One of the most frequent questions your scribe receives on our Wednesday weekly feature of Ask Sid is “What are the best red Burgundy values? ” My usual answer over the years has been to look for the 3 key factors of Vintage, Producer, and Region. In the past it was recommending the 2005 (also 2009/2010/2015) Vintage from a quality Producer from AC village sites. Of course less expensive regions with Premier Crus also come to mind like Savigny-Les-Beaune (especially La Dominode). All of this came back to me last week while enjoying at home a roasted pheasant dish paired with a bottle of 2005 GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN DOMAINE ALAIN JEANNIARD. This was a brilliant match as waiting nearly 20 years for the powerful structured tannins of 2005 to melt away successfully left a stunning bouquet with round silky textures. A wise investment. Previously divine matching with fresh quail. Bought also their more forwardly 2006 and the two vintages of Morey-Saint-Denis AC as well all of which provided enjoyable earlier drinking pleasures. The producer Alain Jeanniard made an initial name for himself from 2000-2006 with viticulture for the Hospices de Beaune wines in Clos de la Roche & Mazis-Chambertin – and his own family Domaine. Smart purchases that with consumer patience brought wonderful satisfaction at a bargain price.
What about red Burgundy purchases today? IMHO the same principles apply but because of the increased prices of all Burgundy – including popular AC village wines – it is necessary to go further afield. Santenay and Maranges have become more popular areas. My favs are the regions that previously were a bit too cool to fully ripen but now are thriving with global warming. Best examples are the adjacent neighbours of coveted Clos St. Jacques: Lavaux St. Jacques to the West & Les Cazetiers to the East. Even Estournelles, Poissenot, and Les Veroilles further West & Combe aux Moines, Les Goulots, and Champeaux further East now are worth exploring. My go to purchases have been Hautes-Cotes de Nuits (and Cotes de Nuits-Village) for good value. A wine like 2019 BOURGOGNE ROUGE HAUTES COTES DE NUITS AU VALLON DOMAINE MICHEL GROS fills the bill. A big fan of the ageability of the 2019 reds and this Domaine pioneered these regions with early eighties plantings at higher elevations including Monopole Fontaine Saint Martin. Since 2015 they have also produced Au Vallon from the top of this formerly cooler site on top of the Cote d’Or escarpment. Domaine Alain Jeanniard and other producers have wines from this expanding region. These currently are the kind of wines to seek out for the best quality for the price value with some aging ability to resemble the higher priced Grand & Premier Crus – and now Village ACs. Good luck in your shopping!
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