Girin – 2018

22.3.2020billn

Thibault Girin, 2020Tasted in Saint-Vérand with Thibault Girin, 14 February 2020.

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

More reports for Domaine Girin

Thibault on 2019:
We started with frost then a lot of wind that caused some damage – then hail in August too – so it was a very small harvest, amounting to not much more than 20 hl/ha. The saving grace is that the wine has a very nice quality.

Thibault on 2018:
Happy in all directions! The sun did well in 2018, we had plenty of grapes and there was again a good quality – so positive. 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 harvest at an easy pace – the weather forecast was always good! We don’t have a lot of export so not too much exposure to the tax regimes that may or may not come!

The wines…

A little more tightly-wound and sometimes oaky this year – wines that will repay your patience. History tells me that the Côteaux du Razet will be great, but that was harder to see in 2018.

All the 18s are bottled – the last were done in November:

2018 Beaujolais Chardonnay Tentation
I asked if was a Beaujolais or a Bourgogne label – ‘We make Beaujolais – only!’
Round, faintly smoky the nose is rather good. Fresh, nice line, not much in the way of rigour. This has plenty of finishing volume. Good wine. Zesty in the finish.

2018 Beaujolais Blanc Authentique
With elevage and fermentation in-barrel – all old barrels – 7-10 years-old.
Despite the age of the barrels this is quite oaky – fresh at the same time though. The oak is present but a little less so in the mouth. Good shape and long. Not my style today because of the overt oak though – give it 2-3 years, perhaps it will be more ‘authentique’ then 😉

Les Rouges:

2018 Beaujolais Villages Cuvée Seduction Gamay Noir
5-6 day maceration/vinification with all the clusters. Beaujolais on the back label.
A bright but dark-fruit width – there’s energy here – a little graphite-style too to this nose. Nice attack, open, plenty of concentration but nothing heavy. That’s very, very tasty Beaujolais.

2018 Beaujolais Côteaux du Razet Vieilles-Vignes
Again Beaujolais on the back label. Older vines on a hillside – classic fermented, semi-carbonic with whole clusters.
A nose of freshness and depth but compact width – a vertical nose. Similar drive but more concentration. Fine energy, you could wait longer for this without a problem. Tasty wine, with a little more structure and an extra length of flavour… Excellent.

2018 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 – was bottled in November.
A compact nose again, here with a fine width of fruit though. A touch of oak in the flavour – but not too much. Concentrated, fine energy, finer fruit too than the Razay. Wait 2 -3 years not just for the oak to fade but for the wine to unwind too – there’s lots here – excellent wine!

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There is one response to “Girin – 2018”

  1. GKramer25th March 2021 at 8:15 pmPermalinkReply

    (Disclaimer, I’ve been selling Girin’s wines for years). I took a look at your notes above after tasting 2018 Razet & L’Ancestrale. I am amazed at the remarkable similarity of our impressions. Even more amazed that the wines seemed not to have moved much in 13 months. Some of the most structured and backward wines I recall from Thibaut. Like you, I think they will be great. Not the same though when I can’t taste in his cellar.

    • billn26th March 2021 at 8:02 amPermalinkReply

      It’s always good when it seems that we’ve tasted the same wines 🙂

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