I know I’m a bit late to this party, but good grief is this wine special. I think I paid something like $30 for it, and it would slay giants. A couple nights ago I opened a couple Puligny 1ers from Domaine Leflaive and Genot-Boulanger and I’m honestly not sure this is inferior. Slightly reductive in style, this shows concentrated citrus and has a smooth lemon curd textural feel. Most notably, it’s remarkably bright for an '18 white at this level. The overall impression is so classy, and I suspect it will improve as it unfurls with time. I suppose it’s a touch simple, but who cares? 92 points and that may be stingy.
There are such wonderful wines coming out of non-Cote d’Or Burgundy these days. One of my goals this year is to explore as much of it as I can.
We visited VDJ in 2014. It was our first stop on our Burg trip. I agree 100%. Cote de Chalonnaise is a great value in general.
It was good we went there first because his wine was on many lists, including the 3-star restaurant in Chagny. We ordered it many times. It was less than half the cost of
of any Cote de Beaune.
Too late for that, the already high and deserved reputation of VDJ soared again with his 2019. French critics and journals raved about it (the rvf, Revue vin de France notably) and demand increased a lot. Wines were much more tightly allocated this year, but prices are still great given quality (even if they increased).
IMO, you can add the Bourgogne Blanc to the QPR hall of fame. It comes from rather old vines in Puligny and I found it fantastic in 2019. It’s one of VDJ’s favourite plots from what he told us at the domaine.
The rest was great as well of course (Meix Cadot, Gresigny )
Very tightly allocated indeed. The deal breaker for me was that you had to order 2 village wines for every 1er cru (36 bottles max, 12 premier cru max).
Very disappointed as 2019 is a birth year and I was ready to go deep, but I’m not that interested in Rully village at 22€, even if the wine is good.
Yep, and some cuvées were also limited to 3 bottles max as well. You had to do quick maths before ordering.
To be honest, it didn’t bother me as I found a lot of village great in 2019 both in white (the Bourgogne blanc, Chene and Maizieres) and red (en Guesnes and en Guesnes Wadana even if its priced as a 1st cru given the work behind the cuvee, Maizieres) etc.
So, not at deal breaker for me, but I certainly can understand where you are coming from Alain.
Local shop had this on the shelf so I grabbed a bottle today. Very good. Paid $46 USD and I thought it was well worth it. This is coming from a guy who believes a wine’s first obligation is to be red.
Are there specific things about the appellation that you don’t like? Or is it that the pedestrian label means more than the high quality of the wine?
One of the things I like best about William Kelley’s writing and philosophy is that he truly believes that excellent wine can be made and is being made in these lesser, ignored, or dismissed appellations when the vineyard placement, viticulture and winemaking are highest quality.
Unfortunately where I am the bourgogne blanc was sold out right when I opened the email from the importer. Still I stocked up on some Rully red and white as well as a case of the puligny.
Hmmm no, not at all. I like Rully quite a lot. Believe me, I’m not a high roller and most of the white Bourgogne I drink is (sadly?) not Puligny or Meursault…
It’s just that the Rully Maizières blanc 2015 was 18€ (now 23€). The Meix Cadot was 22€ (now 30€). So the increase in price has been steady, and I prefer (off the top of my head) buying a St Aubin 1er Cru from Gilles Bouton at 21€ than the Rully from D-J. Much better wine imo, but to each his own. That’s just one example, I could list a bunch of quality stuff in the 20-25€ range from lesser know appelations or producers. Bourgogne blanc in the 15-20€ range is one of the things I drink the most.
Thanks for explaining that it’s actually about preferring other wines at that price point. It sounded as if you were saying that EUR22 is too much for a Rully Villages regardless of how good the wine is - “even if the wine is good” I think you said. So, if it wasn’t the quality of the wine that mattered to you, it must be a judgement about the appellation. That struck me as a rut many people get stuck in where they believe a whole category of thing, just because of its category, should dictate its price. Can of worms there, to say the least.
Having enjoyed this 18 rully so much this past weekend it got me thinking. What is comparable to this wine? I hate when chardonnay taste and smells like apple juice. I got none of that in this wine which tells me this is my style so what is like it?
I can’t remember if I’ve had the 2018 Rully village, actually any 2018 for that matter. But I think the style of the domaine is pretty much what you’d expect from a Bourgogne blanc… pear, nuts, sometimes oaky etc.
What makes D-J stand out is the grapes quality due to good work in the vineyard, precision in wine making, etc… you know, the usual stuff that makes great producers great.
But again as for the style, I don’t think there’s a very specific one other than the one that makes you go “F**k it that’s some good chardonnay!”.
Most welcome, I got from the tone of your post that’s what you were hinted at. No worries.
Other cases in point:
I sometimes buy some Guffens-Heynen Saint Véran, Pouilly, etc. despite prices being way out of the usual AOC price range. But the wines might be in the Top 10 of the whole region, up to Chablis.
For my wedding back in 2015, the white wine to go with the fish was a Rully 2013 from Gaëlle et Jérôme Meunier, a pretty small producer my father discovered through the som at one of his favourite restaurant. I paid 9,5€ for this one. Maybe that’s also why 22€ is a bit hard to swallow…
One pretty known domaine which I guess would be available state side would be Jacquesson. Not exactly the same style but very good quality as well.
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