I’m fairly new to Burgundy and I’ve found just diving into Inside Burgundy and lurking in the Burgundy threads here to be extremely helpful. It’s not a book I’ve read cover to cover, but I’ve probably covered about 30% of the meat of the book so far in my exploration.
InsideBurgundy.com website is a great resource as well. Unlike Burghound, you get everything for one subscription price. Does a great job of looking at vinification of almost every major producer. Exhaustive vintage surveys, regularly updated
I used Inside Burgundy as my first burg text. It’s a beast as you know, but I feel like if the reader understands that getting your arms around that book is a years long pursuit then it’s a singular work to take your first burg steps with. The beginning portion that covers history and production before getting into the vineyards and producers is a great resource and I don’t think it requires many prerequisites.
But if I had to pick one that is a little less intimidating I might choose The Sommelier’s Atlas of Taste. Not burgundy specific, but the burgundy rundown is considerably more bite-sized while still being informative I think.
It’s not current, it’s not even close to being all about Burgundy, but any Burgundy drinker should read. Adventures on the Wine Route by Kermit Lynch. It’s a very personal in depth look at the wines and winemakers who he thinks are worthwhile, and the Burgundy section in particular, was awakening for me.
.I cannot recommend it highly enough; and there are plenty people on this board who have learned a good deal from Kermit’s writing.
Jasper’s book is excellent, and I think the two together would be an excellent pair to learn about Burgundy.