light, delicate, elegant, complex, aromatic red Burgundy for less than $75???

WINE TALK
1

In our market, red Burgundy seems to break down as approximately the following:

$0-$75: village wines & generic bourgogne
$75-$150: premier crus
$150+: grand crus

Recently I’ve been trying to find something nice in the sub-$75 range, but I haven’t been having any luck.

For instance, this weekend, I had a name-brand village wine, from the most recent vintage-of-the-century, and managed to squeeze out of it the following mental tasting note:

But I thought maybe I’d check at Cellar Tracker, just to make sure that this wasn’t an off-bottle, and, while most of the poor saps over there are simply clueless, there was one lone note of discord, way down at the very bottom of the page, which just nailed this wine:

By the way, this wine ranges from $49.00 in St Helena to $64.95 in Manhattan, which is a price point that ought to produce something at least quaffable [and certainly not so offensive as to ruin your dinner].

The debacle with this wine mimicked another recent experience, from a few weeks earlier, involving a name-brand village wine, with outstanding points from respected critics, which retails nationally for $58.00 to $79.99, but which proved to be a plodding, awkward, harsh, bitter mess that stubbornly refused to show any charm whatsoever despite aggressive attempts at oxygenating it.

So is anyone still making light, delicate, elegant, complex, aromatic red Burgundy for less than $75?

Or is searching for such a thing simply a fool’s errand?

2

a) name the producer (I’m really afraid of your “name-brand” anonymizing)
b) name the vintage

Nothing matters more in Burgundy than the producer. If it’s a random pick then I’m not surprised.

3

Many '05’s seem to be shutting down however there are a few that are just opening up…

I recently had a 2005 Domaine Claude Nouveau Santenay 1er Cru Grand Clos Rousseau that was everything you’ve got written in your subject line. I couldn’t believe how much better it had become than when I opened the first bottle in April so I opened another. It was just as good. It ain’t no Grand Cru but it sure drank well.
$30 from Garagiste.

4

The vast majority of what I drink in the way of burgundy is under $75, and I greatly enjoy the vast majority of it as well.

I agree, name the producer and vintage already.

Also, what have you had that you’ve liked, regardless of price?

5

2005 Mongeard-Mugneret Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Petits Monts (France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru)

Tasted by Keith Levenberg on 1/23/2008 & rated 80 points: If this ever becomes the equal of the beautiful 1991, it will be a testament to the transformative power of bottle aging. This doesn’t offer much aromatically, though the first few sips demonstrate some of the nature of the material with a mouthful of Vosne spices. But then this characteristic is quickly overtaken by a strong bitterness to the fruit, almost enough to make you wince. With every sip I wonder what it is that’s making the wine so ornery – is the alcohol stiff? – maybe, but the main thing is that it is really, seriously, bitter. I keep waiting for it to civilize itself and while air does help to moderate the bitterness, this happens concurrently with the fruit becoming fatter and more candied, bordering on Californian. (404 views) - report issue

2005 Mongeard-Mugneret Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Petits Monts, France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru - CellarTracker" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Only one other tasting note, so what’s up with most of the poor saps are clueless line?

6

Surprised to hear he scored a burgundy 80 points as he usually gives this to most CDP’s and CA wines. [swearing.gif]

7

Try Barthod’s 06 Bon Batons Bourgogne. I think you’ll find it fits the bill, and it comes in at just $30.

8

Simon Bize

9

Lots of good advice above. In addition to those already noted, you might want to consider the Bruno Clavelier 06 village wines, Villaine’s 05 or 06 Mercurey, La Fortune or La Digione, Bachelet 05 or 06 Bourgogne or Cote de Nuits Village, Chevillon 06 Nuits VV, Pavelot’s 05 or 06 Savigny. Better yet, find some 01 Clavelier, Bachelet or Chevillon village level wines or the 00 Dujac Chambolle or 00 Rousseau Gevrey.

10

I would not be drinking too many 2005s right now. I recently popped some 2006s that needed lots of time as well, but I did open a 2006 David Duband Clos de la Roche a few weeks back that was amazing, and it was $65 on clearance from some store called Grapes…Grand Cru, and great, for under $75!

I would look for some bargain 2001s and possibly (although I say it reluctantly) some 2003s to satisfy what you crave.

11

We’ve got a shop locally which is a big Rosenthal client, and it looks like they have it in stock at $32.99.

This weekend I tried a 2001 Chambolle Musigny from Hervé Sigaut, and it had the weirdest spritzy sensation of secondary fermentation.

I kept it around hoping that something good might come of it, but 36 hours later, it was [literally, not figuratively] vinegar.

Is it safe to consume a wine that has [or had?] enough bacteria in it to become vinegar?

12

I would not use the Herve Sigaut as your barometer of 2001.

13

Nathan, you need to find a new place to shop.

I just bought a grand cru (2001 Jadot Clos Vougeot) for less than $75. There are tons of premier crus around for $75 or less.

14

Much cheaper to buy those Spanish La Tache’s.

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15

Two points, I guess.

A) Yeah, it would be pretty awesome to see Grand Cru Burgundy [red or white] for less than $75, but

B) Sadly, Jadot reds don’t satisfy any of the criteria [light, delicate, elegant, complex, or aromatic].

We don’t see them in our market.

Around here, $75 will be something like a village wine with the initials “V.V.” at the end.

16

Well, it was only about $25, and I was hoping that maybe my streak of bad luck would come to an end.

Actually, if it weren’t for the secondary fermentation which turned it into vinegar, it seemed like it might have been an okay wine [“okay” not to be confused with “oaky”].

17

[quote="Nathan Smyth

B) Sadly, Jadot reds don’t satisfy any of the criteria [light, delicate, elegant, complex, or aromatic].

[/quote]

Jadot wines are not complex or aromatic? Wow!!!

You must have a very small list of acceptable producers? Where are you located?

18

Recently I had an '04 Voillot Volnay 1er Fremiets that was everything you ask for–light, delicate, elegant, aromatic, and (maybe not that) complex–for all of $14.99 (on weekend special from PC)… Burgundy can be expensive–but it can also be one of the greatest bargains in the wine world.

If you’re looking for “elegant, delicate, aromatic” and widely available, you may enjoy Drouhin’s Chambolle AOC and Chambolle 1er, Potel Volnay VV, Fourrier Gevrey VV, Bachelet Gevrey VV, a whole host of Savigny wines, etc.

19

Tons of options out there…where you at?

20

Simon Bize
Pavelot
D’Angerville
Arnoux
Clavelier
Lafarge (find older vintages, these can be tough on release)
Courcel
Some Tollot-Beaut (Corton Bressandes and some of the Aloxe bottlings in good years)

Hunt down some 2000 and 2001’s if you can, they are drinking well. You can find good bottlings from all of these producers in your price range and some of them will blow your mind (I’m looking at you, D’Angerville)