Best-Value Red Burgundy Producers

By Clive Coates, M.W.

No one would call red Burgundy cheap. By its very nature - fragmented
domaines; no economies of scale; grape varieties that cannot be over-
cropped (to produce more than two-and-a-half tons per acre of pinot noir
especially, but also chardonnay, rapidly leads to weak, insipid wine) -
Burgundy cannot compete with warmer, more prolific, fertile soils
elsewhere. But, on the other hand, if we compare 2000 Bordeaux prices
with the 1999 Burgundy prices (I deliberately pick two excellent vintages),
we will find Château Cheval-Blanc leaving France at $280, while Comte
Georges de Vogüé's fabulous Musigny exits at only $130. So, is red
Burgundy expensive? Wines at this level, obviously, are for high days and
holidays. What can we find in Burgundy at prices we can afford to drink
regularly? Let us impose on ourselves a budget of $30 per bottle.

Where do we go? There are two answers: The lesser-known villages and the
lesser wines of the best growers in the more mainstream villages. In both
cases, the most important thing to look for is the name of the grower or
merchant. Stick to the starred sources and you will very rarely go wrong.
Secondly, pay attention to the vintage. Nineteen ninety-nine is splendid, but
a bit young still, except for the very softest wines such as Côte de Beaune-
Villages or Chorey-Lès-Beaune. Nineteen ninety-eight is a very good
vintage - plump, fruity and medium-bodied - and a lot of the lesser wines
are beginning to drink very nicely. Nineteen ninety-seven is even easier to
drink: soft-centered, very ripe and fruity, but for drinking soon.

Let me now take you on a tour of the lesser villages in the Côte d'Or. Forget
for a minute Volnay and Pommard, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Vosne-Romanée,
Chambolle-Musigny and Gevrey-Chambertin. These villages produce
lovely wines, but they are over our budget.

Our first stop is MARSANNAY, which lies to the north, almost in the
suburbs of Dijon. The wine here was simple Bourgogne until 1986. Today
what you get, increasingly with a vineyard name behind it (look for Clos du
Roy, Longerois, Grasses Têtes, Echézeaux, Champs Perdrix and Champ
Salomon), is a wine of medium structure, not a great deal of tannin (to
extract more would be to unbalance the wine), but very engaging, fresh
blackberry and black cherry fruit. Look for the following growers: Bart,
Régis Bouvier, René Bouvier, Marc Brocot, Fougeray de Beauclair,
Huguenot, Jean and Jean-Louis Trapet plus the merchant Louis Jadot.
(Worth noting: Marsannay also produces delicious rosé.)

The most respected address in Marsannay is undoubtedly that of Bruno

Clair. Clair, now in his mid-40s with three energetic, preteen children, took
over part of the Clair-Daü estate when it was divided in 1985. Since then, he
has expanded his domaine and proven himself to be one of the most
accomplished winemakers in the Côte d'Or. His range extends from
Chambertin Clos de Bèze down to three red Marsannays: Grasses Têtes,
Longerois and Vaudenelles. His wines are medium-full in weight (without a
suggestion of over-maceration), pure and very elegant. Target price for a
good Marsannay rouge: $20.

Moving down the Côte, we come next to the FIXIN appellation. You have
to be careful with Fixins because they can often be rather hard, what the
French call sauvage (savage). At the expensive end are a few premiers crus,
three of which are monopoles. What is of more interest to us, with our
value-for-money brief, is the simple village wine, plus the appellation Côte
de Nuits Villages, which applies to Fixin and to neighboring land in the
village of Brochon, as well as to vines 12.5 miles away, south of Nuits-
Saint-Georges. Many of the Marsannay sources above also offer Fixin.
Other names to note include Vincent & Denis Berthaut, Philippe Bernard
(Domaine du Clos Saint-Louis) and Jean-Michel Molin. Target price for
village Fixin: $21.

For really good Côte de Nuits-Villages consult Denis Bachelet, Louis Jadot
and Philippe Rossignol. Target price for Côte de Nuits-Villages: $21.

Fixin's best grower is the self-effacing but sympathetic Stéphen Gelin. Gelin
used to operate a domaine jointly with his father-in-law André Molin, but
when the latter retired he and his cousin (see Jean-Michel Molin, above)
decided to go their separate ways. The wines here have become a lot more
sophisticated in the last decade. They are rich and substantial but no longer
a bit tough. His village Fixin is neat and elegant.

