Burgundy is the home of the world's finest chardonnay and the world's finest pinot noir. The iconic names are hellishly expensive and the "average" stuff is consistently more expensive than similar wines from elsewhere.
Add to this the incredible complexity of Burgundy - with hundreds of small communes making it difficult to keep track of, and Burgundy can be a minefield, especially for the reds: don't be surprised if a $30 or $40 bottle is a big disappointment...
On the other hand, get a good one and you're in pinot heaven.
The chardonnay is more reliable, but sometimes the price is higher than it should be, so it still helps to get advice.
Thanks to the focus on Burgundy and pinot noir, there's not a lot in the cheap aisle this time. If the uncertain markets make you nervous about spending, there is a super cheap ($11.95) petit syrah from Mexico you could consider - it's spicy, full and rich, but I did detect an "off" note. Meanwhile, there are plenty of nice pricey wines.
The Red Burgundies
Alain Geoffroy Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2006. $17.95 ** GOOD VALUE **
Very pale ruby colour suggests a light wine, and that's exactly what you get. Fairly muted nose with a spicy hing. Acidity is high and tannins are medium, and though there's very little fruit on the light bodied palate, the cherry fruit that is there is nice and ripe. This fresh pinot needs food to shine. 87/88 points.
Antonin Rodet Santenay Clos Rousseau 2005. $31.95
OK nose, but there's a bit of a cooked note to the dark cherry fruit. It's nicely smooth on the medium bodied palate, which is rather muted. There's cherry fruit and a bit of tobacco and an good finish. 88 points
Domain Chanson Beaune Teurons 2005. $52.95
This premiere cru Burg has a lovely smoky nose with tobacco and just a hint of fruit. Smooth and ripe cherry fruit on the palate, though not as much of the earthiness or barnyard you might expect. The ripe fruit segues into a smooth and lovely finish. 89 points.
Duverygey-Taboureau Pommard 2006. $39.95
Bold nose of dark red fruit with a bit of a cooked note. Very smooth on the palate, which has cherry, dark plum, tobacco and a bit of lemon zest. Acidity and tannins are both high and the fruit levels are good - this one will improve and, in the rarified world of Burgundy, is actually not bad value. 89 points.
The White Burgundies
Alain Chavy Bourgogne Chardonnay 2006. $19.95 ** GOOD VALUE **
Burgundy, France
Great nose of muted and delicate notes of apple, light toffee and some nuttiness. Super fresh on the palate, which has high acidity and is very lightweight in the fruit dept. This was actually a bit disappointing after the lovely nose. Decent finish. 88 points.
Alain Geoffroy Chablis Beauroy 2006. $31.95
Burgundy, France
A lovely nose that's got it all: there's a variety of white fruit notes, some floral hints and some minerality too. Smooth, lean and minerally on the palate, there's a bit of lemon and a lot of freshness. Lovely finish too. 90 points.
Chateau de la Cree Chassagne-Montrachet Morgeot 2006. $79.95
Burgundy, France
Now we're in the "Burgundy's finest" zone... and this is actually not a bad price for taste of chardonnay very near its best. Beautiful nose - rich, toasty, creamy and smoky. Super smooth and fresh on the palate, which has lemons, yellow plum and smoke. Acidity is crisp and there's a lovely smoky finish with some ripe lemon suddenly showing up. Marvellous. 92 points.
Domaine de la Madeliere Chablis 2006. $23.95
Burgundy, France
Here's a very fine Chablis at a good price. Fresh mineral nose with a hint of green apple. Super smooth on the palate, which has yellow plum, another hint of green apple and a nice mineral note. Acidity is actually not very high, but it's not round. 89 points.
Domaine Ferrand Pouilly-Fuisse Lise-Marie 2006. $28.95
Burgundy, France
Light fresh nose with lemon notes. Smooth and fresh on the palate, which has nice rich ripe fruit - white peaches - and there's rich butter notes as well. The finish is muted but lovely, and it stays fresh. Good value even though it's nearly $30. 90 points.
Duvergey-Taboureau Puligny-Montrachet 2006. $53.95
Burgundy, France
Lovely muted nose with lemon hints. Super smooth and fresh on the palate, which is quite minerally and also has smoke, lemon and some toast. Lovely finish. 90 points.
Moillard Macon-Aze 2006. $16.95
Burgundy, France
Macon Villages is the "value priced" destination in Burgundy - in fact one of the only ways to get a white Burgundy under $20 is to look for the word "Macon" on the label. This one has an initial "off" note, but this soon clears to reveal a fairly rich nose with a bit of lemon. It's a little bit round on the palate too, which is surprising, but still reasonably fresh and pleasant. OK finish. 87 points.
