Is Affordable Burgundy an Oxymoron?
Burgundy wines have a reputation for being very, very expensive, and that’s because, well… they are. Of course, that’s a generalisation, but it’s often true. The wines from Burgundy’s heralded sites in the Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune have fallen out of reach for many wine lovers. Many menu-building sommeliers have written the entire region off, trading in their exorbitantly priced red Burgundy for top shelf Australasian Pinot Noir or even (yes, Gamay-based) Cru Beaujolais. And when shopping for Chardonnay, why should we sell our organs on the underground market to afford the best of the Old World when this fine land is producing outstanding elegant wines at a fraction of the cost of white Burgundy?
Well, don't abandon Burgundy just yet — you only need to know where to look.
While Burgundy gets most of its notoriety — both in price and quality — from its Premier Cru and Grand Cru classified wines, these bottles only make up a combined total of less than 20% of the region's output. The real value can be found in Village wine (about 36% of all production), which is less refined than cru wine made from grapes grown on specifically designated plots of land but generally more complex than regional Bourgogne (about half of all production) although there are some specials to be found here also.
Of course, you can't just pick any old village at random, as some present a very inconsistent range of quality. But a few appellations reliably offer excellent wines that won't require you to declare bankruptcy on your way home from shopping.
| XAVIER MONNOT BOURGOGNE BLANC 2018 |
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| BENJAMIN LEROUX SAVIGNY LES BEAUNE 2017 |
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BLAIN GAGNARD POMMARD 2017 |
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| MARC ROUGEOT DUPIN GIVRY 2019 |
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FAIVELEY 'CLOS DE MYGLANDS' 1ER CRU 2020 |
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