For deliciously stylish Côte de Nuits-Villages

I look to Domaine Bachelet. Denis Bachelet runs his ten-acre domaine

virtually single-handedly. You must count what he produces in each
category - from Charmes-Chambertin downward - more in dozens of bottles
rather than in hundreds of cases. Low yields are crucial, in Bachelet's view,
and the wines are concentrated, understated, intense, elegant and subtle,
even at the Côte de Nuits-Villages level.

The Côte de Beaune begins with a bang at the hill of Corton. At its foot, on
the northeast side, is LADOIX; on the southwest side is PERNAND-
VERGELESSES. The latter is best known for its whites, but there are good
reds to be had here, too. In both villages, quality has improved
immeasurably over the last decade due to both philosophical and technical
changes in winegrowing; along with the beneficial practice of dropping fruit
in the "green harvest," investments have been made in up-to-date machinery
(such as pneumatic presses) and higher quality, new oak barrels for wine
maturation. What used to be rustic is now well worth the time investigating.
In both cases, parts of the slopes have recently been upgraded from villages
to premier cru.
The following names offer good Ladoix: Capitain-Gagnerot, Robert &
Raymond Jacob, Jean-Pierre Maldant and Jean-René Naudant. Target price:
$21.

The following names offer good Pernand-Vergelesses rouge: Marcus

Delarche, Roger Jaffelin, Régis Pavelot and Rollin Père & Fils. Target
price: $21.

One of the leading growers in Pernand-Vergelesses is Rapet Père & Fils.

The "fils" in the operation is Vincent, who has been in charge of the
winemaking since 1993. Not entirely coincidentally, this milestone marked
the vintage when this estate shifted from making merely acceptable wines to
producing something rather exciting. The Rapets produce Corton in both
colors, and are major landholders in Pernand's leading premier cru, Ile des
Vergelesses. They now have four other Pernands, three of them new
premiers crus. But the basic village wine remains a very good value.

SAVIGNY-LES-BEAUNE lies round the corner of the Mont Batois from

Pernand-Vergelesses. Its wines used to be rather sturdy and rustic, but now
they are much more refined. These are fullish, rich wines which I consider
one of Burgundy's real bargains today. What is more, they keep well. The
best growers include: Simon Bize, Bouchard Père & Fils, Chandon de
Briailles, Camus-Brochon, Bruno Clair, Jean-Jacques Girard, Lucien Jacob
and Louis Jadot. Target price for a village Savigny: $23; for Premier Cru:
$28.

Jean-Marc Pavelot, now ably assisted by his equally tall, lean and handsome
son Hugues, is my favorite grower in Savigny. In his large, vaulted cellar
you will find half a dozen very good premier cru Savignys. But do not miss
out on the village wine, which he offers in both red and white.

On the "wrong" side of the main Beaune-Dijon road - that is, the downslope
- we find CHOREY-LES-BEAUNE. There are no premiers crus here and, it
seems, not much interest in single-vineyard wines. Rather, this is a light,
soft, fruity, elegant expression of pinot noir. The grapes can also be used, as
can those of other, lesser Côte de Beaune villages, for the appellation Côte
de Beaune-Villages. Indeed, a mixture of the somewhat solid but rich wine
from Maranges (see below) with the more fragrant and elegant, if lighter,
Chorey-lès-Beaune, is a regular négociant blend.

Tollot-Beaut is, in my view, the best grower in Chorey. Look, too, for the
merchant wines of Bouchard Père & Fils, Joseph Drouhin and Louis Jadot.
Target price for Chorey-lès-Beaune: $20.

For outstanding Chorey-lès-Beaune, I am drawn to the moated Château de

Chorey-lès-Beaune (where one can stay over on a bed-and-breakfast basis).
Run by the Germain family, father François is now semi-retired, and has put
his son, Benoít, and daughter, Aude, in charge of day-to-day wine
production. Together they turn out several premier cru Beaunes, a delicious
white Pernand-Vergelesses and, of course, Château de Chorey-lès-Beaune:
juicy, succulent and deliciously drinkable.

Good Côte de Beaune-Villages can be found at Bouchard Père & Fils,

Drouhin, Jadot and other leading merchants. Target price for Côte de
Beaune-Villages: $19.

Continuing south we skip, out of necessity, over Beaune, Pommard and

Volnay, to reach MONTHÉLIE. Its best wines, put simply, are lesser
Volnays. They show the same elegant, delicate style, but at half the price.
The premier cru Monthélie Champs-Fulliot marches with Volnay Clos des
Chênes. As elsewhere in the minor villages of Burgundy, over the last 20
years Monthélie growers have stopped vinifying with the stems (a fine
practice for the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, but only leading to rustic
wines here because the stems are never ripe), tidied up their cellars, invested
in temperature control and reduced the harvest. Prices remain low because
few consumers have heard of the name, making the wines difficult to sell.