Raphael Dubois Cote de Nuits-Villages Les Monts de Boncourts 2006. $31.95
Burgundy, France
Very oaky nose! It's not only Californians who go for that style: though much rarer in Burgundy, the heavily oaked style can be found. The key test for a high-oak wine of any kind is how well the oak is integrated. Raphael Dubois has done a fine job in that respect. The nose is toasty and oaky and even a bit spicy. Smooth and lemon-fresh on the palate, which is on the lighter side and has some buttery, toffee notes. Nice finish. 89 points.
Vincent Sauvestre Savigny-les-Beaune Premier Cru Les Talmettes 2006. $34.95
Burgundy, France
Smooth rich nose of ripe white fruit, including apple. Very fresh acidity and some nice fresh lemon and mineral notes, which are a great counterpoint to the rich ripe fruit. Super smooth finish of more ripe fruit. 90 points.
The Other Whites
Domain Seguin Pouilly Fume 2007. $25.95
Loire Valley, France
Moving just west of Burgundy, we go from the finest chards to the finest sauv blancs. Well, there's Sancerre as well of course, but Pouilly Fume is right up there too and has a similar flavour profile. Some producers use oak, which gives greater complexity, but the "fume" part of the name is there, according to Jancis Robinson, because the wines "supposedly exhibit a 'smoky' flavour, or whiff of gunflint (pierre a fusil)". Well this one's got a lovely sauvignon blanc nose of herbaceous and grassy notes, but reasonably muted. There's even a bit of tropical fruit and lemon too. Acidity is high so it's super fresh on the palate, which seems to have had a light touch of oak (though it could be the "gunflint"...) A nice surprise of white peach on the finish. 90/91 points
Beringer Napa Valley Vineyards Chardonnay 2006. $27.95
Napa, California
Rich, full and fresh nose with nice oak treatment. Good rich California-ripe fruit, including even some tropical notes, as well as some lemon and vanilla/oaky notes. Good finish. 89 points.
Stags' Leap Winery Chardonnay 2006. $29.95
Napa, California
Here's a nice New World goes Old style chard from a well reputed producer: Fresh but muted nose with a bit of apple, very muted, dry and elegant on the palate - acidity is only medium, but it still manages an Old World style with the more apple on the very California fuller body. Lovely finish. 89 points
Amayna Chardonnay 2006. $23.95
San Antonio-Leyda Valley, Chile
Down in Chile there's some Euro influence going on in the chards as well. This is apparently from a newer, cooler region in Chile, very near the Pacific ocean. This one offers a fresh and somewhat smokey nose with nice citrus notes. On the palate, which is smooth, there's some vanilla and a nice seam of minerality. Good finish. 88 points.
Baron Philippe de Rothschild Reserva Chardonnay 2007. $13.95 ** GOOD VALUE **
Casablanca Valley, Chile
Fresh but full chardonnay here with a somewhat fruity nose. With only moderate acidity, it's a little round on the palate, but there are nice vanilla notes, ripe fruit including sweet lemon, and an OK finish. 87 points.
Penfolds Bin 51 Riesling 2007. $23.95
Eden Valley, South Australia
A very pleasant "cool" surprise from hot Australia: a great riesling. Beautiful nose with classic riesling aromatic notes and some nice petrol notes. On the palate it's super dry with some nice minerality, rich, ripe fruit, including citrus, but still very fresh. Terrific and not at all Germanic. 89/90 points.
Albarino D Fefinanes 2006. $21.95
Rias Baixas, Spain
Another fine example of Spain's finest white hits the shelves... this one's got a fresh bright and slightly aromatic nose with citrus, pear and peach. Smooth and full on the palate, as it should be. It's nice and dry and there's fresh citrus fruit more pear fruit and a lovely fresh finish. 89 points.
The Other Reds
Belle Glos Clark & Telephone Vineyard Pinot Noir 2006. $47.95
Santa Maria, California
The rich bold and fruity nose tells you you're in the New World with this fine pinot. There's some spicy notes and cherry on the nose and lots of red fruit, including cherry, on the palate. Almost no secondary notes though, which can be the case with New World pinots. Resonably complex nevertheless and a nice finish too. 89 points.
