QPR Burgundy?

Hey all, thanks in advance to the extent you have thoughts here. I’m a Cali guy, and thus have focused on Cali cabs and pinots over the years, but have found myself getting much more into the European wines in the last decade or so. I have probably 200 bottles of Bordeaux and probably 75+ of Rhone/Loire/Etc, but literally no Burgundy wines. Part (most) of my hesitation has been that decent scoring wines from Burgundy have a consistent high barrier to entry in terms of price. My question is, if I wanted to try a good “gateway” French pinot, does anyone have any recommendations for quality wine at the sub $50 price point? I searched this topic but most responses I could find were years ago. Thanks,

John

I am talking about red wine, of course. I suppose I am looking for something with and nice weight, intensity and minerality.

Would start by reading this thread, which reminds me I really should be posting notes to it: Consolidated off-the-beaten-path Burgundy TNs - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers

Hudelot-Noellat Bourgogne is always a good deal. Best bet is to put together a mixed case of Bourgogne/Village level wine from different producers.

Hudelot-noellat and barthod Bourgogne.
Some of the tardy or h-m burgs from envoyer.
Mongeard-mugneret fixin
Lumpp givry

As you mentioned, sub-$50 in Burgundy can be challenging these days. You will have to likely go to a lesser village or find a great Bourgogne - but it can definitely be done. Although other may have a better idea, here are a few I have purchased at that price point that I have enjoyed:

Voillot Volnay VV
Barthod Bourgogne
Domaine Didier Fornerol Cote de Nuits-Villages
Domaine de Villaine Mercurey 1er
Bruno Clair Marsannay Les Longeroies

Duroché Gevrey-Chambertin

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Barthod is good value, but if you’re coming from Cali Pinot I suspect you will find Hudelot-Noellat more accessible

I’d also recommend Fourrier Bourgogne, but the pricing has continued to creep up and it might be on the border of your $50 threshold

Thank you all, I’ll take a look at the suggestions. $50 isn’t necessarily a hard limit. Just want to get my feet wet before I start lighting the credit card on fire!

Some will disagree with me, but good (red) Burgundy needs age, and I would recommend to search a good AND (close to) mature Burg at auction - rather than buy a 2016/17 in its primary stage - you either will have to wait a decade+ or simply and only get early fruitiness and almost no complexity.
A Savigny-les-Beaune, Cotes-de-Nuits-Village, even a Volnay or Beaune (1er Cru) with some age will provide a lot of pleasure (when from a good producer and the bottle is sound). Why not search for a now mature 2007 ? Usually cannot be a fortune

VV Bourgogne Rouges

That is a great idea, I’ll see what I can find on secondary market

I have found great enjoyment and value by going south to Chalonnaise!
I really like the Chofflet Givry premier cru wines which are inexpensive and their nose is amazing. The nose is the highlight for burgundy in my limited experience. R

Also look for Albert Morot burgs. Many of the premier cru (1ers) wines are under $50. You can also try wines from the village of savigny-les-beaune. They were sorts my entry into burgs and I still love them. Generally they arent too expensive.

I would heartily recommend Guillemot’s single vineyard Savigny wines (particularly Serpentieres) as excellent QPR, punching well above most Bourgogne and Village wines from the CdN. Spending a bit more, perhaps look to Pommard (Violot Guillemard, Comte Armand etc).

I am still new to the Burgundy game but have tried to focus on it in the last year. I agree with Barthod, Hudelot and Guillemard. AF Gros Bourgogne would be another. I agree and prefer older burgundy but would certainly want to spend time getting comfortable on where it came from and how that wine was stored as burgundy tends to be more temperamental even under perfect storage conditions. It also isn’t cheap. You might try vintages like 2014 or 2012 where the pricing is good and may be drinkable a littler earlier, particularly at the village level. I have found that unlike california pinots, burgundy, if tight upon opening, can improve with a delicate decant. Opening in the morning and just letting the bottle sit is generally my first step though. The folks on this board know a lot more than I do, I have learned a lot by reading their posts.

If you can stretch your budget to $75, I think it might be instructive to try a few village wines. I think basic Bourgogne is great but you won’t “get” why people are nuts about Burgundy.

Try Bertheau in Chambolle, Bouley in Volnay, Dujac in Morey, Coquard in Vosne, Mortet in Gevrey-Chambertin too name a few …

Great thread. I would love it if people with newer thoughts would post there instead of or in addition to here so that we all have one excellent reference thread.

From there, I recommend Mercuries from Faiveley or Juillot and anything from Domaine du Moirots or Aubert de Villaine.

In that price range, it is great to compare Hudelot-Noellat’s Chambolle Musigny with his Vosne Romanee. You can also try villages Volnay from Lafarge (legendary producer) and Clerget (great young producer).

In the $50 and under range, these are all great:
-Michel Juillot in Cote Chalonnaise (esp the Clos des Barraults)
-Camus-Bruchon in Savigny (all the 1er cru bottlings can be found under $50 including Narbantons)
-Duroche Gevrey-Chambertin Clos (to me, worth the couple extra dollars over the regular Gevrey as the reduction in the regular bottling can be a little too strong for me)
-Jean Fournier in Marsannay (Clos du Roy is great, and the Bourgogne Chapitre always overperforms)
-Frederic Esmonin in Gevrey (regular Gevrey bottling is under $40 and fantastic)
-Sylvain Pataille in Marsannay (if you can find it)

One more thing I think worth pointing out. If your tastes are starting to lean towards these types of wines and you’re curious about Burgundy, I would certainly also explore the top Beaujolais Crus as they’re pretty much all priced under $50 per bottle and many are better than anything you’ll find at this level in the Cote de Nuits or Cote de Beaune.