Ah, Burgundy.
I keep finding myself in possession of a glass full of Permier Cru Burgundy. Almost never the top stuff, the Grand Crus. I am tasting the second-tier vineyards up-and-down Burgundy’s famous Cotes-de-Beaune, and I am always at least impressed. Sometimes, I am blown away.
This one wasn’t one of the latter. But it certainly falls in with the former.
Vincent Girardin’s offering from the Les Vergelesses vineyard in Cotes-de-Beaune’s Savigny-les-Beaune commune (got all that?) is a classic Burgundian red.
It doesn’t offer a ton of fruit, on either the nose or the palate. What it does offer up is a balance of notes and aromas, a “clean” feeling to all its elements. Everything seems very well put-together, in balance, perhaps even a bit stuffy. But not boring.
The wine has a bright red core in the glass, and lightens to pretty pink edges. The nose shows off some bright red fruit, but very subtly, mixed with an earthy forest floor action.
On the palate, the wine shows good structure and balance. There’s a little tannin, not much. A bit of acid, the alcohol peeks through here and there. Major notes are actually red fruit–strawberry and raspberry, mostly–and not the forest floor from the nose (and that, frankly, is often associated with French pinot noir).
It’s nothing spectacular. But it’s very, very good. And available for $25-$30, and quite worth it.
Verdict: 88/100