Thomas Fogarty Pinot Noir 2006. $29.95
Santa Cruz Mountains, California
Moderate-powered nose with a lot of tobacco notes and a little red fruit. It's smooth, clean and elegant on the palate, which is full of ripe cherry fruit and some more secondary notes. Nice finish on this nice Cali pinot. 89 points
Bonterra Syrah 2005. $19.95 ** GOOD VALUE **
Mendocino, California
Lovely rich and bold nose from this reliable producer. Very much a big, ripe and juicy California syrah, but there's the added bonus of fairly high acidity and nice secondary notes of tobacco. Nice finish too. 89 points.
14 Hands Cabernet Sauvignon 2005. $15.95 ** GOOD VALUE **
Columbia River, Washington
Here's a rare chance to try an elusive Washington cab - and at a great price too. We rarely see wines from this state which, by the way, has more than four times as much land under vine as the Okanagan, but the climate of the dry interior of the famously wet state is like the Okanagan only more so: they can do big fruit bombs and this is good example. This is a very New World cab with a big nose of ripe, rich fruit. Soft tannins and moderate acidity make the blackberry and plummy fruit notes lush and easy drinking. The opposite of elegant Burgundy... 87 points
Omaka Springs Estates Falveys Pinot Noir 2006. $23.95
Marlborough, New Zealand
Dark nose of tobacco and black cherry. More tobacco on the palate, which has lots of ripe cherries. Acidity is high but tannins are medium. Pleasant finish. 87/88 points.
Ra Nui Pinot Noir 2006. $24.95
Marlborough, New Zealand
Big and dark nose on this one, with tobacco, spice and a hint of mushroom. Acidity is pretty high and tannins are medium. There's dark cherry fruit and more tobacco on the palate, but not a lot in the way of earthiness. A fairly "serious" New World pinot. 88 points.
Hidden Valley Pinotage 2006. $17.95
Stellenbosch, South Africa
Coffee, spice and dark red fruit on this fine example of South Africa's own grape (there's no serious production of quirky pinotage anywhere else...) Ripe red plum fruit comes through on the palate, acidity and tannins are both high, but there's a nice light finish. Interesting. 88 points
Domaine de Courteillac 2005. $26.95
Bordeaux, France
Rich dark nose with black cherry and fresh tobacco. Smooth and full on the palate. Tannins are high and acidity medium. Cherry and lemon zest are present on the nicely full and very Bordeaux palate. Nice finish too. 89/90 points.
Domaine de la Madone Beaujolais Villages Le Perreon 2006. $14.95 ** TOP VALUE PICK **
Beaujolais, France
Fun fruity nose of ripe strawberries on this fresh clean wine, more alluring than some Beaujolais with its nice darker backbone with a hint of earth. Fresh acidity on the medium bodied palate, which has soft tannins making this an easy drinking sipper. Fun and good quality at a good price. 88 points.
Les Freres Gambier Borgueil le Pigeonnier 2005. $21.95
Loire Valley, France
This is 100% cabernet franc and it shows: classic nose with the dill and bell pepper notes over the muted cherry/berry fruit. Acidity and tannins are both high, and it's very dry. Medium bodied and moderately fruity on the palate, this is very much a food wine - could be fun to compare it to some of Niagara's cab francs. 88 points.
Chateau de L'Engarran Gres de Montpellier 2005 ** GOOD VALUE **
Languedoc, France
Ripe fruity nose of cherries and strawberry sauce and a bit of a cooked note. Acidity is high and it's lighter than expected on the palate. The "assemblage" of syrah, grenache, carignan and mourvedre delivers nice ripe red fruit, some secondary woody notes and a lovely lingering finish. 88 points.
The Sparkling Wines
Billecart-Salmon Brut Rose Champagne. $100.95
Champagne, France
Very pale salmon colour, light red berries and nougat on the nose, which also has bread notes. Very small bubbles and quite lean on the palate. Some lemon notes come through and there's a nice clean finish that lingers. Delicious but hideously expensive: whether it's Russian mobsters' molls or Chinese industrialists showing off, pink champagne is blowing up globally... and the only response to insane demand is insane prices. 90 points.
Taittinger Brut Reserve Champagne. $63.95
Champagne, France
Fresh smooth nose with bread and citrus notes. Super smooth and yet fresh on the palate, which has a creamy mousse and small bubbles. Very dry and fresh with a lovely citrus finish. Great champagne at a better price. 90 points.
Bailly Lapierre Cremant de Bourgogne Pinot Noir Brut 2005. $19.95 ** GOOD VALUE **
Burgundy, France
Fresh sweet nose with bready notes under. Smooth on the palate, which has smaller bubbles and some more bread in the middle. Nice honeyed finish. 88 points.
