2016 Produced Small Yields But Wonderful Wines
- Terrific Structure and Acidity
- Great Fruit and Concentration
2016 JJ Girard Pernand Vergelesses 1er Cru "Sous Fretille"
- Graceful and Delicate
- Great Freshness and Salinity
- Sappy, Complex Minerality
- An Incredible Value at $37.99
2016 JJ Girard Corton Charlemagne
- A Stunning Example of Corton Charlemagne
- Massively Powerful and Concentrated
- Deeply Mineral, Structured, Will Last 20+ Years
2016 is one of the wackier vintages that I've ever encountered as yields are so low and allocations are
so minute that today I'm doing something I've never done before. If you are getting this email it means that you've been a supporter of JJ Girard Whites and the Fass Selections White Burgundy portfolio in general. Please don't forward this to anyone else on the list as they and you will be getting a "normal" offer in an hour of other Girard whites that there are slightly more of.
The 2016 Vintage
2016 is an extraordinary vintage at JJ Girard despite there being very very small quantities. Today we have the return of two list favorites in the 2nd best White Burgundy vintage since we have been in business. 2014 is the king but 2016 is the prince. It got whacked by frost and some hail (which reduces quantity but not quality) but the wines are tremendous. Tight, taught, mineral and wonderfully structured wines. They have much higher acids than 15, and excellent ripeness but also have terrific sense of place and terroir footprints. I love the 16's and all of you will as well. I will have to make both wines NET today as I have so little of each.
Let's start with the wanna be Grand Cru first. The 2016 JJ Girard Pernand Vergelesses 1er Cru "Sous Fretille" can be had today for $37.99 a bottle NET. I call this a wanna be Grand Cru as this is like a baby Corton Charlemagne. It's like a Prince to Corton Charlemagne's King. The wine has grace and delicacy, hint of Grand Cru breedings and aroma with iodine and some grilled bits. It really is one of the better values I sell. I skipped 2015 because there was not much and the acid was not there for me. 2016 is just electric. God I love this wine. Lemon and lime candy on the nose. Citrus and apple. Wonderful freshness and salinity on the nose. Sea water and sea minerals. Like an ocean of great Chardonnay. Afterwards, air the telltale hazelnut and iodine notes develop. The palate just sizzles. It has the sizzle and the steak. Tasty high acids. A whack of limestone. So pure. Wonderful power and grace. Really crystalline purity in the 16 and also massive density and concentration. Powerful wine. Sappy and complex minerality on the long finish. This has terrific structure, weight and density but remained elegant and finesse driven which will only increase with age. The palate has honeysuckle, lime, intense citrus and green apple for days with all that minerality. Explosive the whole way through but in total harmony. The wine is breathtaking and very limited.
Next up is something that i have not offered in two years. Last was the 2014 which was an epic wine. The 2016 is as epic if not more as it was made from frightfully low yields. It is a powerhouse unlike many I've tasted and has to be one of the greatest white burgundies I have ever sold. The 2016 JJ Girard Corton Charlemagne can be had for $134.99 net. My allocation is tiny and the price has gone up a bit as the frost devastation has finally caught up to Girard. This is a wine though that is the best it has ever been since around 2013 (91 BH), 2014 (93 BH) and 2015 (92 BH) as is evidenced by the recent scores being the highest ever for this cuvee. But still, this is a wine for the cellar. This needs 3-5 years and once it blossoms it will be a classic stunning example of Corton Charlemagne. Girard is such an underrated producer of this great Grand Cru, which is my favorite white Grand Cru. There is an aristocracy and majesty to great Corton Charlemagne but it only comes out after extensive aging. Young I find they hard to drink and enjoy. While I can appreciate the wine young and assess the quality I prefer them at 15+ years of age. This wine has massive levels of power and concentration with a deep core of mineral, caramel, iodine, hazelnuts and grilled pears. The acid is intense and similar to 2014. It's like a whiplash on the palate. While there is wood, it integrates in 4-6 years which is the minimum this wine needs. It's massive, dense, young and monolithic when I tasted it in January but make no mistake this is an instant classic. It has the structure to last 20+ years. There is such power and sweet fruit. It is so juicy and the fruit and minerality is like an oil spill on your palate. It echoes for minutes and minutes yet has aristocratic grace and delicacy. This is a brilliant bottle of Corton Charlemagne. So pure, so lithe so elegant yet at the same time powerful, structured and very ageworthy. Tremendous wine.
Below are previous vintages BH notes on both. The 2016 is 2014 in style more than 2015.
92 PTS BH for 2015 Corton Charlemagne
"Generously wooded green fruit, petrol, vanilla and wet stone aromas merge seamlessly into rich, round and stony broad-shouldered flavors that possess good power and punch and the agreeably dry finish. This isn't particularly robust though there is good concentration and overall, this should be lovely if allowed at least a few years of bottle age first."
92 PTS BH for 2014 Corton Charlemagne
"This is sufficiently reduced that I would recommend decanting this if you're going to try a bottle before the wine is a few years old. Otherwise there is excellent volume and solid mid-palate concentration on the intense, powerful and overtly stony flavors that deliver good if not sensational
depth though the persistence is impressive. If more depth than my score implicitly assumes develops, then it may be overly conservative."
2016 JJ Girard Pernand Vergelesses 1er Cru "Sous Fretille" - $37.99 NET
2016 JJ Girard Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru - $134.99 NET
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