I do not want prices for Volnay and Corton to go up. I want them to go down. I’d be even happier if prices for top Burgs went down as well; if DRC Grands Ech goes down by even 75% I’m a buyer again!
However IMO some top Cotes de Beaune Premier Crus are consistently better than a majority of Cotes de Nuits Grand Crus (the plethora of mediocre Clos Vougeots, Echezeauxs and satellite Chambertins heavily drag down the average) and tend to be available for half the price. I’m still a buyer. Yes, Ducs d’Angerville is now past my budget… but the others are not.
How about best QPRs in Burgundy?
It’s tired and I’m late, but I’ll start with
Jadot Ursules
Chandon de Briailles Ile de Vergelesses
Dan, the Ursules is almost twice as expensive as Jadot’s other Beaune premier crus. I go back and forth between which I think is the better value. Your thoughts?
Bachelet
Fourrier
Henri Boillot
Comte Armand
d’Angerville
Faiveley
Billaud-Simon
Dauvissat
de Montille
Thierry Violot-Guillemard (the best value?)
Clavelier
de Courcel
Rossignol
Clair
Cathiard
A couple of people listed “Potel”, but that’s now the label used for Laboure-Roi’s remnants of what Nicolas Potel used to run. Noone has yet mentioned Nicolas Potel’s new Domaine and Negoce house Maison Roche de Bellene. First full vintage 2008, and surely one of the best-priced but extensive range of burgundies that go all the way up to Bonnes Mares, Amoureuses, Chambertin, Beze and Montrachet. I tried the 08 Bonnes Mares a few months ago - stunning.
My affordable short list would also include
Lambrays
Gouges (15 years of age minimum)
Hudelot-Noellat
Drouhin
If the Bellene wines are as good as promised–and the couple tastes I’ve had have been promising–then they are indeed a bargain. In '10 you could get Malconsorts and some grand crus for just a touch over $100, which is a lot less than most good stuff in '10.
Ryan,
I think the problem is that some of the newer domaines - someone mentioned Dublere - are too recently formed to have developed a following. Few mentions even of Maison Ilan, given the following they have here. It’ll take a few more years for these estates to get to optimal drinkability.
Nigel
Great question as to the value of Ursules vs the many other Jadot Beaune 1ers. IMO it is definitely worth the substantial premium, because for me it is of Grand Cru quality. My consumption of Grand Crus has declined precipitously over the decades simply because I am no longer willing to pay for the ones I consider really worth drinking. There are a lot of mediocre Clos Vougeots, Cortons and satellite (and central) Chambertins out there that simply aren’t in the same league.
One Jadot Beaune I’ve loved in many vintages is Avaux, probably underrated. It does not have the subtlety of Ursules (very very few wines do), but usually is satisfyingly ripe, I enjoyed an '07 in Paris a year or so back that was enjoyably plump for a skinny vintage.
Dan Kravitz
Interesting comments by Nigel Bruce about the new Domaines, what he says rings true. I had never even heard of Potel’s new project… and now I’ll have to do some research.
Really Good Burgundy + Double Digit Prices = Dan Spends Money.
All pretty expensive still, but other than Roumier I still buy them all. I think the smartest wines to buy price/quality wise are Jadot and Favively. Jadot Clos St. Jacques is up there quality wise with Rousseau, but a fraction of the price. Faiveleys Latricieres is fantastic, one of the best priced great grand crus.
Excellent point, Nigel! I think folks like us without the track record can’t really be on lists such as this yet.
What I personally love about Burgundy is the terroir and while I would be the worst blind wine calling guy in the room I love knowing that a wine has been given the chance to express themselves. This takes time.
In keeping with this, I love older bottles of
Truchot early 80s
Rousseau early 80s
old Drouhin from the 70s (red Chassagne - mercy!)
Ramonet from the 70s forward (especially reds)
I can’t give a fifth, not fair
Thanks Dan. I kind of go back and forth as I said as it is hard to pass up Bressandes or Clos de Couchereaux at the mid $30s. I guess the answer, like always, is to buy both = Howard spends money. I understand what you say about overpriced grand crus, but there are some wonderfully priced (relatively speaking) Cortons out there from producers like Jadot, Chandon de Briailles and Michel Gaunoux. So, over the past few years, my buying of Corton has actually increased relative to other wines.
My days of buying Grand Crus are probably limited for two reasons - price, the one you gave, and my age (at 58, how much can I buy wines that need 15-20 years of aging?).
We generally agree. However I find Corton in general among the most disappointing Grand Crus. I have been drinking Chandon de Briailles for decades, but sporadically, not in an organized fashion. IMO his Ile de Vergelesses is better wine than his Corton Bressandes. Not a better value. A better wine. There, I said it again.
I’ve never had a Corton Rouge from CdB, did not know he made one. IIRC I’ve had Bressandes (most often, but less often since it’s underperformed next to Ile de V) and Marechaudes.
As to age, I continue to buy whatever strikes me as value that I feel like paying for at that specific picosecond. In 2010, the Usual Bordeaux Suspects: Chevalier and Boyd-Cantenac. If, as seems likely, I happen to pass on (or “die”, as we say in English) before these are fully ready to drink, somebody else will drink them and be very happy. I am 67 years old. If all goes well, I will enjoy the Chevalier before the Boyd in about another 10 years.
Hi Ray,
I have to echo you on Girardin - he’s getting a slating on another thread for his reds - we had a fine and pure expression of village Gevrey 2005 VV from him last night - everyone’s eyebrows went up. This wasn’t by any stretch a wine made by a “bad” winemaker.
Nigel
It’s a 2005, you’d have to be brain-dead not to make good wine in 2005. I almost always find Girardin reds to significantly underperform their terroir (most recently, a 2006 Charmes-Chambertin). I don’t understand who still buys these wines. At a certain local shop everybody bad-mouths them whenever they’re in a lineup. I harbor fantasies of convincing the French government to confiscate his sources and give them to more deserving winemakers.
I vote for Comte Ligier-Belair , who’s wines I think are equal or even better overall than your top-5 .
Others , especially in the affordable category : Faiveley , Gerard Mugneret , Perrot-Minot , Henri Boillot ( his reds )
The not-so-affordable category : Ponsot and Rouget .
Don’t ask me. Madame shhh still has this irrational idea that I single-handedly caused the price of Truchot to up by talking about it on wine boards (she most recently expressed this lunacy to me a few weeks ago). I wish people listened to me that much.