Great Wine Made Simple - Andrea Immer [69]
Côte Chalonnaise This region, just south of the Côte d’Or, makes Pinot Noir reds and Chardonnay whites styled like their Côte d’Or cousins, but not quite of the same classic pedigree. To me, these are some of Burgundy’s great values. The village names to look for are Rully (Roo-YEE), Mercurey (Mare-cure-RAY), Givry (Jhee-VREE), and Montagny (Mohn-tan-YEE), and there are both village- and premier cru-ranked vineyards. Don’t miss them.
The Producer
Just one major variable remains in the Burgundy-buying equation—the producer. Some wine professionals say that this should really be the first and last factor that Burgundy buyers consider, because it can help to simplify the process. The idea of buying by producer is that you can focus on the quality reputation of the winery rather than on all the fine details (like terroir, winemaking style, and vineyard rank) for each appellation. Frankly, it is the way most wine professionals approach buying Burgundy, because it is a major time-saver.
KNOWING YOUR BURGUNDY
For those who would like to probe further into these wineries and learn about others, there are entire books on the subject—worthy investments if you plan to buy a lot of Burgundy. My favorite current such title is Côte d’Or by Clive Coates, MW. (MW refers to the very prestigious Master of Wine credential. It means you know a whole, whole lot about wine.)
BURGUNDY’S WINERIES—ESTATE BOTTLERS AND SHIPPERS There are two types of Burgundy producers—estate bottlers and shippers. Estate bottlers, called domaines in French, are wineries that grow the grapes and make the wine sold under their name. In contrast, negociants (neh-GO-see-ants), the French word for wine shippers, sell wine under their label made in one of two ways. Either they make the wine themselves using grapes or juice bought from independent growers, or they buy finished wine, which they then age and bottle. Most well-known negociants do both, and may also produce some estate-bottled wines from vineyards they own. A good comparison is orange juice in this country—most of it is marketed by a branded company such as Tropicana, which may own some orchards but buys a lot of its juice or fruit from cooperative or independent growers.
Which is better, negociant or domaine? The wine trade loves to debate this topic. I say neither is better; they are just different. Here is how they compare:
Size Negociants are typically bigger. Since they buy grapes and/or wine from many sources, their wines are more readily available because the quantity is greater. By contrast, buying domaine wines is catch-as-catch-can. Because they are generally much smaller, you cannot count on regularly finding particular wines and wineries in stores and restaurants. And when you do find one you like, the store or restaurant may be sold out of it when you return, and unable to reorder more.
Quality Some experts say negociants offer greater quality potential because their practice of blending grapes and wines from many sources evens out variations. They also have a bigger market presence that compels them to maintain quality to protect their brand name. Others insist that domaines have higher quality potential because they control every part of the production process, from the vineyard to the bottle. Their small size allows a more hands-on, detail-oriented approach to grape growing and winemaking.
But I use the term quality potential, because fulfilling that promise takes both skill and commitment. Whether negociant or domaine, some producers have it and some don’t. Below is a list of quality-minded negociants and domaines that I have found offer consistently good-to-great quality for the money. Exclusion from this list does not necessarily constitute a thumbs-down. Rather, this is my personal list of Burgundy’s benchmark wineries—quality-minded producers that have had an ongoing presence on my wine lists, have been well-received by customers, and are priced well for the quality. I have also listed some specific wines