"Jean-Jacques Girard, who is slowly bowing out of day-to-day operations of this 17 ha domaine in favor of his son Vincent, enthusiastically described 2019 as "along with 2018, the best that I have ever seen, and it's genuinely remarkable to have had two great vintages back to back." - Burghound
JJ Girard- A Last Bastion of Stunningly Well Made Affordable Burgundy
- Burgundy Lovers' Burgundy
- 2019's Flying Out The Door
2019 JJ Girard Pernand Vergelesses 1er Cru "Les Fichots"
- 91 Points, Burghound
- Big and Intense Nose
- Earthy, Leafy, Cherry Lipstick, Mossy, Brambly Red Fruits
- Almost Rieslingesque Limestone Minerality
- Stunning Inner Mouth Aromas
- A Dense, Deep Wine
- A 15-20 Year Wine
- Longest aging 1er Cru wine at Girard
2019 JJ Girard Savigny Les Beaune 1er Cru "Les Narbantons"
- 92 Points Burghound
- The Best Young Savigny from Girard I've Ever Had
- Super complex and Ebullient
- Nose: Complex, Floral, Gorgeous
- Roses and Violets
- Pure and Detailed Cherry Fruit
- Amazing Stoniness
- Tremendous Clarity
- A Dizzying Array of Spice
- Palate: Concentrated and Super Pure
- Crazy Depth
- Amazing Purity and Elegance
- Sick Tiny Berry Fruit Intensity
I Was Going to Do Case Pricing But Decided Just to Give Lower Prices on 1 and 4 Packs As I Really Want You All To Get These. Even I Can't Get Red Burgundy Values Like These All The Time
- (But If You Can Store a Case, I Would Highly Encourage You To Buy a Full Case)
HAMLET
...My father-methinks I see my father.
HORATIO
Where, my lord?
HAMLET
In my mind's eye, Horatio.
HORATIO
I saw him once. He was a goodly king.
HAMLET
He was a man. Take him for all in all
I shall not look upon his like again.
We Shall Not See Their Likes Again
When one wants to point out a certain truth, one looks either to the Bible or the Bard. Today, it's the Bard.
Hamlet, in this scene, captures so perfectly the notion that something great and wonderful is going away or gone. In this case, Men with the character of Hamlet's father.
People want 1er Cru wines under $40. The last time I remember getting "A" villages like Morey St. Denis or Gevrey-Chambertin under $40 was in 2001 or so. And these were lesser 1er Cru wines from Bachelet and Hubert Lignier. That's over 20 years ago.
Woody Allen once said that the only certain things in life are death and taxes. If he collected Burgundy, he would have added, "the rise in Burgundy prices." There is only so much land in Burgundy and there are more Burgundy drinkers every day. Such has it been, such will it always be.
JJ Girard
JJ Girard continues to hold the line. He makes wonderful, classic Burgundies that are joys for those who can afford more expensive wines as well as for those who can only afford wines in this price range.
It saddens me more than you can imagine that Burgundy is becoming a millionaire's wine. But, at least for today, these are brilliant Burgundies that most of us can afford.
A few customers have given me feedback that has warmed my heart. They have said that they only buy Burgundy from me and Girard in particular because they can get actual, real, complex ageable Burgundies for a terrific price. And all of them are 1er cru. It warms my heart because I'm providing people with great red Burgs that they normally would not have been able to buy if I had not opened Fass Selections.
I've drank 120 wines by the great Jean-Jacques Girard estate. By far the most of any Burgundy producer I sell. Why is that?
Well because they are stunningly delicious and affordable.
The Wines
The 2021 Vintage - Down 50-100%
The other headline is Agnes Girard told me they could lose 50-100% of their 2021s. This is devastating. I
feel so bad for them as they could not be nicer people and they work so hard. Jean-Jacques is a gentleman's gentlemen and I am very upset for them. Let's show the Girards some love today.
feel so bad for them as they could not be nicer people and they work so hard. Jean-Jacques is a gentleman's gentlemen and I am very upset for them. Let's show the Girards some love today.
Up first is arguably one of Girard's longest aging reds. I think the '11 and the '12 are the only ones that are somewhat approachable now. I think '14, '15, '17 and '18 need more time. I had the 2012 for this offer and it was just starting but still could benefit from age. The wine is the 2019 JJ Girard Pernand Vergelesses 1er Cru "Les Fichots" for as little as $39.99 a bottle on a 4-pack and $35.65 after the tariff rebate. $35.65 for a brilliant bottle of 1er Cru Red Burgundy that will age for 15-20 years. Where do I sign up?
