More QRW Autumn 2007 feature articles:

All Things Grape and Small/Randy Sheahan

Wine Scene:

• Chef Sandro Gamba/Four Seasons Westlake Village
• Chef Ron Siegel/The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, San Francisco
• 10th Professional Excellence Awards
• Happy 5th Birthday Two Buck Chuck
• Harvard Business School Women’s Association

The Word on 2006 Bordeaux/David Peppercorn, M.W.

Then and Now: QRW Covers

At the Pinnacle: Sterling Vineyards/Eleanor and Ray Heald

Better Wine Through Biodynamics at Beaux Frères/Jeff Frees

Red Wine of The Quarter: Heller Estate Merlot 2003/QRW Staff

Wining and Dining in Spain/Edward and Mireille Guiliano

Dernier Cri: First Growths: What Price Glory?/Randy Sheahan

Burgundy’s famous Hospices de Beaune (Photo: B.I.V.B./D.R.)

Burgundy lovers are still reeling from the excessive prices being demanded for the top 2005 futures. In part this greed has been the result of the simple economics of supply and demand: too little wine, too many customers. But if you are inclined to blame the Burgundians, think again. Back in Beaune and Nuits-Saint-Georges, prices merely climbed back, having fallen for the 2004 campaign, to 2003 levels, or to some five or ten percent more. And they will have to decline again next year if growers want to generate any interest in the 2006s. No, the blame for the hike needs to be laid at the doors of the merchants in the middle, the agents, wholesalers and retailers. Here the swankier the vineyard, the greater the reputation of the domaine, the higher the profit margin. If everyone in the pipeline is taking 50 percent rather than 30, no wonder the price the poor (or in this case rich -- for you are going to need to be fairly wealthy to play in this game) consumer is looking to pay double what they were charged only a few years ago.So what is the solution for those of us who are not millionaires, who need to budget? It is very firmly not to buy from second or third division estates and négociants. Nor is it to pass up on magnificent vintages such as 2005. Nor is it to foreswear Burgundy in favor of New Zealand or Oregon. (What a nightmarish thought!) The path to follow is to investigate what the Côte d’Or and the Côte Chalonnaise have to offer, other than the grands crus and premier crus of Vosne-Romanée, Chambolle- Musigny and so on. There is plenty of choice. Much of it, especially in a vintage such as 2005, is very good indeed. Obviously both profit margins and eventual sale prices are much less excessive. Plus, a detail sometimes overlooked, but of importance to those of us the ‘wrong’ side of 65, such as your correspondent, the wines will be ready for drinking sooner.

The object of this article is to extol one particular appellation: Côte de Nuits Villages, but before I do let me quickly run down the Chalonnaise and up through the Côtes of Beaune and Nuits to suggest a few other communes and domaines worthy of attention. All the following produce very good village wines, and, where appropriate, premiers crus, from their own patch. They may well have wines from more illustrious parcels, but these are not the subject of this piece, which is to suggest what can be obtained for no more than a maximum target price of $40 per bottle. Much of what is listed on the following pages is far cheaper.

I have asterisked my favorite sources ...

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Côte Chalonnaise

MONTAGNY

*Stephane Aladame; Alain Roy-Thevenet (Château de la Saule)

GIVRY

Guillemette and Xavier Besson; Didier Erker; *Joblot; *François Lumpp; Du Gardin-Perotto (Clos Salomon)

MERCUREY

Luc Brintet; Faiveley; Michel Juillot; *Bruno Lorenzon; *Philippe Menand; François Raquillet

RULLY

Jean-Claude Breliere; *Michel and Stephane Briday; *Vincent Dureuil-Janthial; Christophe-Jean Grandmougin; *Henri and Paul Jaqueson

BOUZERON

*A. and P. de Villaine

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Côte d’Or

MARANGES

Michel Charleux; Yvon and Chantal Contat-Grange; *Edmond Monnot; *Claude Nouveau; Jean-Claude Regnaudot

SANTENAY

*Roger Belland; François and Denis Clair; Michel and Anne Clair (Domaine de l’Abbaye de Santenay); *Rene Lequin-Colin; Jean Moreau; *Lucien Muzard et Fils; Jean-Claude Vincent

SAINT-AUBIN

Giles Bouton; *Marc Colin et Fils; Pierre-Yves Colin; *Hubert Lamy et Fils; Didier and Denis Larue; Patrick Miolane

SAINT-ROMAIN

Christophe Buisson; *Alain Gras; Bernard Martenot (Domaine de la Perriere)

AUXEY-DURESSES

Alain and Vincent Creusefond; Jean and Gilles Lafouge; Max and Anne-Marye Piguet-Chouet; Dominique and Anne-Marie Piguet-Girardin; Jean-Pierre and Laurent Prunier; Michel Prunier et Fille; Philippe Prunier-Damy

MONTHELIE

Denis Boussey; Maurice Deschamps; *Monthelie-Duhairet

SAVIGNY-LES-BEAUNE

*Simon Bize et Fils; Maurice Ecard; Jean-Michel Giboulot; *Jean-Marc et Hugues Pavelot

CHOREY-LES-BEAUNE

*Château de Chorey-les-Beaune (Domaine Germain); François Gay et Fils; Michel Gay; Pascal and Alain Maillard; Rene Podichard; Tollot-Beaut et Fils

PERNAND-VERGELESSES

Marius Delarche Pere et Fils; Denis Pere et Fils; Laleure-Piot; Pierre Marey et Fils; Regis Pavelot et Fils; Rapet Pere et Fils; *Rollin Pere et Fils

