In my opinion, it’s simply tight supply and demand curves tipped by Asian demand and fueled by more published Burgundy critics than ever before. Twenty years ago, there were Tanzer and Coates, few using Parker-Rovani for Burgundy. Now, with Meadows, Gilman, Galloni, Kolm, and others coupled with electronic and web info dissemination, it’s far easier to learn about Burgundy and, with wine-searcher, easier to find it. There is also more price consolidation around the median due to wine-searcher, as merchants look to see what others are charging. All of this fuels higher pricing.
I’d also add wine tourism. 30 years ago you could walk the little path that runs just up slope from the Côte de Nuits vineyards and encounter only Frenchman. Now every half hour tourists get dumped in front the Vosne cross and follow the bouncing triangular flag.
It’s a very simple formulation: before the Information Age wine was a quotidian enjoyment for those who either lived in or had a rather direct cultural attachment to a relatively tiny patch of agriculture patrimony. The super abundance of our age changed it. You can lament the obvious --should you be old enough to remember 1981-- or be happy drinking $40 bojo or Clos des Myglands.
I think it’s clear why there is a long run trend to higher pricing. What I wonder is whether the recent (last two years or so) lurch upward in pricing is sustainable. It feels like a lot of grand crus that had already attained the hyper-expensive $150-$250 level are now going for the stratospheric $300-500 level, a lot of good premier crus that were already expensive at $75-100 are aiming for $150-200, etc. Not sure if this is genuinely driven by supply and demand and wonder if they will be able to manage that for the long term, the next dip in the stock market could puncture that bubble.
Plenty of good Premier Crus worth buying. The Louis Boillot Gevrey Evocelles 2009 I had yesterday was delicious.
I also found it to be interesting.
Producing in the Willamette Valley for almost 20 years, the industry was mostly salt of the earth when I started(mostly), and while I can do enough quick math to know that the Drouhin’s were very well off in the 90’s, they were also(and continue to be) down to earth charming people.
That said, with the rise of fine wine pricing in general, for talented wineries(whether talented in quality or talented in marketing) margin can be shockingly high. Especially if the land and winery are paid for.
In Burgundy, pricing on the Grand Crus has always been high but quantities of those wines were low. The real shift is in the less hallowed sites. As William noted, St. Aubin has doubled too. I love Carillon Puligny-Montrachet and I understand that as a top producer, and demand skyrocketing, double the price is acceptable to me, if frustrating. When the Carillon St. Aubin doubles in price, I don’t get it because I simply don’t think the wine is that good. I would rather drink Pepier Muscadet, Savenieres, and Willamette Valley Chardonnay.
I don’t really begrudge the younger generation in Burgundy their prosperity, and it’s probably good for my winery as prices for white Burgundy encourage cost conscious wine drinkers to try my wines as a possible alternative.
… thought evocelles is a village… no need to buy 1er… 
I’m always curious what people think happens post-crisis/bubble/sustained high prices. For Burgundy, it’s easy enough to imagine a global recession causing demand to drop for a few years. For those who raised prices a lot, they still have the profits from the fat years. So now they lower prices as needed and wait for the next upturn. Perhaps a few fail due to over leverage or bad investments. But overall I don’t see conditions changing in the next 20 years to permanently cut Burgundy prices by the 50%-75% needed to return to a regime more affordable to Middle Class Burg Lover.
I’ve been studying the end of the Roman Empire and I just don’t see the kinds of conditions present that could lead to that kind of collapse (barring nuclear war). While global warming is really bad, it’s not going to end the world as we know it in the next 20 years.
On a more positive note, the upside to increased demand and info available is the massive increase in money available to aspiring vignerons to make great wine all over the world.
But rising world temperatures, which causes water & food shortages and then massive refugee flows worldwide and couple this with out-of-control debt and freely available guns and then you start having a real party! Then atomic weapons will simply be the icing on the cake and perhaps Burgundy won’t be very saleable.
Only need to worry if you’re under 60 years of age or have children, relax.
good news for us ole’ timers, that is the first advantage I’ve heard about of being 70 y.o.
Very much agreed on both counts. There may be precious little to touch the best wines made by the best producers in the best vineyards, and I can see paying many hundreds of dollars a bottle for a peak experience because there’s just no other way to get it. But to your point there’s a much wider set of competitors at the next level down, and it really might not be worth paying the Burgundy premium there. I’ve come to that realization over the past few months and am now happy to substitute Copain for Fourrier. Or say a Goodfellow Durant for a Roulot village/bourgogne
Ha! Pre- and post-climate catastrophe will be our generation’s version of pre- and post-phylloxera
I will take anything any advantage - that would be the first - of getting old, it is the freak’n worst experience of my entire life
I wrote a reply to MR. Goodfellow and it is somewhere out in the ethers, damn if I know how this works,
one I expressed my envy of such a cool name - Goodfellow, how can you fail with that if you operate with integrity!
2 - I am sorry I really am not familiar at all with ORegon wines and realize that is an absolute definciny on my end. I’ve no idea how the finer tier compare to fine Burgundy.
You mentioned Drouhin as an Oregon producer and you stated you respect what they do, they also own a U.S. company - Dreyfus Ashby that has taken on the Champagne Drappier which we’ve handled for over 20 years. In helping each other out we’ve a relationship - I’m going ask the PResident of Dreyfus Ashby to put together a case or half a case of the finer Cuvees. Can you help me by recommending anything I should know? I have no knowledge of Oregon Pinot or Drouhin Oregon wines. I’d appreciate the guidance.
I am admittedly or should I say, shameless - Francophile - much to the Exclusion of Domestic wine. I stand guilty as charged.
Thanks
I like DDO.
Burgophiles should seek out Oregon Chardonnay as well as Pinot Noir. The Chardonnays have taken a big step forward in the past decade as vines grow older. Both reward ageing.
Hi William,
If you are putting together a few wines to sample from Domaine Drouhin, I would encourage you to look at a few vintages of the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Specifically 2017, 2016, and 2013(if available). They recently purchased an Eola-Amity Hills vineyard called Roserock, but for exploration of a new region I recommend looking at wines where the producer has significant experience with the vines.
I would also encourage you to look at the Deep Roots Coalition, a group of Willamette Valley wineries committed to dry farming their vines. I feel that the members of this group of wineries(including my own) produce some of the best examples of wines with a connection to place, high quality, and a willingness to let the vineyard dictate the wines. There are plenty of lovely, and usually expensive, Oregon wines available that lack that last quality. The cellar work is so adept that the wines become overly polished and, for me, lack a real expression of terroir. I find that the Deep Roots Coalition members tend to have a high degree of belief in their vineyards as the place where quality is defined.
Also, in France you lose your AOC if you irrigate, and the members of the Deep Roots Coalition generally agree that it’s very hard to keep a true expression of terroir with any significant irrigation. In my opinion, it’s also why so many of the members are popular wines with the Oregon drinkers on the boards(Belle Pente, Cameron, Walter Scott, Brickhouse, Kelley Fox, Westrey, Thomas, etc.)
Thanks, Marcus. Never heard of this group before and surprised I’ve never heard anything like this out of California. Pretty bold for the Western US!
Thank you Marcus!
The group is based, as I am as well, out of the Willamette Valley in Oregon. More northerly climate and much cooler than east of the Cascades.