Hi my first time post here, so please kindly let me know if I’m breaking any rules or whatnot in my post!
I’ve been reading this site for quite a bit while and have learned a lot especially on Burgundy (thanks!), but I’m still early in the journey to explore the region. And most importantly, given my financial capability, today’s market price on Burgundy wine doesn’t allow me to taste all the wine I’m interested in unfortunately. So just trying many to see what I like isn’t a very feasible strategy here. That said, I realized some of the most popular producers are often not the one that has the highest objective quality, but the one with quality AND a strong producer fingerprint that people can’t get enough of. Leroy, Coche, Dujac, Cathiard, Fourrier, Ente, etc.
So I’m curious, what are several producers that you think are worth trying even though the price has skyrocketed in the past years? “Worth” is a relative term and depends on one’s financial situation, but let’s say you’re recommending to someone whose daily drinker is less than $50, and special occasion bottles are $150-300, usually. So, many village wines from hyped producers are in the range just for one time thing. I have been relatively good at scoring good deals on wine, so it’s okay if a typical pricing is above $300.
I don’t think this matters too much because I’m not asking what I’m likely to love, but for what is worth, I loved Pierre Morey and liked PYCM and Olivier Leflaive for white. For red, I liked some Bruno Clair and Drouhin but haven’t found a particular producer I’m in love with for red.
Rephrasing your question: “best burgundy under $300”, I would suggest less famous producers offering more QPR. But your question may be “wines of the most famous producers worth trying for under $300”?
I think you are wasting your money unless you have access to wines with age, esp. on the reds. You are not going to learn to appreciate Burgundy by purchasing an expensive bottle of wine and drinking it at 3 years old.
Strange question. We already have lots of threads where people list the virtues of their favorite producers. And you have probably noticed the disagreement. Which is why the only question that matters is what producers are going to be singular to YOU. Which you can only discover through time and drinking.
If you had stylistic benchmarks, you might get input on what other similar producers you should try.
My personal suggestion would be to find a bottle of village wine you really like and try that producer’s higher end cuvées. You may not like what I like!
You also don’t necessarily need them with age, especially if most of what you drink is on the younger side. That said, you may want do a bit of research before buying - certain wines from certain vintages will very likely be a let down.
I think this is fantastic advice. Helps reduce cost of the initial search and broadens what you can try within a given budget. Then it helps focus your subsequent sampling of higher-end wines to producers whose style you like, while letting you see terroir differences of going up the ladder.
and actually, that’s probably the way I’d steer Takaos, to find 2-3 bottles that might not be the fanciest, but have some good age on them. I did rather get lucky at an auction a few years ago, picking up some 1966 & 1969 bottles (i.e. not just mature, which I’m recommending, but properly mature), one of which was simply stunning, with a very genuine ‘peacock’s tail’, the wine building complexity on the finish. It was a mixed lot, and these can sometimes be a bargain, as this lot was.
It will be a crap-shoot, but if priced attractively, the odds pretty good for a careful buyer… but I’d not recommend buying old white burg at auction, premox and all that.
I think this is not very good advice for someone outside of England/France or someone who has not been drinking mature Burgundy to begin with. The wines are not likely to be solid and people who start their journey drinking young Burgundy are not likely to appreciate very old Burgundy, especially considering the high chance it won’t show well.
IMO either drink it sufficiently young or sufficiently mature so that you’re avoiding the awkward in-between years. (One problem there though is knowing when any given producer and wine will leave the awkwardness behind.)
You’re suggesting the OP should learn Burgundy by buying random mixed lots of 60 year old Burgundies from auctions?
Drinking 60 year old (or whatever the definition today is for “mature”) Burgundies is an acquired taste. You might prefer them that way, many of us don’t. What is stunning to you could well be “way past peak, no fruit left, tastes like rotten leaves” to others.
I would start from something like 2019, and work backwards to see where the preference is.
I might be a little different from other Burg-focused wine lovers here. I do not like the wines of Dujac, I found his Chambolle-Musigy to taste like it had more in common with a wine from Vosne-Romanee than Chambolle-Musigny. Wines that I think are worth the hype and should be tasted at least once & still under $300 are:
Henri Jouan Clos St. Denis
Louis Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques
Domaine Duroché Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaut St. Jacques
Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin Vieille Vigne
Joseph Drouhin Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Mouches Rouge
Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos de la Maréchale
Domaine Jean Grivot Clos Vougeot
Faiveley Corton-Clos des Cortons
Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Chambolle-Musigny
Domaine Roulot Monthélie
A. et P. de Villaine Mercurey Les Montots
I’ve been curious about this kind of question from time to time too. I think what the OP is asking really is “what are some bench mark Burgundy wines that are worth trying in order to understand why people thing Burgundy is great, even if they’re kind of expensive?”
For example, do I really need to try JF Mugnier Musigny? Have I experienced the best that Burgundy has to offer if I haven’t tried DRC or Rousseau?
Nitpicking here but in line with previous advice, consider starting with Jouan’s Morey village. I think it will show better young and will also show the house style, even if not a benchmark wine.
Clair and Drouhin could be a little tough young. But depending on vintage, either could be standouts with age. Drouhin especially Clos des Mouches and Petits Monts. Trapet has been on fire of late… l’Arlot Suchots can offer some loveliness young. I believe Fourrier can have some solid quality on the price range you mention.
But again, there has been a lot of good advice here, I recommend heeding it. You’re gonna have to take a chance on some wines and buy them and set them down, sometimes for years to get what you’re asking for.
