Red Burg Lovers, Which Category of Drinker Are You?

WINE TALK
41

Where is the “all of those vintages are too young for me to drink” category?

42

I had a longer response written, but the statement of “vintage remains infinitely the least important variable in Burgundy” is, yes, quite categorical*. Given that you now avoid 2003 perhaps it is, in fact, quite an important variable.

*Especially considering the myriad variables in Burgundy.

43

I’ve never thought of Lafarge as weightless, and it seems like an outlier in this list to me. I love the wines, and they have tons of complexity and are quite aromatic – but also have some substance in the mouth.

That said, I also like richer wines by producers like Rossignol-Trapet, Hudelot-Noellat, Jadot, Bouchard, etc., that combine richness and flavor complexity. So, I don’t think I want to be pigeon-holed.

Yeah, that’s why I didn’t vote. Flawed poll.

I mean, where does Chandon de Briailles even fit? “Ethereal and delicate” doesn’t seem right, but “robust and juicy” is even more wrong. Just maybe one dimension isn’t enough for useful categorization here.

44

You make me glad I voted that I did not want to be pigeon-holed. Love Chandon de Briailles and you are correct. I think that the more that they age, the more they get ethereal and delicate, but I agree that it does not fit easily. Most great producers do not. As you said, Lafarge (had to put it in the former category because of the complexity of these wines) and also Mugneret-Gibourg.

I don’t think I would like Burgundy as much if it was easier to categorize. More fun this way. Interesting that only 3 people have so far voted for category 1.

45

Well, I definitely fall into the B camp although I have grown to like 2009s a bit.

I think Hudelot-Noellat falls more in the weightless camp than Lafarge, however.

46

I’m not a fan of these categories. I just want wine that is in balance, preferably with complexity. The former determines if it’s a good wine, and the latter if it’s a great wine. Beyond that, there’s a time and a place for ripe juicy wines, for elegant wines, for structured wines, for mature wines, etc. And that applies to all regions — not just Burgundy.

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47

Burgundy is fundamentally paradoxical, which is why it is interesting, though I’m afraid the prices have now made it boring.

48

Just to point out that in the full piece in the book, I was making no attempt to categorise into opposing camps but was using this as a way of emphasising that any approach to assessing vintages depends on the nature of the individual’s palate and that there are many different ways to appreciate Burgundy in different styles. I am as against pigeon-holing as much as several contributors to this thread.

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49

So, are the 2020 and 2021 vintages more A or more B?

50

Pretty sure 2020 has to be a solid A, the third straight super-hot vintage.

2021’s weather wasn’t as hot, but I’ve not tried the wines, so I can’t categorize it.

51

Very interesting to see only three votes for flavor, particularly because I think many GCs fall in that category: iron fist/velvet glove … power without (too much) weight — don’t these fall within the first category?

I wonder how many people are voting for “ethereal” and “elegant” because that’s apparently the “cool” thing to say …

52

I think iron fist/velvet glove is more of a BDX thing. GC Burg is all about elegance and lift. It’s amazing when you can have a wine with such density of flavor and mouthfeel and yet feels light as a butterfly at the same time. That’s the Burg dream. Maybe you could get some Richebourg that fall more into the powerful/muscular category, but I would still stop short of iron fist.

53

Clos de tart…

54

A world of born, is not a world of made.

AC was born with tradition. Bizot, well, is Bizot.

55

When to open your bottles of burgundy for your preferred enjoyment is also one of the key…

56

I’d add the knowing the likely style of a producer and vintage also helps greatly in picking a wine for a given moment. Sometimes I want lighter burgs, sometimes I want richer- as long as I have a good understanding what I might get, I’m generally happy.

57

Agreed.

3 rules : Producers; producers; and producers.

Producers for your preferred styles;
Producers for your preferred AC; and
Producers for your preferred vintage years and whose styles will go well with the general characters of the vintage year. For example, for back-to-back-to-back solar vintage years ( = the red of 2018, 2019 and 2020 ) I would avoid producers whose extraction is on the heavy side and also practicing punching down.

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58

Having tasted a few of the 18 and 20s in barrel (and some of 19 in bottle) I think it’s not useful to call them “solar vintages”. I think that generally applies to 18, especially as many in burgundy weren’t prepared for it. The wines in 19 and 20 are different (and different from each other), and don’t lend themselves to such a a simple characterization. Neither of them are all that close to 2003, just like 2021 being cooler doesn’t make it a “classic” vintage for AFWE drinkers.

59

Option A is written in such a ridiculously derisive way that I am not at all surprised it’s only gotten 3 or 4 votes.

As for iron fist/velvet glove, I know that Meadows has described Musigny that way (recalling a Grape Radio podcast of a World of Pinot Noir session with Meadows and people from de Vogue), and I am absolutely certain others have as well.

60

Burgundy drinkers don’t care about flavor, they just want the label. [wow.gif]