No Oxymoron: Affordable Burgundy

BY NEAL MARTIN | JUNE 19, 2019Following on from
articles dwelling upon the more expensive Burgundy crus, allow me to redress
the balance with a tranche of Burgundy wines shown by Flint Wines in London
that specifically focused upon that great oxymoron: affordable Burgundy. I wrote
this introduction after the latest offer of Armand Rousseau landed in my
in-box, touting a private cellar of mature vintages with prices that looked as
if they were scraped from a realtor’s list of houses currently available in my
area. Each one of these offers begs the question: When will the bubble burst?
In the meantime, those of us who are not super-rich must forage in less
fashionable appellations and among less-well-known growers. Thank goodness the clamor
for Burgundy coincides with a general upswing in quality at all levels of the
hierarchy and in all subregions. The truth is that there are always less
expensive alternatives.

The common thread
throughout all these wines is affordability. Unsurprisingly, a good proportion of
them come from more rationally priced enclaves of the region, not least Chablis
and Mâconnais.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1560952629042-macon_roche_vergisson.jpg"> 

The Roche
Vergisson in the Mâconnais, which
dominates the region and exposes the terroir for everyone to see.

For starters, I found a pair of wonderful Pouilly-Fuissé from Domaine Gilles Morat. The namesake winemaker has run the Vergisson-based domaine with his wife Joëlle since 1997. They organically farm 5.6 hectares, including some choice parcels in Sur La Roche and Aux Vignes Dessus, and use oak barrels and stainless steel to craft their wines. Alternatively, check out the 2016 Pouilly-Fuissé En Bertilonne from Domaine du Roc des Boutires, which comes from 0.57 hectares of 35-year old vines and spends 16 months in stainless steel and oak barrel. It is one of those vivacious Mâconnais wines that make you question why you restricted your vinous horizons to the Côte d’Or. [Post-script: at the last minute I had the opportunity to taste a clutch of 2016s from two excellent Mâconnais producers: Olivier Merlin and La Soufrandière, the family estate of Bret Brothers in Vinzelles. Both will be covered in detail next year.]<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1560959299604-20190618_144252_copy.jpg"> 

Jean-Philippe Bret of Bret Brothers, one of the leading Mâconnais winemakers.Speaking of which,
you will find several regional white Burgundies here. As I stated in my <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/2017-burgundy-a-modern-classic-jan-2019">2017
Burgundy</a> barrel report, they can represent great value, although you must
choose carefully. Some examples I tasted here were not really up to scratch.
That said, the 2014 Bourgogne Blanc Les Grands Champs from Domaine Duroché
conveyed a Chablis-like minimalism at an affordable price, while the 2016
Bourgogne Blanc Champ-Perrier from Domaine Tessier is safely in top village cru
territory. Arnaud Tessier is a winemaker I intend to meet in 2019, as I have
never been to the domaine. His Champ-Perrier comes from Meursault on the
Puligny border, a single 0.4-hectare plot of 45-year-old vines aged in 10% new
oak for six months. Another wine that caught my eye was the 2015 Mercurey from
Vincent &amp; Jean-Pierre Charton (a producer where I have to keep making sure
that I do not insert an extra “r” into the name). This comes from 50-year-old
vines, entirely destemmed and matured in 25-30% new oak for 10 months. It combines
the rustic DNA of Mercurey with judicious winemaking to create a pure, grippy
Pinot Noir that will give a lot of pleasure over the next four or five years.
Moving north toward the outskirts of Dijon, the 2014 Marsannay Les Boivins also
captured my attention. I am accustomed to tasting this village cru from Domaine
Roty, but Christophe Coillot has fashioned an exemplary wine from the same
vineyard, full of crunchy dark berry fruit and impressive length considering
its status.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1560952665837-amelie_bertheau_nov_18.jpg"> 

Amélie Bertheau outside the winery. Her Fixin,
under Domaine Bertheau-Gerbet, demonstrates what this oft-overlooked
appellation can do in the right hands.

Once my traveling resumes,
I will ensure that there is a fair representation of wines at the affordable
end of the spectrum. My 2017 Burgundy report emphasized the importance of that
category to this writer. I also observed that many of the attendees at the
aforementioned tasting were sommeliers looking for Burgundy wines that will not
languish on lists, waiting for a thirsty oligarch to order the most expensive
bottle. While at this level some wines do not make the grade, there are always
gems to be found.You Might Also Enjoy <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vinous.com/articles/burgundy-with-plenty-of-age-1865-1999-may-2019">Burgundy With (Plenty Of) Age: 1865-1999</a>, Neal Martin, May 2019<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/burgundy-with-a-bit-of-age-2000-2014-may-2019">Burgundy With (A Bit of) Age: 2000-2014</a>, Neal Martin, May 2019<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/fermented-grape-juice-romanee-conti-1953-2005-apr-2019">Fermented Grape Juice: Romanée-Conti 1953-2005</a>, Neal Martin, April 2019<a target="_blank" href="https://www.vinous.com/articles/this-is-not-morey-saint-denis-march-2019">This Is Not Morey-Saint-Denis</a>, Neal Martin, March 2019<a target="_blank" href="https://www.vinous.com/articles/bottles-never-forgotten-burgundy-edition-mar-2019">Bottles Never Forgotten - Burgundy Edition</a>, Neal Martin, March 2019<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/2017-burgundy-a-modern-classic-jan-2019">2017 Burgundy: A Modern Classic</a>, Neal Martin, January 2019

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