Quick Intro: I’m quite early on in my wine buying and drinking career and have already found myself entranced with Burgundy. It seems to be arguably the most intellectually stimulating region and I love the taste of the wines. I’ve been fortunate to taste a lot of Burgundy already, including some of the big names: DRC, Roumier, Dujac, Leflaive, Raveneau etc. As I have begun to buy wine to cellar over the last few years, I’ve done my best to snag bottles from the most lauded producers while also including those more affordable: Jadot, Faiveley, Bouchard, Drouhin, Fevre, Chevillon, Gouges etc. I’ve been keeping an eye out for newer/up and coming/less known value producers but usually end up going with the trusty established producers since there is less information on the new guys and even if I taste the wines I don’t always know how well they’ll develop in 10+ years.
From those of you with a bit more experience with Burgundy, here are some questions:
What are your philosophies, opinions, and experiences with buying and consuming Burgundy?
How do you choose between buying different producers, vintages, and quality levels?
How does value factor in for you?
Do you buy 3 bottles of village wine or 1 bottle of Premier/Grand Cru?
Are you more likely to wish that you bought a bottle or two of Grand Cru/Premier Cru instead of the village wines or wish that you had bought 3-6 bottles of village wine instead of the Grand/Premier Cru(s) that turned out to not be $THAT$ much better or pleasurable.
Is it worth getting a few bottles here and there from great producers like Roumier, Dujac, Rousseau, Grivot, Roulot, Raveneau even with how expensive they can be?
DRC, Leroy, Coche etc out of the price range and I worry that these other producers may soon be too which is part of the reason I’ve tried to buy some of their wines here and there. Everyone says producer is most important in Burgundy but when do the wines of these legendary producers become so expensive that it’s not worth it anymore unless you’ve got $$$$$?
I’ve come across people that only buy deep in “great” vintages and avoid “off” or “weaker” years. I see the appeal of many of the “great” vintages but isn’t part of the fun finding great deals in the “lesser” or less popular vintages, usually from the best producers? Or am I just inexperienced and should be loading up on only 2015 reds and 2014 whites? How special really are the “great” vintages? Are the best wines mind blowingly better than the best of other years?
I know this will be different for everyone and there are many factors that go into this such as how much money you have to spend on wine, why and when you drink etc. but I wanted to get some opinions and see how others think about these questions. I greatly appreciate any comments and advice you all can contribute!