Yes and no. There is a problem if your high end is $50 and you are expecting a $500 experience. Those unicorn bottles are going to be very rare and you are going to be disappointed more often than not.
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I did that earlier but:
2002 Mugneret Gibourg Clos Vougeot, paid $585 in 2021 from Vinfolio, worth every penny. I don’t see any bottles on the US market now and it seems to be >1000 in the UK and elsewhere, but I would probably buy a bottle for $1000 if it had a provenance guarantee from Benchmark or I knew it had provenance (cellared since release) from a private seller. I was with 3 experienced wine drinkers who all called it the best wine they ever had. I wouldn’t go that far, but it was outrageously good.
2013 Rousseau CDLR (paid $350 in 2020 from WHWC and $300 in 2021 from winovisor)
Had this 2x in the last two years and both times it was superb. Very Rousseau, but also very cdlr. Extreme purity, elegance and class in a glass.
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Those are high expectations 10x your cost in terms of quality is going to be pretty rare. But a list of “this was $50 and totally worth it, this was $50 and I’d buy it for $100 because it’s totally outperforms” from someone where $50 is a high end bottle to them is reasonable.
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I would have in the past included Mugneret Gibourg village wines but…
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This has certainly been my experience. After many years of trying Burgundies I rarely “miss” completely. Some wines are better, some worse, but they are all at least solid. I don’t collect super high end either, I’ve basically never spent over $300 on a Burgundy. Of course that does mean that some old favorites are now out of range
Btw sorta interesting, currently watching the jmib Mugneret Gibourg tasting and they said they had no more 17 VR 750 in the library at all.
But I think the reality is there are some who, knowingly or unknowingly, have these expectations. We see these types of threads created all the time, especially about Burgundy. It’s also especially easy to see amazing reports of unobtainable wines and try to recreate that experience for yourself on a budget. I used to do that myself where I would buy the off vintage of a cuvée I wanted to try because it was half or 1/4 the price of the prized vintages. I never got a mind bending experience. Over time I learned that they charge a premium for the good vintages for a reason. There’s lots of subpar wine out there being sold for far more than it’s worth.
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Not sure whether Jeff has an “incredible level or personal wealth” or not, but the two times I have had dinner with him he has been very generous in what he has shared.
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Michael,
I think you would agree that Burgundies don’t have to cost $1000 to be fabulous drinks, but I agree that they have to be well chosen. One wine I very much enjoyed this year that fits in this category was Armand Heitz’s 2017 Pommard Clos des Poutures. TN: 2017 Heitz-Lochardet Pommard 1er Clos Poutures - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers
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Pretty much sums up Burgundy to me
Sadly I’m only old enough to have purchased more wine than I needed when it was a lot less money so I have a few nice bottles available to share.
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If it says “Mugneret-Gibourg” on the label, buy it 
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90 Krug Clos des Mesnil (bought and consumed in 2004).
1995 Rousseau Clos de Beze (balance that with an incredibly mediocre 2012 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru that was a $300 poke in the eye)
82, 89, and 90 Leoville-Barton
99 Clos des Lambrays
Most bottles of Dujac that I have ever had.
96 Cristom Marjorie Vineyard
64 Lopez de Heredia Blanco
2012 Lassaigne Clos St. Sophie
The fact that everyone has different tastes is part of the point, and what I thought would make this exercise fun. For example, I love reading everyone’s “Wine of the Year” and “Discovery of the Year” lists in December. I think it’s so cool to hear what interested so many different palates over the course of the year.
I also think differing palates can lead to some fascinating discussions. Look at all the responses in this thread alone about the nuances between top Burgundy bottlings. You contributed to the conversation yourself! I haven’t tasted any of these and yet I learned a bunch by reading the discussion about the individual strengths of various top producers, differences between vineyards, and what bottles might be worth chasing if I ever do decide to go down that rabbit hole myself.
I also like Rob_S1’s comment about “islands”. For instance, a lot of responses identified Jamet as a high end bottle (again, however you want to define that) that is worth it. I know about Jamet, of course, but I haven’t particularly sought it out. But now, if I’m in the market for a Cote Rotie, it might be something that I gravitate towards. I don’t know if I’ll find it as “worth it” as others, but I might, and it’s a good place to start.
And finally, Sarah nailed it with her response. I simply like hearing other people’s stories. Given the plethora of tasting notes on this site, I’m not the only one.
PS- Upon re-reading, this reply comes off as kind of defensive or aggressive. Not my intention at all! I think the points are still valid though, so rather than go through it and massaging the tone line by line, I decided just to leave it as I originally wrote it. No offense meant, of course!
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Fantastic response, Michael! I can’t believe you went through all my CellarTracker tasting notes. All I can say is: Thank you! As someone relatively new to this (5 years or so), I’m the first to admit that I didn’t know what the hell I was doing most of the time. I barely know now!! Burgundy is, of course, a complicated region, and I was basically stabbing around in the dark. The result: the list you see here! Thank you so much for the recs. I look forward to checking them out. Thanks again!!!
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I should also add that I did have a 1999 Clos de Tart that was shared with me by a very generous WBer. And that bottle was fantastic! I don’t know what he paid, but to me, it was worth it!
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Andrew accepts a bottle in exchange.
If you own a $1,000.00 bottle now worth $4,000.00 or if you won a $4,000.00 bottle this is a way to try many different vintages.
Enjoy!
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This thread has prompted me to look again at my cellar and begin to prioritize what I am drinking, what I am holding onto and what I should sell. I realized that I have a small number of Burgundies that are valued far higher than they are worth for my drinking purposes. Of course I would love to drink them, but with some of them at $1000+ per bottle (more than triple what paid), I just can’t justify keeping them, especially as my wife would not necessarily appreciate them. I have had a number of wines in that price range and while a few were truly wonderful, a few were quite average. I am keeping a few, for sure, but I just don’t really have that many occasions to open those types of bottles.
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I wasn’t in any way offended, I just should have listened to Sarah much earlier and spared the effort.
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I’m likely going to do the same thing with this years raffle.
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