JJ Girard
– A Last Bastion of Stunningly Well Made Affordable Burgundy
– Burgundy Lovers’ Burgundy
– 2020s Flying Out The Door
– God, I Love These Wines
– In Great Years, Stock Up
2022 JJ Girard Savigny Les Beaune 1er Cru “Les Narbantons”
– 91 Points Burghound (2022)
– 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
2022 Jean-Jacques Girard Savigny Les Beaune 1er Cru “Lavieres”
– 92 Points Burghound – 2022
– One of the Finest Sites in all of SLB
– Perfectly Ripened Mid-Season Cherries
– Dark Red Roses and Violets
– Lovely Lipstick-like Intensity
– Perfect Burgundian Finish
– Earth, Mineral
– Spectacular, Juicy and Precise Cherry Fruit
– Flowers and Undergrowth
– Amazing Freshness
The Joy of Everyday Burgundy
Today, Burgundy has largely become the beverage of the wealthy. A special wine meant to be drunk with great seriousness. After all, with most Côte de Beaune wines above Bourgogne Rouge costing close to or over $100, opening them is a commitment.
But it was not always the case. It used to possible to drink well made and thoughtful Burgundy for under $40. With a roast chicken. With a duck breast. Just…for the joy of it. And yes, you could focus on the wine between bites if you wanted to appreciate the complexity. But if you slipped up and just enjoyed the wine without much thought, that was ok too.
From Father to Son
Now that Jean-Jacques Girard is retired and enjoying his time off his son, Vincent is burning the estate to new heights. They have acquired so much new terroir it’s almost impossible to keep track. Puligny Referts, Pommard Chapponieres, Volnay Chevrets and more!
But don’t forget the estate of JJ Girard’s trademark is Burgundy 1er Crus under $50 and many under $40 that are untouchable in the landscape of Burgundy. You cannot find these terroirs executed this well for this price anywhere that is not Fass Selections. Girard wines at their best have lacey, accessible and succulent fruit and an ethereal mouthfeel with structure to ensure medium to long term aging. Girard Burgundies are my go to for when I’ve had long day as I know the wines will be spectacular. They are so consistent and also the the kings of short term aging, even though they can age much longer. 5-8 years for some of the lower end 1er Crus like Savigny Peuillets or Savigny Serpentieres turn these wines into magic.
The 2022s at Girard are another strong performance and is one of the best vintages I have ever tasted. Some wines were more open that others out of barrel but one thing is they all has spectacularly expressive fruit, sapidity, terroir transparency and terrific structure, acidity and freshness. I adored the wines and am very excited to start offering them.
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.
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.
Girard’s wines are always at least very good. But when the vintage is right, he knocks it out of the park and his wines are among the best values in Burgundy. And you owe it to yourself to stock up.
The Wines
These are delicate, lacey wines that go incredibly well with food. They open up over an evening and are poster children for medium term aging. Try a 12 Pernand Vergelesses 1er Cru Fichots now or a 15 Savigny Les Beaune. They are smokeshows. They have a Fourrier aspect to them is what a few clients have said.
Up first is the 2022 JJ Girard Savigny Les Beaune 1er Cru “Les Narbantons” for $39.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. This is one of 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 pure. So floral. Beautiful pure and detailed dark cherry fruit and blackberry essence. 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. So juicy, structured and intense. Insane energy and purity. So so juicy had to say it twice. Long and complex with a knock of a finish. So silky and sweet and big tannins but ripe and elegant. Wow. So so dope. Amazing fruit set on the finish. 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 91 point note.
“A discreet if perceptible application of wood surrounds the riper aromas of poached plum, violet and crushed anise. The sleek, delicious and vibrant medium-bodied flavors possess more volume if not quite the same minerality or mid-palate density, all wrapped in a lingering and balanced finish that is shaped by fine-grained tannins on the sneaky long finale. Lovely and worth considering.”– 91 Points Burghound
Today’s second wine for me is the platonic ideal for Savigny 1er Cru, it’s the archetypal 2022 Jean-Jacques Girard Savigny Les Beaune 1er Cru “Lavieres” for $39.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. The name Lavieres comes from the word Laves which are the flat rocks found in the soil. It’s located less than a mile from the hill of Corton and abuts Aux Fourneaux and Aux Gravains, two terrific 1er Crus. It also abuts Girard’s great Pernand 1er Cru “Aux Vergelesses.”
One of the finest sites in all of SLB. Always needs age. Stunning nose.
What a nose. Floral, and spicey with red fruits and major blackberry aromatics. Wow. just a stunning nose. so pure and vivid. Just dizzying. 2022 is so good in the so called “B” villages like Savigny/Pernand and Ladoix to name a few. Nose is deep. It’s floral. Dark red roses and violets. Late season cherry fruit and also black cherries. Almost kirsch in its intensity. Perfectly ripened mid-season cherries and loads of just perfect undergrowth. Also hints of very fine tweed jacket. A lipstick-like intensity. Like a new Brioni. Gorgeous violets and other complex floral notes. Hints of citrus. This is just singing. Really stunning. It’s so clean and airy and just super Savigny. So pure and so dare I say it, Delectable.
What a palate. A monster. Nuanced, clear and detailed. So deep, so fresh, so concentrated. Amazing purity and sappy red and black cherries. Powerful and also elegant. Sappy. Such nice acid and freshness has an electricity to it despite its ripeness. Wow. Exhilarating is the best word. Terrific inner mouth aromas and sweet, ripe velvety and substantial tannins. Big tannins and huge structure yet fresh and energetic and so engaging. Sapid red fruits and a massive structure. Power and density yet so juicy and so clean. Amazing persistence that is minutes maybe longer. Silky, elegant, fruity and dense. The mineral drive throughout this wine is amazing right now but some of that will meld into fruit as this ages. This needs 5 years and then oh boy.
Everybody in around 10 years are going to VERY happy with all the 2022s. from Girard they are putting in their cellars. These age into majestic beautiful finesse-driven wines that can only come from one place. Burgundy.
“Slightly riper if still cool and airy aromas display notes of kirsch, red cherry and even more floral elements. The wonderfully pure and gorgeously textured middleweight flavors exude an almost palpable minerality on the youthfully austere, balanced and built-to-age finale. This is excellent and also worth considering..”- 92 Points, Burghound
Please call Cheryl at 949 378 5251 with your order if you are a first time customer (we prefer not to receive credit card numbers over E-Mail).
OFFICE HOURS 4-7 PM
I love drinking and selecting wines – but my passion for teaching people about wine is almost as big. I’m happy to announce a block of time each day where people can call me just to chat about wine in general. These blocks are NOT intended to sell wine (I do that all day). This is to talk to me about wine pairings or great producers or how long to age wines or styles of wine making or the latest wine controversy. My goal is to help people learn more about wine and enjoy it more. Call me at 917-912-4355 from 4-7EST Monday – Friday.
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A Word about Fass Selections and Social Media
I am big into certain social media and I want people to take pictures of the wines they have received or will receive and tag me in them and share their thoughts. I a am on Instagram. Please tag me there. I also am on Delectable which I love a lot. It is Iphone/Ipad only, but it’s like Instagram meets Facebook for wine. Tag me there and find me there as well. I want to know if you liked the wine, were not moved by the wine, hated the wine or the wine gave you a religious experience. I want to know it all. Feedback is key and I will answer all feedback e-mails as quickly as I can.
For all billing and invoicing inquiries please contact Rick at refassselections@gmail.com