Big and intense nose with earthy, leafy, cherry lipstick, mossy and brambly red fruits. Huge fruit as well. I mean big dark and red cherries. Amazing fruit for a young Fichots. Tree bark, moss, mid season cherries emanate in a gorgeous perfume. Huge minerals. Almost a limestone feeling. Wild apples. Wet earth. Savory. Sweet. Feral and wild. Just stunning. Even some vivid black cherry flower after some air. Just awesome. A Pernand symphony.
On the palate, this has terrific texture with brilliant 2019 perfect ripeness, density and unreal depth and earthy sweet fruit for a young Fichots. More open than ANY young Fichots I've ever had at least since the 17 but still will be better in 5 years and you have to wait because it transforms with age. Can you say truffles? It really stunned me and I made a remark how accessible this was. Big huge red and black cherry fruit. Lovely electric almost Rieslingesque limestone minerality. Explosive and deep with awesome purity and earthy sweetness. Terrific delineation of flavor and so much material yet so light and delicate even. Only in Burgundy. Super complex and ripe and big tannins suggest even more aging if one desires. Massively juicy with terrific length, depth, oodles of sweet and ripe tannin, witty concentration and power all accentuated by a nice and deep spice. There is a serious super deep core here. Outrageous wine. My favorite Fichots ever. But you must have patience for it to turn into what it should. There are unique tannins that come from this very specific rocky soil. Very juicy. Very long. Acidity is pitch perfect. Freshness and lovely persistence. Stunning inner mouth aromas. Big structure as always with Fichots suggests 15-20 years of life. The soils of "Les Fichots" have large round stones and are extremely hard and deep which results in a very structured deep wine that takes time to express itself. I adore this wine because it is such an awesome value for what results in a baby Corton if you so desire. This also got 91 points from Allen Meadows, the Burghound. His review is below.
"A pure and fresh essence of red cherry, earth and plenty of sauvage character leads to delicious and solidly voluminous flavors that also possess a lovely texture before concluding in a powerful, serious and built-to-age finale. This is moderately rustic and very Fichots, meaning that it's going to require a few years of cellaring to round off the robust and slightly chunky tannins." 91 Points, Allen Meadows, Burghound
Up next is the 2019 JJ Girard Savigny Les Beaune 1er Cru "Les Narbantons" for $44.99 a bottle on a 4-pack ($40.88 after tariff rebate). This is the best young Savigny from Girard I've ever had. Just a glorious wine. Super complex, deep, rich and ebullient.
What a nose. A knockout. So complex. So floral. Beautiful pure and detailed cherry fruit. Elite florals. Roses and violets. Wet moss. Just out of hand. So clear. So well defined. Amazing stoniness that props up all the other aromas. A stoney base if you will. Superb mint/tree bark/sous bois triple play. Wow. Really tremendous clarity here. Mesmerizing. Hypnotizing. After air it gets crazy. A dizzying array of spice, mid to late season cherry fruit, superb earthiness, clove, mint, mineral, tree bark and super florals.
Palate is so, so concentrated and super pure. The depth is crazy. Amazing purity and elegance. Sick tiny berry fruit intensity. All the darkest red cherries in a bowl of very dark cherries. The palate impact and layered off the wall concentrated fruit is the story here. Wow. Some of the best fruit I've ever had in a Girard. Sappy and dense and really coats the palate and has amazing staying power. Just sick. So so sick. What an outrageous bottle of Girard. This has length for days upon days. So long. So pure. Fruit is just insane. Incredible volume and amplitude with such crunchy and fresh fruit. The intense purity of the cherry fruit is stunning. It is sappy and beautifully well knit. This will be singing in 3-6 years and last 15+ as Girard and short term cellaring is a match made in heaven. Below is Burghound's 92 PT Note.
"This is also attractively spicy with its aromas of plum, warm earth and black raspberry. The medium weight flavors are not especially dense, but I very much liked the seductive texture that contrasts somewhat with the firm, naturally sweet and mildly austere finish that displays sneaky good length. Lovely." - 92 Points Burghound
2019 JJ Girard Pernand Vergelesses 1er Cru "Les Fichots" - $41.99 ($159.96 4-Pack) (*Including Tariff of $4.34)
2019 JJ Girard Savigny Les Beaune 1er Cru "Les Narbantons" - $46.99 ($179.96 4-Pack) (*Including Tariff of $5.12)
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