Tasted in Saint-Vérand with Thibault Girin, 15 February 2019.

Domaine Girin
Aucherand
69620 Saint-Vérand
Tel: +33 6 83 53 46 64
www.domainegirin.fr

Thibault on 2018:
“Happy in all directions! Quality, quantity! We started the year dry then it was very wet, and then dry again – the maturity came easily, it was a long harvest though – nearly a month – starting with grapes of about 12° and finishing closer to 14° – we didn’t have a massive team of harvesters for that reason we took the the harvest at an easy pace – the weather forecast was always good! They are wines that were concentrated by some dehydration – so they are showing their structure a little more early on.”

Thibault on 2017:
In 2017 we started with frost – 8 hectares of our vines were frosted practically 80% – some places 100% – we’ve no chardonnay for instance – but most parcels were 50-80% hit. Then there was the drought – in the end we were happy to have made more than half a harvest. We had 35 hl/ha in the end – so a small volume vintage for us. Normally – like in 2018 – we made 55 hl/ha, so the concentration is not the same but the 17s have a nice round tannin and they started directly drinking very well. 2017 and 2018 have a little of 2015 about them – they are warmer – it was 2016 here that was the more classic and also had a normal volume – it was 2015 that was lower volume due to the dryness..

The wines…

Some great wines – like almost every year – the 2017 Razet could be my Beaujolais of the vintage.

We also tasted some 2018s as the were ready for bottling the week after my visit.

2018 Beaujolais Nouveau
A lot of colour. A big, broad, dark-fruited and faintly herbed nose, faint pyrazine too – but a fine invitation! Supple, great concentration, layers of easy but delicious flavour. What’s not to love?

2017 Beaujolais Villages Cuvée Seduction Gamay Noir
5-6 day maceration/vinification with all the clusters. Beaujolais on the back label.
Less colour than the 18 BJN but still plenty! Dark fruit but wider and with a faint spice. Fresher, more direct, a line of flavour, slightly mineral and really mouth-watering – practically juicy. Supple and easier finishing – the fruit is more visile here and a little salinity too. Good length, tasty wine, not showing a lot of sweetness today though – at least not after that BJN!

2017 Beaujolais l’Ancestrale
Part destemmed, followed by barrel elevage in 4-5 year-old barrels for about 9 months. Over 60-year-old vines – a parcel selection.
Floral perfume above, plenty of oak below. Lots of concentration – a nice silk to the texture before a little fine-grained tannin comes to the fore. Bright and energetic finishing. A fine Beaujolais but my style preference is certainly to the Razets!

2018 Beaujolais Villages Cuvée Seduction Gamay Noir
To bottle next week – ‘it’s ready’
A nice broad and forward nose – floral too. Bright, fresh fruit – open, lots of depth to the flavour. Good concentration with a faint, very slight dry edge to the fine tannin – wait 6 months and this will be just fine. Really a delicious mouthful and nicely long too!

2018 Beaujolais Côteaux du Razet Vieilles-Vignes
Great colour again. A super nose – more guarded than the Seduction but of width and suggesting muscle to this dark fruit. Bright, fresh, a more floral attack than the 2017 – really a drive and energy here – ooh – great wine again – but I prefer, today, the slightly calmer rendition and Perhaps more concentrated 2017 – but here is a great finish that augers so well!