World tour: producers that appeal to Burg palate

Sunday navel gazing:

What producer from other classic winemaking regions most appeals to a palate that likes traditional Burgundy?

All the usual provisos apply: everyone’s palate is different, Burgundy is heterogeneous in style, not saying they taste like Burgundy, blah blah.

My take from my experiences:

Red Bordeaux: Margaux
Red N. Rhône: Benetiere
Red S. Rhône: Rayas family
Barolo: G. Rinaldi
Brunello: Stella di Campalto
Red Loire: Breton
US Pinot: Thomas
US Cab: Aged BV George Latour
US Syrah: Rhys
Zin: Scherrer

US Chardonnay: Ceritas
White Loire: Guiberteau
German Riesling: Keller
Champagne: Cedric Bouchard

Left many out … don’t know enough about Spain or Australia or S America to offer informed opinion.

Add your thoughts please.

Off the top, from the US, Halcon and Wind Gap and Failla come to mind, any of the centenary bodegas in Rioja except maybe Rioja Alta, in Piedmont, maybe Oddero, in Tuscany maybe Montevertine and Monsanto, in the S. Rhone at one time Donjon but today probably nobody, reds from the Loire - Baudry, and probably a lot of others from all over.

Spain: Commando G

Tuscany - Soldera

Arcadian

Burlotto in Piedmont seems like an obvious answer.

I find Juge from N. Rhone most burgundy like…

Quinta da Pellada Carrocel from the Dao region of Portugal.
Filipa Pato and Quinta de Baixo from Bairrada in Portugal.

As far as producers that appeal to my Burgocentric palate, I would add Jamet in Cote Rotie. And also Giacosa B/B and Sandrone Barolo and Chave Hermitage and St. Joseph…not because they are particularly Burgundy like, but they appeal to me whereas so many other producers in those areas do not…not that I am so very experienced in those other areas. But these producers mentioned seem to be all about perfume and balance without undue heaviness, which is what I enjoy about Burgundy and certain domestic Pinot Noirs…of which Thomas, as mentioned, is a good example.

I cannot say that I am looking for something Burgundy like when I drink other wines. Some of my favorite other wines are Bordeaux (Haut Brion, Cheval Blanc, Leoville las Cases, Montrose, Ducru, Yquem and Climens are among my favorites); Champagne (Taittinger CdC, Salon, Delamotte, Clos du Goisses, Dom Ruinart, Bereche, Bouchard and Chartogne-Taillot are among my favorites), and California wine (Ridge MB and Geyserville and Chateau Montelena among my favorites). My favorite wines outside Burgundy are German wines, esp. MSR. Favorites include JJ Prum, Zilliken, Reinhold Haart, Schloss Lieser and von Schubert. Drink more German wines by far than any other non-Burgndy.

Drink little Domestic Chardonnay and virtually no Domestic PN at this point in time. Drink some Italian and Loire wines, but none would rise to the favorite level of wines listed above.

When I want something Burgundy-like, I tend to drink Burgundy.

Howard, on the Germany side, have you recently been impressed with German PN? I have drunk some in the past, but never really impressed. However, some recent echoes suggest I should look again in that direction to try.

+100.

Other than Champagne, I rarely drink wines from Pinot noir anymore other than Burgundy and when I do it generally is something I did not buy.

Red Bordeaux: Siran, du Tertre
Red N. Rhône: Rene Rostaing
Red S. Rhône: Bonneau Marie Beurrier
Brunello: Carpazo La Casa
German Spätburgunder from Baden
Austria Pinot noir (Preisinger, Schloss Halbthurn)
Spain: Rioja (Alta), Lopez Heridia

I’ve found no substitute for aged white Burgs. Champagne on the low dosage side and non-sweet German Riesling appeal in a similar fashion.

My red Burg palate is in its infancy, so I can’t answer for myself. But a friend and I were discussing this last weekend, and he says Ceritas and Littorai Pinots scratch his Burg itch. Curious if others feel the same.

Very few are available in the US, and what makes it here tends to be the lower bottlings, so it’s very hard to keep up with the category here.

My substitute for White Burgundy is Oregon Chardonnay from a select (but growing) group of producers. Right now, Eyrie, Brick House, Walter Scott, Cameron, Goodfellow, Vincent, and a number of others scratch that itch at significantly lower price points than good White Burgundy.

As far as other varieties are concerned, I usually look for lower alcohol, more structured Zinfandels (Geyersville come to mind) and old-style California Cabs (Mt Eden, Ridge). I recently started getting into Barolo and Barbaresco, until I figured out that I’ll be in my 80’s before the current vintages are ready to drink…

I think aged Barbaresco/Barolo or other high altitude Nebbiolo is a good alternative for those who enjoy burgundy. I actually really enjoy the high altitude Nebbiolo from the likes of Gattinara, Bramaterra and Ghemme.

Etna