- A Baby Corton Charlemagne
- Nose: Gorgeous Deep Minerals
- Lime Zest, Lemon and Lime Candy
- Sea Water and Sea Minerals
- Gorgeously Sleek Palate
- Refined with Huge Minerals
- Wonderful Power and Grace
- Massive Density and Concentration
- Honeysuckle, Lime, Intense Citrus and Green Apple
- Amazing Depth
- Amazing Value at $36.99
2019 JJ Girard Corton Charlemagne
- The Aristocracy and Majesty of CC
- Massive Levels of Power and Concentration
- The Structure to Last 20+ Years
- Still Wonderfully Lithe and Elegant
- Terrific Tension
- An Elegantly Mammoth Wine that You Want in Your Cellar
The Master
Seamus Heaney
He dwelt in himself
like a rook in an unroofed tower.
To get close I had to maintain
a climb up deserted ramparts
and not flinch, not raise an eye
to search for an eye on the watch
from his coign of seclusion.
Deliberately he would unclasp
his book of withholding
a page at a time and it was nothing
arcane, just the old rules
we all had inscribed on our slates.
Each character blocked on the parchment secure
in its volume and measure.
Each maxim given its space.
Like quarrymen's hammers and wedges proofed
by intransigent service.
Like coping stones where you rest
in the balm of the wellspring.
How flimsy I felt climbing down
the unrailed stairs on the wall,
hearing the purpose and venture
in a wingflap above me.
Seamus Heaney (1939-2013) was a Nobel Prize winning Irish poet who was arguably the most famous poet of his era. His poems heavily draw from his childhood in rural Ireland and he was well known for his ability as a storyteller. Heaney noted that the inspiration for the poem was the meal where he met Nobel Prize winning Polish-American poet Czesław Miłosz. The poem speaks for itself. It speaks of the value of the old truths.
While this poem is about MIlosz, it could easily be about JJ Girard. Girard has been
working the same fields for decades. There is nothing magic about his winemaking. Just hard work in the fields and simple pressing in the cellar. Yet the wines have a magnificent truth about them. They are classic, classic Burgundy.
The Wines
I'm selling one of the of only 2 Corton Charlemagnes I offer and the baby brother from one of the most overlooked 1er Crus in all of the Cote de Beaune, the utterly brilliant "Sous Fretille" which acts and drinks like a baby Corton Charlemagne. The Corton Charlemagne is not a wine to drink young. I've done it. After 4 hours or so the 2014 recently started showing it's potential. These age for the long haul. I think the 2012 I sold is still not ready. And neither are the rest. It's an old school, super powerful, deep and rich wine with endless depth and structure. Beautiful finesse. But it's showing some wood now which blows off with a decant but I think the wood usage will really make this wine age wonderfully with all raw material is has to offer. I love the exuberant minerality and mineral sweetness of the Sous Fretille. I love the potential and the epic quality of the Corton Charlemagne.
Let's start with the wanna be Grand Cru first. The 2019 JJ Girard Pernand Vergelesses 1er Cru "Sous Fretille" can be had today for $36.99 a bottle on a 4-pack and 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, a hint of Grand Cru breedings and aroma with iodine and some grilled bits. It really is one of the better values I sell. 2019 is just electric vintage comparable to the great 2014 and very overlooked 2013.. God I love this wine.
Gorgeous deep minerals on the nose. So clean and so pure. Some lime zest but huge minerals out of the gates. Lemon and lime candy develop after air. Citrus and apple. Wonderful freshness and salinity deliver an unreal level of complexity. Sea water and sea minerals. Like an ocean of great Chardonnay. Afterwards, with more air the telltale hazelnut and iodine notes develop.
Palate is so sleek, so refined and hugely exceedingly mineral. It 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 20 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 Terrific freshness and energy. Awesome texture and depth. Icing on cake texture that is very substantial. Amazing depth that expresses itself as a function of mineralIty. Terrific concentration and intensity. Long, refined and exceedingly mineral finish. Leaves your mouth watering. Zero fat. All minerals and echoes of fruit. Drink now through. 2035 or so. This will age gracefully.
I believe Girard sells this to someone else in California the 1er cru Sous Fretille and they had it for $70.25 BEFORE tariffs and taxes for the 2018. You're looking at $100 bottle of Pernand 1er Cru. It drinks like a $60-$65 dollar bottle of White Burgundy and I've got it for $36.99. It's a terrific value and brilliant wine for this price.
"Touch of citrus and mineral reduction trimmed in equally discreet wood influence serve as a bright introduction to the nicely rich and concentrated medium-bodied flavors that possess a bracing salinity on the unusually powerful finale. This delicious effort could be enjoyed young or with 3 to 5 years of cellaring." - 90 Points, BH
The 2019 is as epic as the 2018 if not more as it was made from lower yields than normal. It is a powerhouse unlike many I've tasted and has to be one of the greatest Grand Cru white Burgundies I have ever sold.
The 2019 JJ Girard Corton Charlemagne can be had for $129.99 - a bottle on a 3-pack. My allocation is tiny and the price has gone up a bit as the devastation of the last year has 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.
"Once again there is just enough wood to merit mentioning on the markedly floral nose of green apple, spice and fennel nuances. There is fine volume to the notably powerful medium weight flavors that exude evident minerality on the solidly built and lingering finish. This too could use more depth, but the underlying structure appears to be present for that to occur." - 92 Points, Burghound
2019 JJ Girard Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru "Sous Fretille" - $38.99
($147.96 4-Pack)
2019 JJ Girard Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru - $131.99
($389.97 3-Pack)
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