/eng/the-collection.html. Secondary sources: https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/winegrowers-and-expertise/passionate-men-and-women/giroud-camille-beaune-21200,2507,9363.html?args=Y29tcF9pZD0xNTAyJmFjdGlvbj12aWV3RmljaGUmaWQ9VklOQk9VMDAwMDIwMDU4NSZ8, https://www.winespectator.com/articles/napa-vintner-ann-colgin-buys-boutique-burgundy-winery-21159, https://www.burgundy-report.com/2016/06/enter-carel-voorhuis/. Last verified 2026-10-12. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.