TN: Vincent Girardin 2008 1er Cru Les Suchots

[Ray Barnes]

All in all, an excellent effort, for $35 a bottle certainly very fair value for the money, and pretty darn reasonable for a Vosne Romanee Premier Cru. This was sourced from the southernmost part, as I presently am aware, very near the Grand Cru Romanee St.-Vivant. It was much better than the tired 1996 La Grande Rue uncorked last Christmas. The wine has a very lovely rhodolite garnet red color, not deeply saturated, and some lovely raspberry, cherry and spice aromas. It needed an hour to breathe and come around, but was worth the wait. The fruit flavours are very pleasant, but not sumptuous, very long or concentrated. The wine also has a pleasant touch of earthiness. While I have not had the privilege of drinking Richebourg or Romanee St.-Vivant, my gut feel is that this wine's character is more likely closer to the latter. The 13.5% alcohol is well integrated. I suspect given this is not a great vintage, it should be consumed over the next year or two. This was certainly a treat, and can be drunk on its own, or served with a variety of dishes. This could be an excellent pairing with vegetarian lasagna. A very elegant wine in every respect. Perhaps from a better vintage, the wine might have achieved higher ripeness and more complexity, but I shudder to guess how much more it would have costed. This was a very satisfying experience at the modest price, and a reminder of how engaging red Burgundy can be when it's on form, even if not at its very best.

[Moses Botbol]

I may have this vintage of around that one. Vincent Girardin is widely sold in my region and I feel offers a very high quality to price; especially in the Martignetti's bin when they are $20 a bottle...

[Ray Barnes]

Thanks for the response and I would keep an eye on this negotiant's offerings based on this experience. If I may add a postscript, the tannins were not as refined as in some other Burgundies I have tasted, perhaps due to the challenges of the vintage. This lighter style may not appeal to all tastes, but I didn't mind it at all. For some reason, this reminded me of the symmetry of a fine Mosel, albeit with more alcohol. The wine was quite tart and unpleasant for the first 30 minutes after uncorking, and really needed a good hour to show what it had.