The best Monthélie producers are Éric Boigelot, Bouchard Père & Fils,
Denis Bousset, Didier Darviot, Michel Deschamps, Paul Garaudet and
Monthélie-Douhairet. Target price for Monthélie: $21.

J&A Parent is my favorite source in Monthélie. Following the retirement of

her father, Jean, the charming Annick Parent is now in charge. Much of the
land, hitherto, was leased to neighbors on a sharecropping basis, and these
arrangements still continue in some cases. Annick, who doubles as a child
physiotherapist, makes both red and white wine of surprising purity and
finesse for a wine at this price level. As I remarked in my notebook when I
was sampling her 2000s: Why pay twice as much for indifferent Volnay?

Beyond Monthélie, up in a valley into the Hautes Côtes, lie Auxey-Duresses

and Saint-Romain. AUXEY-DURESSES' wines are cooler, less rich, less
interesting than Monthèlies. Indeed, I would suggest that most of the land is
better planted to chardonnay rather than pinot noir. Yet, above the village
on the slope that includes the premier cru of Clos du Val, some very
worthwhile red wines can be found. This is the best site in the commune.
Look for the following names: Alain Creusefond, André and Bernard Labry,
Henri Latour and Dominique & Vincent Roy.

Just about everybody else in Auxey-Duresses answers to the name Prunier.

Indeed, at least six domaines belonging to individual members of this
family bear the Prunier name. All are quite closely related to each other and
all produce at least acceptable wine, but it is Michel Prunier who stands out
in the crowd. It is hard to think of the somewhat shy, diminutive Michel as
the doyen of the village, but his Clos du Val premier cru is the best red
Auxey-Duresses on the market, and his village wines are not at all without
interest either. Target price for Auxey-Duresses Premier Cru: $21.

Further on still, into the hills, is SAINT-ROMAIN. Again the weather is

cooler, the wines lighter and leaner than Auxey-Duresses. We have seen
three very ripe vintages lately, so the Saint-Romains are not too unfriendly.
They are lightish in body but can be decently unpretentious.

Alain Gras is the leading grower in Saint-Romain. The view from his
courtyard, up in Saint-Romain-le-Haut, perched above a 100-foot cliff, is
breathtaking. You can sometimes see Mont-Blanc, but if so, say the locals,
it will rain the next day. Alain Gras' wines are pure, elegant and full of fruit.
Target price for Saint-Romain: $19.

Further south, beyond the communes of Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and

Chassagne-Montrachet, we arrive in SANTENAY, which, like Savigny,
produces some of the greatest values in Burgundy. Its medium-bodied
wines are plump, fruity, balanced, very easy to drink and surprisingly
elegant. Once again, the wines are a great deal more sophisticated than they
were a generation ago, yet prices remain reasonable.

The most rewarding section lies on the slope adjoining the commune of
Chassagne-Montrachet: premiers crus such as Clos des Tavannes, La
Comme, Les Gravières and Beauregard. La Maladière and Beaurepaire lie
in the middle, above the village. Clos Grand-Rousseau is found to the south.
Even village Santenay is better than you would expect. The commune
boundaries confine the appellation almost entirely to vines on the slope.
Names to look for include: Roger Belland, Denis Clair, René Lequin and
Lucien Muzard. Target price: Villages wine: $22; Premier Cru: $28.

Vincent Girardin has the best address in Santenay. Starting with only seven-
odd acres in the early 1980s, Vincent, now in his early 40s, has expanded to
nearly 35 acres and in the process has also become a wine merchant. He is
currently in the process of relocating from Santenay to a new, custom-built,
modern warehouse on the flat land between Meursault and the A6
autoroute. Vincent Girardin offers a wide range of Santenays in both colors:
medium weight, full of fruit, splendidly balanced and full of interest.

MARANGES - comprising the villages of Dézize, Chouilly and Sampigny -

is the last appellation in the Côte d'Or. The wines have good substance and,
as I previously mentioned, make useful elements in the Côte de Beaune-
Villages blends. In their own right, provided you find a grower whose
Maranges are elegant and not too sturdy, the wines offer excellent value.
The best names include Bernard Bachelet & Fils, Maurice Charleux,
Fernand Chevrot, Contat-Grange and Édouard Monnot. Target price for
Maranges: $19.