LADOIX

*Chevalier Pere et Fils; Edmond Cournu et Fils; Robert and Raymond Jacob; Jean-Rene and Guillaume Nudant

HAUTES COTES DE BEAUNE ET NUITS

*François Charles et Fils (Nantoux); Lucien Jacob (Echevronne); Mazilly Pere et Fils (Meloisey); Parigot Pere et Fils (Meloisey); *Henri Naudin-Ferrand (Magny-les-Villars); Agnes and Sebastian Pacquet (Meloisey)

MARSANNAY

Regis Bouvier; *Bruno Clair; Christophe Coillot; Collotte; Derey Frères (Domaine de la Croix-Saint-Germain); *Olivier Guyot; Huguenot Pere et fils; *Sylvain Pataille

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Côte de Nuits Villages

Harvesting in Burgundy

Which brings me to Côte de Nuits Villages. It is a small, somewhat complicated, under-recognized appellation. But one well worthy of investigation. Unlike its counterpart further south, Côte de Beaune Villages -- whose wine can come from anywhere in the sector apart from Volnay, Beaune and Pommard (and is only red) -- Côte de Nuits Villages has two distinctive origins -- you can blend the two together -- and can be red or white wine.

The first area for Côte de Nuits Villages comprises the communes of Brochon and Fixin. The better wines from the latter are, of course, labelled as Fixin. Much of Brochon is entitled to the appellation Gevrey-Chambertin. So here we are, in principle, talking about the lesser wines of these two villages, unless, and this is important, a grower might have little bits of vineyard in both, the fruit of which is sensible to vinify together.

The second sector for Côte de Nuits Villages lies at the other end of the Côte de Nuits in the communes of Comblanchien and Corgoloin. Here the countryside is debased by artificial hills, the detritus left over from the marble quarrying of the local rock. But under these mounds of rubble lies a perfectly suitable terrain for the vine, well exposed and well drained. A good Côte de Nuits Villages from here can well rival a Village Nuits-Saint-Georges, while in the hands of a fine craftsman a northern Côte de Nuits Villages is better than the majority of Fixins, if not quite Gevrey-Chambertins.

Merchants, obviously, can buy wines from both elements of this appellation and blend them together.

Naturally the individual growers’ wines will reflect their origins more precisely.

In all this comprises around 160 hectares, all but a handful producing red wine, yielding 6800 hectoliters (75,000 cases of 12 bottles) per year.

A few years ago I was introduced to a charming and very fine winemaker in Corgoloin called Gilles Jourdan. He was at pains to explain to me that his tête de cuvée, La Robignotte, came from the best site in the area. When I looked this up in old books on the Côte d’Or, of which I have a few I’ve collected over the years, I found he was absolutely right. La Robignotte in 1855 was noted as a premier cru.

When I started to research my forthcoming book on Burgundy I started calling on others in the neighborhood. Jourdan said go and see my friend X. X suggested Y. Y pointed me in the direction of Z. I had a happy time. There seemed to be a shared spirit, a combined aspiration towards high quality, and none of the petty jealousy which bedevils other wine regions. I unearthed a large number of very fine sources.

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Here are some of the best:

DENIS BACHELET, GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN A small, very perfectionistic domaine, celebrated for its magnificent Charmes-Chambertin. But all his wines, from his Bourgogne Rouge upwards, are splendid examples of their origins.

HUBERT CHAUVENET-CHOPIN, NUITS-SAINT-GEORGES Chauvenet’s father-in-law is Daniel Chopin-Groffier (it is Burgundian practice to add the name of the wife if she has inherited vineyards of her own) of Corgoloin. A ripe, old-vine-creamy example with plenty of depth.

JEAN-JACQUES CONFURON, PREMEAUX From almost the last house in the commune, Confuron can see his vines in the Côte de Nuits Villages. He is a very able winemaker. This example is a little oakier than most, but not excessively so, and with plenty of richness.

DAVID DUBAND, CHEVANNES Duband is the sharecropper for a Parisian businessman called François Feuillet, as well as having his own domaine. Classic, up-to-date, modern winemaking here. The wines keep well.

JEROME GALEYRAND, GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN From well out in the plain over the motorway outside Gevrey, the young, and recently established Galeyrand produces wines which exude competence. Already a star.

DAMIEN AND LISELOTTE GACHOT-MONNOT, CORGOLOIN Fragrant, supple, elegant wines for relatively early drinking from the 37-year-old Damien, who took over his wife’s family domaine in 1993.

LOUIS JADOT, BEAUNE Jadot’s very wide range of wines -- perhaps the largest in all Burgundy -- includes a splendid Côte de Nuits Villages, and also that rara avis the white version.

GILLES JOURDAN, CORGOLOIN Five and a bit hectares, producing nothing but Côte de Nuits Villages and generics, but at a level unrivalled in the area -- and the Robignotte is yet better.

JEAN-MARC MILLOT, NUITS-SAINT-GEORGES In 2004 Millot moved his headquarters from Comblanchien to Nuits and a brand new cuverie. It has done wonders for his wine. This is a domaine with much that is enviable, including three grands crus. The Côte de Nuits Villages, from a lieu-dit called Clos des Faulques, is delicious.

JEAN PETITOT ET FILS, CORGOLOIN Henri Petitot took over from his father in 2002, and lives in a rather grand mansion behind the village church. The old vine Côte de Nuits Villages, Les Vignottes, is excellent.

JEAN-PIERRE TRECHUCHET, PREMEAUX Old vines, low yields and a lot of attention to detail produce exemplary wine in this modest estate (no premiers crus nor grand crus either, simply Nuits-Saint-Georges and Côte de Nuits Villages).