As he puts it, I want to make less wine but better wine. Girardin is very happy with his 99 whites, saying that they have put on weight and turned out better than he originally thought they would at the time of the harvest. He said that even though the crop was extremely clean with excellent sugars and solid acidities, he was worried about the yields. He suggested that his wines put on weight partially because he was able to stir the lees for a longer period of time than normal because they were so healthy. Vincent Girardin continued: As a group, this is the best set of whites I have tasted chez Girardin. Past vintages seem to have had a more commercial bent to them and lacking somewhat in focus and detail but that is not the case with most of these 99s. Girardin remarked that he continues to upgrade his sources and that his wines will continue to improve. In particular, he said that he is now searching for greater elegance and finesse in his wines than in the past and has upgraded several aspects of his vinification to permit a gentler handling of the grapes. While this is clearly bigger and richer with more overall material than the Narvaux, it has nowhere near the same focus or intensity of flavor. It certainly is very Charmes in style and delivers rich, ripe, slightly toasty, round flavors that are adequately balanced by good buffering acidity and nice length. Lovely in its own way but I prefer the Narvaux for its delineation.
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