Beyond Maranges, a little further east, another group of hills, though not as
continuous as the Côte d'Or, form the base for the Côte Chalonnaise. Three
Chalonnaise villages are of interest to us: RULLY, MERCUREY and
GIVRY (the other two, Bouzeron and Montagny, produce only white wine).

RULLY is the least interesting of the three red wine appellations (its whites
are generally more satisfactory). Yet the last few vintages have seen kind
weather and more generous wines, and the best reds are full of fruit and not
too lean. It is worth trading up to premier cru. Look for the following labels:
Jean-Claude Brelière, Michel Briday, Dubreuil-Janthal, Domaine de la
Folie, Domaine de Grandmougin and the Château de Rully.

Rully's most original wines come from Henri & Paul Jacqueson. The top of
their range consists of reds from the premiers crus of Cloux and
Chaponnières (the Cloux is the best), and two splendidly contrasting whites
from Grésigny and Les Pucelles. One of the notable things about the
Jacqueson cellar used to be a full-size photo of two scantily-clad
nymphettes treading down a vat of grapes. This is no more. Rully, it seems,
has become politically correct. Target price for Rully: $22.

Adjoining Rully is the larger MERCUREY, which, for the most part, faces
due south, and has soils more favorable to pinot noir. The wines are firmer,
richer, a little more expensive and last longer than those of Rully. Again, a
premier cru is worth the extra cost.

The most impressive estates include those of Brintet, Faiveley, Jeanin-

Naltet, Bruno Lorenzon, François Racquillet and Antonin Rodet. Target
price for a Mercurey Premier Cru: $26.

The Domaine Michel Juillot is Mercurey's most esteemed estate. Today it is

ably run by Michel's son, Laurent. The wines are elegant and very well
balanced; standouts in our price range include two reds, the Clos des
Barraults and the Champs-Martin. The white Clos des Barraults is equally
good (they also offer Corton-Charlemagne).

GIVRY is the third village in the Côte Chalonnaise of interest to us. The
nucleus of the commune consists of an elongated amphitheater three miles
in length, splendidly sheltered from the prevailing westerly wind and
blessed with very rocky, limestone soil. Sited above the village, this swath
of hospitable land is rated premier cru. The wines are a bit lighter than
Mercurey's, but have more to them - definition and elegance, as well as
substance - than those of Rully. Admirable domaines include: Chofflet-
Valdenaire, François Lumpp, Jean-Paul Ragot and Clos Salomon/Dujardin.

The Domaine Joblot, in the center of town, is the village's leading source of
Givry. The wines are quite oaky, but not excessively so. Joblot's Clos de la
Servoisine is surprisingly rich, profound and multidimensional. It does not
lack class either. Target price for a Givry for Premier Cru: $24.

Much has been mentioned in the preceding paragraphs about the most
affordable wines turned out by the top growers in the mainstream villages.
But what of the simple Bourgogne Rouge or generic wine from either of the
Hautes Côtes, Nuits-Saint-Georges and Beaune? You could do a lot worse
than to investigate the following:
Bourgogne Rouge: Ghislaine Barthod (Chambolle-Musigny); Louis Jadot
(Beaune); Michel Lafarge (Volnay); Michel Morey-Coffinet (Chassagne-
Montrachet); Thierry Mortet (Gevrey-Chambertin); Michelle & Patrice
Rion (Nuits-St.-Georges Prémeaux) and Fabrice Vigot (Vosne-Romanée).
Target price: $18.

Hautes Côtes de Beaune: Domaine du Bois Guillaume; Denis Carre; Michel

Gros; Henri Latour; Claude Nouveau and Parigot Père & Fils.

Hautes Côtes de Nuits: David Duband; Blanche & Henri Gros; Gros Frère
& Soeur and Thevenot Le Brun & Fils. Target price: $18.

Burgundy is no longer the stuffy, old-fashioned, poor-value-for-money area

it was accused of being 20 years ago. Today there is a large and increasing
number of dedicated producers who offer well-made wine at honest prices.
A Burgundian Pinot Noir offers a delicious flavor, all delicacy, complexity
and finesse. And the wines are not as tiring - indeed, much more food
friendly - as bigger, more alcoholic blockbusters from farther south

in France or, indeed, from California. In short, the best-value Burgundies

are well worth exploring. Happy drinking! ¶

European contributor Clive Coates, MW, is author and publisher of the fine
wine monthly magazine The Vine (for a free sample issue, fax a request to
44.208.995.8943). His latest book, An Encyclopaedia to the Wines and
Domaines of France, was published by The University of California Press.
For further details, visit www.clive-coates.co.uk.