The 2008s of Camille Giroud

18.8.2010billn

Visited and tasted 28th June 2010.

Interesting that I came away wanting to buy Corton – and at my age too! – preferring the stricter, and much more precise, Cortons in preference to a range of very good xxx-Chambertins. The old wines still surprise here – if not beguile – they are far too bold for that!

2007 Camille Giroud, Beaune 1er Les Avaux
Medium colour. Ripe red fruits with hints of coffee and minerality. Wide with a little more acid balance after the Cras if not the same density. A very pretty wine.
2007 Camille Giroud, Beaune 1er Aux Cras
Medium colour. The nose delivers warm, slightly creamy red fruits. Width, warmth, plush, unctuous mid-palate. Very tasty though after an 08 you will miss some acidity.
2008 Camille Giroud, Corton
Fresh red fruit with hints of mint. The palate is equally fresh but with plenty of concentration in reserve. Super balance, this is finely wrought.
2008 Camille Giroud, Corton Le Rognets
The aromas have more power here, floral hints too. The texture has extra fat and while it’s quite linear there is volume a-plenty. The nose just keeps evolving – this is lovely.
2008 Camille Giroud, Corton Clos du Roi
Again, full-on aromatics – red fruit and mineral – the last drops smell fabulous. Silky texture, more mineral flavours and very intense – a totally different personality to the Rognets. Super.
2008 Camille Giroud, Charmes-Chambertin
More breadth of aromas, perhaps more complex too, but nowhere near the precision of the Cortons. Really wide impression in the mouth – full-flavoured with good texture. This is very long.
2008 Camille Giroud, Chapelle-Chambertin
Deeper if less wide aromas – there is a similar, almost grainy, complexity to the the nose that the Charmes shows again it is almost ‘fuzzy focus’ versus the Cortons. The palate here is tighter and equally intense. Good balance and finish – I like this very much.
2008 Camille Giroud, Latricières-Chambertin
The aromas are wider again and dominated by red fruits. There is plenty of intensity here and a super mineral length too.
2008 Camille Giroud, Chambertin
Aromatically this is very wide and complex. Round, full, textured and complex – pretty much everything is here – and good as the previous wines were, by an easy margin the most complete of these Gevrey grand crus.
2008 Camille Giroud, Clos de Vougeot
The aromas seem stricter – they are certainly more savoury – but the are not ‘difficult’. In the mouth, while less kaleidoscopic, this is more focused and precise than the Chambertin in exactly the same way the Cortons were to the xxx-Chambertins. This is really an excellent wine.
1990 Camille Giroud, Nuits St.Georges Les Perrières
The aromas are deep and just a hint musky, below lies very young fruit. This is full-bodied – there is still plenty of tannin. Really good dimension – this has a full and very outgoing personality that jumps out of the glass – clearly very impressive.
1976 Camille Giroud, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Lavaux St.Jacques
The nose seems a little fecal though opens up in a glorious polished leather way. Sweet fruit, still some tannin too. This is forward, showing plenty of volume and balance – it is also very long. Not a hint of fading I assume – I didn’t taste it 20 years ago 😉
2008 Camille Giroud, Corton-Charlemagne
There is a hint of pineapple to the nose – against a creamy background. There is width here that seems to keep expanding! Very good intensity. Nicely long. A remarkably approachable Charlemagne for such a baby!

Agree? Disagree? Anything you'd like to add?

There are 3 responses to “The 2008s of Camille Giroud”

  1. Mark Goldberg23rd August 2010 at 7:10 pmPermalinkReply

    It’s good to know that the Camille Giroud 08’s are approachable now being so young. How do you feel about the 08’s in general and when to you feel that they will be at their best? Also, I recently received 05 Premier and Grand Cru’s from Vincent Girardin, Mugnier, and Camille Giroud; from Chambertin, Vosne Romanee, and Nuit St. Georges. When do you feel these will be at their best? Thanks for your help and thanks for the Burgundy Report.

    • billn24th August 2010 at 11:42 amPermalinkReply

      Hi Mark.
      I feel the 08s are generally improvements in terms of focus and intensity when compared to 2007s. They are at their best right now and maybe for another 6-12 months, then probably from about 15 years old…

      Re the 05s – if you’ve multiple bottles It’d be worth having an early look – if not, don’t waste them – many are a shadow of what they offered 2-3 years ago. Wait, wait, wait…
      Cheers

  2. Mark Goldberg24th August 2010 at 6:04 pmPermalinkReply

    Bill,
    Thanks for your response. I’m now just starting to “get into” Burgundy’s. For now, I’m most familiar with Pinots from California and Oregon. From your comments it appears that when Burgs are first released they have a window of time where they are drinkable. Then they go into a “sleeper” mode for a number of years. Would you elaborate on this and how this is determined? I appreciate your help.
    Mark

    • billn25th August 2010 at 6:27 amPermalinkReply

      Hi Mark
      You’re asking for the Burgungy Nirvana and nobody gets it always right, but the training/practice is usually rewarding enough!

      For my rule of thumb, look here, about halfway down the page (the ages of wine in your glass).

      Cheers

  3. Mark Goldberg25th August 2010 at 11:42 pmPermalinkReply

    Bill,
    Thanks for your honest answers. I’ll just have to taste alot of Burgs and find out for myself. I know I’ll enjoy the “trip”.
    L’Chaim,
    Mark

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