A very good friend, who has professed a liking to Burgundy, is getting married and I’d like to buy a bottle of wine to open with him and celebrate. Given that my experience with Burgundy is limited to the “lesser” village wines and a few 1er crus, I’m hopeful my fellow Berserkers can suggest a bottle under $500 that is in a relatively good drinking window. Thanks.
Lot of choices. White or red? If you are a JJ Buckley customer, your rep can send you a list of what they have. I found quite a few with prices at or below the Wine-Searcher Pro low.
Apologies for not being terribly clear, looking for red Burgundy.
Sorry, none. They are all over $500 now.
Yep, that train has left the station. They are all excessibe now.
1999 Dujac Echezeaux is something special and can be had for around $500.
Whatever you get, make sure it’s old enough to be fully expressed or it’s a waste of money. That’s more important than the wine’s rating. A well stored 1993 or 1996 for $80 might taste a lot better right now than a $499 2010.
I’d get a 1999 Rousseau Ruchottes. But because of my own preferences, not because I think it’s the best buy.
Maybe a magnum of Lambrays Lambrays.
Woodland Hills has a magnum of 2001 Lambrays for around $450. I’ve had it and it is drinking well right now and I think a magnum format makes it more festive.
[Posted at the same time as George, great minds . . . .]
1996 Clos de Tart is available at JJ Buckley and Sokolin for under $300. It is in its wheelhouse now. Like the Lambrays Lambrays mentioned above (I like the magnum idea btw), it is a monopole Grand Cru meaning there is no other producer. Clive Coates has a piece on his website about it with notes from a 2010 tasting that included the '96 if you are interested.
http://www.clive-coates.com/content/tastings/domaine/clos-de-tart
Yes, giving a gift that’s “the best of its kind” (including monopole) rather than “I got their third best bottling because the two best were over $500” seems more special.
Here are for me the “cult” Burgundies (not Leroy, DRC, Roumier, or Rousseau) IN MY MIND at least, not necessarily in the real world:
De Montille Vosne Romane Malconsorts Cuvee Christiane. The grapes are entirely within the La Tache rectangle. It’s either similar to the regular Malconsorts or it isn’t. It’s either La Tache quality or it isn’t. Depends on what you read. You might find one for just under $500. Good luck finding one that’s ready.
Chateau de la Tour Clos de Vougeot Hommage a Morin…juts under $500?
I love love love their Vielles Vignes which is around $180. These are shot berries Vielles Vignes, the Yquem of Vougeot.
I think there is now a Faiveley that is similar, a microproduction selection of their Corton…perfect wine, I’ll guess around $500, drink in 2100…Cuvee Something? Hommage Something?
The above three are ultra rare, underpriced, prestigious, he’ll never see a bottle again, and too young LOL.
Anything Gaudichots, the ones that weren’t already absorbed into Grand Cru vineyards. Composed of miscellaneous tiny plots around Grande Rue and la Tache. The problem is, the ones that are great, you can’t find, and the ones readily available for $250, aren’t worth it…unless you get very lucky on the high-QPR scale, like Potel Gaudichots 2002 or any Le Moine Gaudichots.
Arnoux Suchots.
Roumier Bonnes Mares in an off vintage, like 2007.
And the above suggestions in earlier posts. More and more I think you should go magnum. But if not:
If you don’t need ultra rare/ monopole, look at various bottlings of Chambertin Clos de Beze and Chambolle Musigny Les Amoureuses. Price and quality all over the place, from $100 to $1500. They’re almost all terrific. Jadot 2005 Beze, a perfect wine, would be a terrific choice if you let it breathe for a week or two.
Roty Vielles Vignes Charmes Chambertin, the oldest vines in all of Burgundy. The older the vintage of Roty, the older the average age of the vines, because he’s been replanting. The good thing about this wine for your purposes is, even when it’s way too young, there’s so much dark fruit that it’s still terrific to drink. The Dunn Howell Mountain of Burgundy IMO. I’ve never had an older one.
That’s my entire list. Things like Ponsot or Dujac Clos de la Roche or the rarer Clos St. Denis are as good as any of the above wines but they don’t have a unique story attached.
Don’t buy a Leroy or a DRC that’s under $500.
How old does your friend like his wine ?
great answer George
I’d get two really good bottles of $250 burg. We all know that the failure rate for these wines, esp for wines in the 80’s and 90’s is substantial (eg >10% corked, oxidized etc.) How bad would it be to open a great bottle that’s corked? You can get a pretty darned good wine for $250, and if you have a back-up, you won’t sour the whole deal with a bad bottle.
No idea if he is kidding, but
just for instance:
… and there are still fine mature Burgs between 100-200 to be found, if you don´t buy labels only …
e.g.
http://www.graileysfinewines.com/1995-jean-gros-vosne-romanee-1er-cru-clos-des-reas-750ml/dp/4679
If you want to know what a mature Grand Cru Burgundy tastes like, I would buy a few bottles of various Jadot Grand Crus from 1997. While there are a ton of insipid 1997s out there, Jadot really did an amazing job in '97, they are cheap as old socks, and you can have your pick of several grand crus.
Another sleeper is Damoy Chambertin Clos de Beze from 1993. Apparently SF Wine consulting has a bottle for $229, and Neal is a good guy to deal with.
Clos des Lambrays is not a monopole of Domaine des Lambrays. Taupenot-Merme owns vines in that vineyard.
Another vote for the magnum of '01 Lambrays. Because Lambrays lacks a bit of the caché that many other producers have, it is a relative bargain. And it ages very well. As you can tell from my avatar, I’m a fan of aged Lambrays in magnum…
Every Burgundy lover should have Armand Rousseau on their bucket list. For me, its my favorite even over DRC which I love too. I noticed you can buy a '95 Armand Rousseau Clos des Ruchottes Monopole for $400 at Flickinger. Ruchottes, for me is almost the equal of the Beze & Chambertin and ahead of the CSJ. So, with $500 you can try a Burgundy great in ready to go mode. There might, be some other vintages of this wine still sub $500 around too.
Mt Carmel wines has a 1996 AF Gros Richebourg for a little over $400. That should be a very nice Burgundy and close to ready.
Right!
See here:
BTW: not a bad wine either … I had the 1998 a year ago, and it was really outstanding (but not great).
Though the label is not a real beauty.