Burgundy: Village, Premier Cru, Grand Cru

[Greg_K]

@Wil_Raley

Hey Greg, thanks for the thoughtful reply. You have several good points, especially on the practicality of how he treats his smaller holdings such as the Sentiers. I would agree that people care too much about oak percentage, and the trend towards less oak leaves people making missguided statements like “I do not like oak in my wine” - pass that individual a glass of Rousseau for a quick 180!

Comparing two of my favorite village Gevereys (Mortet Mes Cinq Terroirs VS Fourrier Gevrey VV) is a great exercise in how oak can be stylistically applied. Mortet’s use of oak is much more present on the pallet despite the fact that the theoretical percentage is fairly similar at the village level.

Cheers!

To follow up on this, there is a difference in the oak treatment across the 3 levels at Fourrier. Ask Jean-Marie or Francois when you visit.

[Wil_Raley]

Denis Mortet might be a good option. Arnaud is known for making a great Clos de Vougeot that is truly of Grand Cru Pedigree. Looks like the 2012 vintage is available for ~$500 on WS. You could do the 1er Cru Champeaux or Lavaux St. Jacques, and put that next to the Gevrey village, Mes Cinq Terroirs.

It would be tough to track down wines from the same vintage, but I think it would still be a very eye opening tasting. I’ve never had the Clos de Vougeot, but the village wine is one of the best in Burgundy and you might come away shocked by how well it stands up to the 1er Crus.

[Greg_K]

@Ardeis_Scott

This was a rather informative thread. So much depends on specific plots and producers that a lot of overlap seems to occur in perceived quality between village, premier and grand.

This spurred me on to inquire about doing a tasting which I’ve been considering for our wine club, The Grapenuts Wine Group of Tampa. I’d like to do a single producer for all three classes. That being said, any suggestions on a producer with a broad lineup and hopefully the ability to find aged GC in the lineup at not exorbitant prices (by that I should quantify that as perhaps under $900 for GC) would be extremely helpful. Hudelot-Noellat comes to mind right away.

Given the pricing constraint, I’d suggest Duroche (using the Charmes, unless you can source the Beze) or Lignier and the Clos de la Roche.

[Steve_McL]

Interesting theme.
If you don’t mind going with a good negociant, consider Joseph Drouhin, Gevrey or Chambolle. The Wines - Maison Joseph Drouhin - Mobile

There’s Chambolle villages, the Chambolle 1er blend (according to their site, - Noirots, Hauts Doix, Borniques, Plantes, Combottes, and a favorite bottling for me) or one of their 1er single-vineyards (Sentiers, Charmes), then the 1er-in-name-only, Amoureuses…or if you can find it, Musigny.

In Gevrey; the Gevrey villages, Gevrey 1er blend (like the Chambolle 1er blend, very good, mostly only available as 17’-19’), many 1er single vintage options, and say Clos de Beze or the Griottes GCs, often cited as among their best expressions.

[Wil_Raley]

I would second Joseph Drouhin. The Griotte can still be found at a relatively affordable price and it is sort of a dark horse in the Drouhin lineup. Allen Meadows has postured that it may be his 2nd favorite wine in their lineup next to the Musigny as the terroir matches so well with the house style.

[Ardeis_Scott]

Thanks all! I’ve researching D Mortet, Drouhin, Duroche and Hudelot-Noellat. Appreciate all the advice!

[Marcu_Stanley]

Affordable Drouhin Griotte is becoming a thing of the past…unless by “affordable” you just mean under $1k! It’s priced higher than the Beze now

[Wil_Raley]

Well the ask was for a GC under $900 so Drouhin Griotte should still fit the bill.

[Howard_Cooper]

I would not ever want to totally know Burgundy, even if that were possible. Learning is too much fun.

[MChang]

@Ardeis_Scott

This was a rather informative thread. So much depends on specific plots and producers that a lot of overlap seems to occur in perceived quality between village, premier and grand.

This spurred me on to inquire about doing a tasting which I’ve been considering for our wine club, The Grapenuts Wine Group of Tampa. I’d like to do a single producer for all three classes. That being said, any suggestions on a producer with a broad lineup and hopefully the ability to find aged GC in the lineup at not exorbitant prices (by that I should quantify that as perhaps under $900 for GC) would be extremely helpful. Hudelot-Noellat comes to mind right away.

Bruno Clair would be interesting; I think comparing the earlier vintages of beze to the newer ones (14+) would be interesting because of the change in winemaking style. You can pretty much get any vintage of the beze for under 900, although the 20-21 are starting to get up there in price. Lambrays would also be a good choice, there’s lot of it and it’s easy to source almost any vintage. Back vintage duroche and lignier can be very expensive.

[Paul_Bruck]

thanks for all replies, very interesting.
imho a grand cru should have character and depth, more than a premier cru - except the obvious candidates for upgrading like amoureuses -.
village wines more often than not are lacking a distinctive character of the lieu-dit (but the good examples show the village) but often show the signature of the winemaker