Essential Books on Burgundy?

What are the essential books on Burgundy? Listed by copyright date, I’ve read all of the following:

Burgundy by Anthony Hanson, 1982
Making Sense of Burgundy by Matt Kramer, 1990
Burgundy: A Comprehensive Guide to the Producers, Appellations, and Wines by Robert Parker, 1990
The Great Domaines of Burgundy by Remington Norman, 1992
Romanee-Conti: The World’s Most Fabled Wine by Richard Olney, 1995
A Tribute to the Great Wines of Burgundy: Henry Jayer, Winemaker from Vosne-Romanee by Jacky Rigaux, 1997 (English translation by J. Finkel)
Cote d’Or: A Celebration of the Great Wines of Burgundy by Clive Coates, 1997
The Wines of Burgundy by Clive Coates, 2008
Inside Burgundy: The vineyards, the wine, & the people by Jasper Morris, 2010
The Great Domaines of Burgundy: A Guide to the Finest Wine Producers of the Cote d’Or by Remington Norman and Charles Taylor, 2010
Grand Cru: The Great Wines of Burgundy through the Perspective of Its Finest Vineyards by Remington Norman, 2010
The Pearl of the Cote: The Great Wines of Vosne-Romanee by Allen Meadows, 2010
The Finest Wines of Burgundy: A Guide to the Best Producers of the Cote d’Or and Their Wines by Bill Nanson, 2012
The Original Grand Crus of Burgundy by Charles Curtis, 2014

What other books on the subject are essential? What other books, if not essential, are still good and worthwhile? Though I can only read sufficiently in English, I’d be happy to be aware of excellent books in other languages, too.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts. [cheers.gif] [cheers.gif]

I have always been a fan of:

Grand Crus of the Cote Maconnais by Pierre-Yves Colin Morey

Ma Famile, Mes Vignes Nobles by Jean-Francois Mugneard-Drouhin-Gros-Rousseau-Drouhin-Boillot-Grivot-Drouhin (forward by Ray Walker)

Burgundy, The View from Poughkeepsie by F. Huxley Bainbridge IV

A Scrapbook of Imaginary Burgundy by John Kapon

The Best Burgundies From the Best Estates I Drank Last Week by Clive Coates

And whatever’s in Wine Spectator and Wine Advocate this month.
:slight_smile:

I’ve always been a fan of drinking a bottle and seeing if I want to buy more. Books, critics, and store clerk recommendations be damned!

Kermit Lynch’s Adventures on the Wine Route. Only a few chapters devoted to burgundy, but a terrific insight into commerce and passion.

Thanks, Mark. Yes, Kermit Lynch’s Adventures on the Wine Route is an engaging book; in a similar vein, I enjoyed Terry Theise’s Reading between the Wines, though not addressing Burgundy.

At this point, Dennis, I’m not reading these books for purchase recommendations. I’ve learned enlightening and useful information on Burgundy’s vineyard histories, terroir, grapegrowing, and winemaking, among other things.

Jules Lavalle’s seminal 1855 work “Histoire et Statistique de la Vigne des Grands Vin de la Côte d’Or."

Sorry, couldn’t help myself. :wink:

No problem, Tim. I like the suggestion. Actually, Charles Curtis’s The Original Grand Crus of Burgundy started as a translation of the sections of Lavalle’s Histoire et Statistique that evaluated and rated Burgundy’s vineyards. In his preface, Curtis wrote that he felt Lavalle’s work owed a debt to Dr. Denis Morelot’s Statistique de la Vigne dans le Department de la Cote d’Or, so Curtis then translated relevant sections of Morelot; this led to Curtis translating relevant sections from Andre Jullien’s Topographie de Tous les Vignobles Connus and, eventually, earlier works by Claude Arnoux, Abbe Claude Courtepee and Edme Bequillet, and later works by Charles Albert d’Arnold Bertall, Rene Danguy and Charles Aubertin, and Camille Rodier.

Why is this a joke? I have the book, bought at Athenaeum in Beaune, reprinted by Bouchard pere et fils. I am sure you can order it and have it shipped worldwide. It’s a very interesting read indeed.

Very well done! I especially liked the John Kapon one

The Grand Crus of Gevrey by Dr Sham Bertn

Understanding the terroir of Chambolle by Miss Mue Sinhe

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A few other books include:

H. W. Yoxall’s “The Wines of Burgundy” 2nd edition 1978.
Stephen Gwynn "Burgundy"1934.

Aaron

I was joshing with Maison Ilan fans and disgruntled buyers. I took that from the NYT profile of Ray Walker, but back before the distribution problems, pretty much all the press mentioned him using that and other old texts as preparation to make Grand Cru Burgundy.

Frankly, I thought it was cool at the time, and the subsequent problems don’t relate to reading of old French wine books. So never mind and pardon my sarcasm. I’m going to order the Curtis, as my French is rudimentary at best.

Pretty funny…actually all of them.

I always got the idea that Clive reported on what he drank and not much more…oh, and what people entertained him with.

Kapon’s book should have a forward credited to Allen Meadows. :wink:

Thanks, Aaron. I’ll look for these. Do you recommend them?

I like Yoxall’s book for its discussion of changing vinification techniques and British bottlers during the post WWII years.

Gwynn’s book appears based on Danguy and others for info. So it is not terribly useful but there is a wine list or two with prices from 1934. I guess there are also scattered references to some old vintages the author had drunk.

Aaron

Thanks, Aaron. I ordered Yoxall’s book and will look further for Gwynn’s.

Has anyone read Serena Sutcliffe’s The Wines of Burgundy? If yes, any thoughts or opinions?

Hi Nowell,

I have this in the 2005 edition. A slim, but very good book. Handy to have along at big tastings. I doubt it has any more/better info than what you already have.


OTOH, a newer edition may be better.