Go with something with a little bottle age - and from a fabled vintage - '64 or '69 would be perfect -
LEROY usually has a lot of late releases on the market that are in fine shape -
Here is a quick peak at what’s available nationally from the '69 vintage
The correct answer is the 1996 Rene Engel Grands Echezeaux:
http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/engel+grands+echezeaux/1996
Unfortunately, you’ll have to figure out how to get it back across the Atlantic Ocean.
At least on free Wine-Searcher.
But for $500, you should first purchase Wine Searcher Pro.
I stand corrected about Clos des Lambrays. I should have checked my facts. The Taupenot-Merme bottling must be very small production based on their minuscule ownership. Thank you.
I second the Mt. Carmel (in Hamden, CT) mention by Gary Schulte. They actually have a pretty good selection of older red Burgundy and other wines, and their wines are in great condition.
Ok solved it for you. 93 Mungeret Gibourg Ruchottes Chambertin at the Wine House in California. 93 is in the zone now.
Many thanks for all the suggestions, I ended up purchasing a bottle of the '01 Lambrays and '96 Clos de Tart. I know absolutely nothing about either of these wines other than what’s been posted in this thread, but am happy to go in blind based on the advice of such passionate people who clearly have more experience than I. Thanks again.
Zack in the Cote de Nuits there are five regions (villages?), just about all of the great red Burgundies are from these five. Vosne Romanee, Gevrey Chambertin, Morey St. Denis, Nuits St. Georges, and Chambolle Musigny. To me Clos de Tart and Lambrays are a great one-two punch because they are both monopoles (or in Lambrays case very close to it) in Morey St. Denis and I think nothing else in Morey St. Denis is a monopole.
I think this is a better choice than any one bottle.
I guess the Vosne equivalent would be Romanee Conti and La Tache. You should have done that instead, actually, and a bottle of each would have been under your limit of $15,000, just barely. Oh it wasn’t $15,000? Never mind.
Let them breathe! To me red Burgundy does not act like any other wine with regard to air. They can be tired old musty and thin upon opening and two hours later all this incredible red fruit and earth come out of nowhere, time and again.
Not sure about Clos de Tart (very specific style) nor Clos des Lambrays (excellent wine…but not a top grand cru really). If you avoid DRC and the like, you may get a Romanee St Vivant which would be vastly superior for instance.
Bummer.
So you know, I investigated every single suggestion made, including your 1996 Rene Engel Grands Echezeaux, but shipping a single bottle across the Atlantic might well be as much as the bottle itself, and certainly well over my $500 budget. But I do appreciate the recommendation and will keep an eye out for this producer.
Well, on the plus side, maybe you won’t fall in love with Burgundy, which will save you a ton of money and time and heartache.
Zack, I am sure you and your friend will enjoy those two bottles. Both are excellent wines by any standard. And by all means, follow George Chadwick’s advice on letting them breathe. Decant them well in advance if you can. FYI, this is Clive Coates “ten years after” update on the 2001 Burgundy vintage:
http://www.clive-coates.com/tastings/vintage/2001-burgundy-ten-years-on
As you can see, the Lambrays fared quite well.
No kidding - those are just going to be a total pain to drink…
But actually, the bummer is posting a question on the board looking for Burgundy under $500 and people immediately jump in recommended ultra rare bottles selling for much, much more than the request asked for -
Having has the 01 Lambrays not so long ago it is a great wine. It would be my choice by a long shot.
In retrospect I don’t think you could have made a better choice. Romanee St Vivant can be crappy and the bottlings from reliable producers are costly.
If you forget to let these wines breathe we will come to your house and kill you.
Decanting versus leaving the.cork out for five hours is a controversial choice. I’d err on the side of caution and just open the bottles five hours in advance. That way if it’s inadequate air you can watch the wine open up in the glass and down the bottle.
Someone here (Levenberg?)who taught me to like 1983 burgs also gave me terrific advice I then failed to follow and completely wasted a bottle of 1976 Musigny and 1983 Suchots. That is, old Burgundy sediment is not like young Cabernet sediment. It’s nasty. Stand the bottles up for at least four days before opening. I keep forgetting.
Zack, if possible, please let us know what you and your friend think of the wines you selected. This thread contains a lot of good suggestions for further exploration, and you also don’t need to spend a fortune on Grand Crus to explore and enjoy Burgundy.
Good luck finding one, in any vintage, for less than $500. I’ve been searching for years, and even posted an ISO in Commerce Corner, and while I got responses, they were all north of $500.
Arnoux Suchots.
This is what he should have bought.
For anyone still looking for good wines below 500- Just tasted 96 Jadot clos st Jacques and 98 Clos de Tart and both were terrific- 93-94pts the jadot is priced around 125-150 and the Tart is around 300.
That can’t be. I understand the wine has gotten more expensive recently, but I bought it every year through 2010 and it was always $200-$300. I stopped buying in 2011 because I didn’t feel like paying more for a vintage I didn’t care for, but even that one was $400 or so.
I do love the wine. Not sure it’s better than Dujac Malconsorts, though, which is cheaper.
The Christiane? $200-300?
Christiane is at least $450 on release now. There are exactly two listings for the 2011 on WSPro right now at that price. There is one listing for the 2012 at $619. But I’m more talking about back vintages. I’m glad Keith was in-the-know enough to buy it on release, but I’ve had to pay $600+ for anything older than 2011. You should see the auction prices for 2005!