I am going to be in France and specifically Strasbourg and Beaune in May. While not a wine trip, we do plan on spending some time getting to know the vineyards in Burgundy. We already have a Domaine Faiveley tasting and will do a bike ride around Beaune with maybe one more winery. My question is whether buying Burgundies at Faively or retailers in Beaune is less expensive and worth it compared to the US. We were in Chateauneuf du Pape last year and got some great deals compared to what we could get in the US, especially with no vat on export and around 150 euro shipping. Just curious on whether Faiveley or other places in Beane are similar.
Thanks in advance and grateful for a lot of restaurant and Beaune info while searching.
Others will have been to Beaune more recently than me, but this is my experience:
Retail: Sadly, not a lot of (any?) great deals to be had in Beaune from retailers. Mostly stocks are very low, except for less desirable vintages, producers and vineyards. Prices are very high regardless, as retailers know that Beaune visitors are tourists looking to take home some souvenir bottles. You might get lucky, but after pouring through a few retailers I gave up. More options and pricing back in the US, as hard as that is to believe.
Producers: Almost no producer had any stock at all to sell. This is very different from wine tasting almost anywhere else that I’ve been (US, Germany, Italy) where they nearly always have much to sell and are eager to take your money. Just another way that Burgundy is exceptional!
The only exception that I experienced was Joseph Drouhin. Right in the center of Beaune, they do nice tours, are set up to sell and ship wine, and are very gracious. You are still getting very limited selections and market (i.e. very high) prices. I wouldn’t be surprised if Faiveley, as one of the bigger producers, can do this too. Getting a deal on some of their Mercurey offerings would be charming if they offered it. Don’t expect to see Cazetier, Clos de Beze, etc. though.
Luckily you still have the sights of the region, amazing restaurants, and all the other typical offerings of a French wine region that makes the place wonderful to visit. But buy wine? Whoever would want to do that???
We were in Beaune in October. The cycling is great - lots of rarely used back roads and bike paths. I rode to Chassagne and back (20+ mile round trip) and probably was passed by half a dozen cars. There is a place just west of the city center (Bourgogne Evasion) that rents bikes and e-bikes. Most people tend to go with the e-bikes. There are some short but steep ramps along the way, particularly getting in and out of Volnay.
As far as wine is concerned, there are a few relative bargains, though just about anything from the Cote d’Or is in another world price-wise. We did the tour at Drouhin and enjoyed it. They ship through Mailboxes Etc. in Beaune, and it worked flawlessly for us. We brought back some Drouhin Morey St Denis Clos Sorbe and Meursault En Luraule, and I think our all-in price was around $70-75/bottle.