- Nose: Stunning Complexity, So Burgundian
- Raspberry Coulis, Ripe Red and Black Cherries
- Glorious, Vivid and Detailed Spice
- Big, Dense, Sappy
- Terrifically Structured and Deep Wine
- Can Be Enjoyed Young
2017 JJ Girard Savigny Les Beaune
- Nose: massive. Big fruit. Big spice.
- So deep. So heavenly. So Pure
- Ripe Red and Black Cherries
- Palate: 1er Cru Power and Concentration
- So Layered and Complex
- Stunning Purity
- At $29.99, You Can Drink This Whenever You Want
I love selling Champans, Vosne Romanee, Corton Bressandes, Chambolle Musigny and all the rest of the great wines of Burgundy. And I love drinking them as well. But I'll be honest, I generally drink the more famous (and expensive) wines with friends or at special occasions. What I drink everyday is what most people drink every day. Wines from Savigny, Chorey or maybe Volnay. You want something perhaps a little less complex or a little less extravagent. And I'm selling 2 wines today that are among the best examples of that idea.
A very good friend and early member of the list at Fass Selections is someone whose palateI respect immensely. But I also respect her attitude about wine. One of the things I love about the list is how diverse and open everyone's palates are. We have expanded the portfolio due to your feedback. Hello, Italy? Anyway this person, who shall remain nameless, loves Burgundy. She loves it and she loves all of it. She can afford the very good to excellent stuff but she is passionate about one particular appellation. She says, and with aplomb, "You don't truly love Burgundy unless you love Savigny Les Beaune." This may be one of most truthful statements anyone has ever said about Burgundy. Savigny Les Beaune will never be the best wine in a tasting of Gevrey 1er Cru's or Vosne Romanee 1er Crus. If you think that it is not worthy because of that, then that's a mistake.
Burgundy, more than any other wine region, in order to truly appreciate it has to be taken in context. If not, you'll get all messed up from the high prices and blingy appellations. Every appellation and every village is very worthy in Burgundy. These monks knew what was up. It's remarkable actually.
We sell more Girard than anyone else and there is a reason. They punch way way above their weight, they are transparent and have wonderful, deep, fleshy ebullient fruit that is accessible to wine geeks and normal people alike. You don't have to wait for many bottlings and the ones you do its only 4-6 years and totally worth the wait. I love Girard. Every bottle is great. With short term aging they can become magical and with long term aging they can compete with more famous villages as JJ Girard is so good at making wine. I'm still waiting on my case of 2012's in 10 more years. I had a client whose Burgundy palate I respect immensely and he said that this estate reminds him of the serenity, purity and profundity of the great Jean-Marie Fourrier. That's high high praise!
The 2017 Vintage
Burgundian joy is the joy of Savigny Les Beaune and particularly the Savignys of Jean Jacques Girard. And boy do the 2017s of Girard deliver. This is an exceptional vintage for this estate, which is the oldest estate in Savigny Les Beaune and it really suits the style here. The fruit is glorious in 2017 and the fruit is always glorious at Girard so that combo works and man are these delicious now as are many 2017s They are sappy, deeply fruited and show their sense of place like they are almost strutting. They have the precision and site character of the 2014's but also the beautiful deep fruit of the 16's and 12's but are so much crunchier. Today's wines are one for now and one for later. His earliest drinking premier Cru and his latest drinking premier Cru from one of the most underrated 1er Crus ever, and also an incredible value.
You are not going to find 97 point $800 wines from Girard - but in the $30-$35 range, youare getting wines at a qualitative level of $60+ - he's almost impossible to beat in Burgundy at these price points, especially in a great vintage like 2017.
The Wines
Up first is a favorite 1er cru vineyard of mine, Les Serpentieres. Girard's elegant house style really shines though; this wine has beautifully floral internal (inner mouth) aromatics, pure fruit and wonderful minerality. I'm thrilled to sell the 2017 JJ Girard Savigny-Les-Beaune 1er Cru "Les Serpentieres" for as low as $39.99 on the 4-pack. First offer since 2011!
What a nose. Raspberry coulis, ripe red and black cherries and glorious, vivid and detailed spice. Huge stoniness and earthiness. Awesome palate that is complex as all can be. Serious underlying minerality. It's very refined, straight and delineated. It's fresh, vibrant and has admirable purity and concentration. It's so detailed and vivid. Big, dense, sappy oh my god is this sappy with great power and incredible inner mouth energy. Just wow. So pure, so dense and so sappy. So much deep dark and cooling black cherry fruit with incredible crunch and blackness. It's medium to almost full bodied but still manages wonderful grace. This is terrifically structured and deep wine with incredibly ripe and sweet tannins.The clarity of JJ Girard's wines is always at the top of the heap of the Fass Burgundy producers. Great Serpentieres is priced around $50 at traditional retail, so this is a fantastic value and affordable enough for everyday drinking but can also gracefully for 10-12 years. Les Serpentieres is located in the northern bank of Savigny near Pernand and borders Guettes and Aux Gravains. For me, Serpentieres, mainly based on my experience with Pavelot and now Girard, is a supremely elegant and very easy to like Savigny that can be drunk early. With Girard's house style being wines of finesse with such fine tannin, this is truly a perfect alignment of producer and vineyard. There is a huge amount of supple fruit on the nose with a wonderful background of minerality. This wine has beautiful inner mouth floral aromas which is one of my favorite aspects of Burgundy. This is a juicy, mineral wine with wonderful pure fruit and is just very complete. Just beautiful is what my final note said.
Up next I have one of the best Red Burgundy values I've ever sold. The 2017 JJ Girard Savigny Les Beaune can be had for $29.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. Yields were under 30 hectoliters for this. It is priced like a Bourgogne Rouge used to be, as it's hard, almost impossible now, to find Bourgogne Rouge for under $30. This is village wine for under $30 from one of the most dense and transparent vintages I've tasted. The 17 Girard Savigny Les Beaune is drop dead killer. Its simple label and appellation just cause it to go unnoticed. I noticed it and spent more time on this wine than I did the other more expensive wines. We importers love a great value. This is just silly.
The nose is massive. Big fruit. Big spice. So deep. So heavenly. Just Savigny served on a platter. So pure. Ripe red and black cherries. Really just the freshest cherries you've ever smelled. But ripe and vivid. So good. There is also an animal element as well that complicates things. It's just the purest nose. It's so outstanding. Amazingly layered and just cheerful. The quality is so high. Incredible power and concentration for a wine like this. I mean it's got 1er Cru power. So dynamic with such energy. It's also so utterly Savigny. Just the essence. The purity is stunning for this cuvee. I mean I could not shut up. Sappy and sweet tannins. Oh so silky and sweet. Balanced and so fresh. But big, large framed and dense. So juicy. It's a blast to drink. Really meandering spice on the finish. Just killer. Stunning wine. Only this kind of value is at Fass Selections.
2017 Jean Jacques Girard Savigny Les Beaune 1er Cru "Les Serepentieres" - $39.99 ($151.96 4-pack) (*Including Tariff of $4.13)
2017 Jean Jacques Girard Savigny Les Beaune - $30.99
($115.96 4-pack) (*Including Tariff of $2.85)
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