In the majority of vintages, red Chassagnes suffer from hard, rustic tannins. However, in 1996, I found a number of truly first rate wines offered from this village that is primarily renowned for its whites. Girardin's Chassagne-Montrachet Clos De La Boudriotte Vieilles Vignes is a wonderful wine, exhibiting a ruby color and floral, violet aromas. Its personality is medium-to-full-bodied, thickly-textured, intense, and filled with ripe and succulent black cherries. This bright and lively, yet soft and supple wine should be consumed over the next four years. The score, on a range and in parentheses, indicates that the wine was tasted from barrel. Vincent Girardin's 1996s are generally fresher and more supple than his 1995s, but are not as concentrated or structured. Since he personally prefers softer styled wines, Girardin prefers the 1996 vintage. My feeling is that many of his 1995s will develop better over time than these delicious mid-term drinking wine. Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel (205) 980-8802

The black/ruby-colored Chassagne-Montrachet Clos De La Boudriotte Vieilles Vignes (produced from purchased grapes) is one of the finest red Chassagnes I have ever tasted. Possessing a black currant, mineral and iodine-scented nose, this viscous, medium-to-full-bodied, robust, sweet and delicious wine is packed with cherries, iron, blueberries and flint. The admirably long finish boasts the silkiest tannins I have experienced in a Chassagne. Projected maturity: 2000-2007. I was absolutely blown away by the quality of Vincent Girardin's red Cote de Beaunes at my April tasting in Washington. Whereas there is always an element of doubt concerning the end product when tasting out of barrel, what I saw from Girardin was already bottled and in retail stores throughout the US (all of them were tasted with the American importer and many were later re-tasted blind with other 95 Burgundies). These are superlative red burgundies with a superb rapport in quality and price. This estate's wines exhibit superb ripeness, outstanding balance, beautiful purity of fruit, extraordinarily well-integrated oak and tannin. In the top cuvees there is unsurpassed length. I know of no other producer/negociant in Burgundy that can deliver as broad a range of outstanding wines at such reasonable prices. Furthermore, Girardin, like Bernard Dugat in Gevrey-Chambertin, has worked hard to improve the quality of his wines. To top it all off, we can look forward to many more years of sublime wines from this estate/negociant as Girardin and his wife, Veronique, are quite young. If you love Burgundian reds, run, don't walk, to your wine merchant and purchase these dazzling wines. Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel (205) 980-8802.

The four top red wines from Vincent Girardin include the Chassagne-Montrachet Clos de la Boudriotte Vieilles Vignes, Beaune Clos Les Vignes Franches, Volnay Les Santenots, and Pommard Les Chanlins Vieilles Vignes. All of these wines can be drunk now, but they promise to age for another 7-8 years. The 1994 Chassagne-Montrachet Clos de la Boudriotte Vieilles Vignes offers gobs of cherry fruit, medium to full body, surprising richness and concentration for the 1994 vintage, and admirable muscle and power in the finish. Tasted blind, this wine could easily be mistaken for a wine from the 1993 vintage - it is that concentrated. Burgundy is frightfully expensive, and often disappointing, not only on a qualitative level, but in terms of the price/quality relationship. How rare it is to taste a group of Burgundies and find them to be delicious, satisfying, and, for Burgundy, reasonably priced. Vincent Girardin appears to be making the finest wines of his career, turning out full blown, smoky, oaky whites, and gorgeously seductive, round, generous red wines that are modestly priced, especially when one considers the prices now fetched by the top single vineyard/reserve Pinot Noirs from California and Oregon. I was very impressed with not only Girardin's 1994 whites, but also his 1994 reds, the first vintage he has bottled without any fining or filtration - an important factor as the style of the 1994 vintage (elegance and lightness) strongly suggests such wines cannot endure much SO2, or aroma and flavor eviscerating fining and filtration. Vineyard Brands, Inc., Chester, VT; tel. (802) 875-2139; fax (802) 875-3566

The Chassagne-Montrachet Clos de la Boudriotte Vieilles Vignes, from a parcel of vines planted in 1935, is nearly outstanding. This medium to full-bodied wine exhibits outstanding concentration, a penetrating fragrance of red and black fruits and toasty oak. Drink this supple, beautifully made, voluptuously rich red Burgundy over the next decade.Vincent Girardin, another member of a family with multiple cellars and labels, has clearly succeeded in taming the beastly tannin of the 1993 vintage. All of his wines exhibit excellent sweet, ripe fruit, supple, velvety-textured personalities, fine concentration, good vibrancy, and enough acidity and tannin to provide delineation and structure. Amazingly, Girardin was able to achieve far more ripeness and lower acidity than many of his peers.Importer: Vineyard Brands, Chester, VT; tel. (802) 875-2139