I am at a point in life where I am starting to build a wine library. My dad always loved Dujac wine. We would drink it over the holidays. I have a sentimental attachment. Candidly I am a red burg novice…but I love it. Trying to learn more. I always knew it as Dujac. Did not have any appreciation for all the nuances of regions, classification, vintage, etc. and I have never had the chance to taste the various wines side by side. For those that have - what do you recommend?? Great producers produce great wine even in sub optimal years. Having said that, any vintages to avoid? I have bought some the grand crus and the 1ers. Candidly I am just guessing. Would love some feedback or personal opinions of other. I recently had an older vintage (06) Dujac village wine. It was excellent. Also recently had the 17 echeveaux grand cru. Very good but wish I would have waited. Trying to buy the village wines when I am able to find them as well but hard to find and often confused with the pere fils. Thanks for any feedback. Also thoughts on their white wines or better to go with traditional white burg producers?
Ryan, I would focus on buying what is available and affordable. Dujac is an excellent producer. I would suggest using CellarTracker as a free resource to see crowdsourced reviews of all the different bottling and vintages.
Dujac is at the pinnacle of Burgundy and is now priced to reflect this.
The wines are quite distinctive and feature whole bunch fermentation in their wine making which gives them a distinctive signature.
I have always loved their Morey Saint Denis village wine (The 96 was probably the wine that really gave me the Burg bug!).
All the Grand Crus are great, and I love the Vosne Malconsorts , but it’s priced in Grand Cru territory. Gevrey Combottes is often excellent, as is the Chambolle Guenchers.
There are tons of other producers to look for and really the best way is to befriend a retailer who will go on the journey with you and has access to a good selection.
Domaine de lÁrlot used to be a great source of affordable reds that were in line with the Dujac style.
As for vintages, they all have their own charms. Do you like ripe styles (eg 09, 15) leaner, finer wines (eg11, 17) or something in between?
It seems that you like wines with a bit more age, look for vintages like 2010 (great balance), 2008 (finer, well priced), 2012,2013, 2014.
One thing I would say is experiment with a range of producers and vineyards and for value look to Mercurey, Rully, Beaune and other less heralded villages. You might be surprised what you uncover.
can’t really add to Kent’s solid advice.
The 14 Echezeaux I had at a dinner a few weeks back was absolutely singing.
Ryan,
And welcome to the board by the way.
The Pere et Fils wines are as I understand it Negociant wines, whereby the fruit is purchased, where as the Domaine wines are made from fruit from their own vineyards.
As to the Dujac whites, I can’t ever recall having ever tried one. Even during a visit to the Domaine my recollection is that we only tasted red wines.
Kent’s advice is excellent. I would add that a lot depends on your price sensitivity/budget. If price is no object, then the grand crus will satisfy for a long time. The Domain Chambolle and Morey St. Denis are very good. The 1ers are very reliable, age well, and are better value than the grand crus (or, absurdly expensive, depending on your POV).
There is already vintage generalization in this thread, but I think any vintage of the last 20+ years would be low risk other than 2003/4/11. I’ve never tasted Dujac from those vintages and who knows, someone may chime in here and explain how Dujac overperformed in those difficult years.
For sure you’ll find better deals (if you can find the wine) for ‘lesser’ years like 2006/7/8/12/13/14/17. I buy a lot from those vintages 
. The top years - 2002/5/9/10/15/16/19 are going to be pricier. Better? Maybe … depends much on your taste and patience.
Happy hunting!
It’s my understanding that the Pere et Fils offerings have increased in quality quite a bit in recent years, but I’m certainly open to being corrected on this point.
Thanks Kent. Good stuff here. I will check out lÁrlot. Seems like there could be good value in Saint Georges. Have bought some Robert Chevillon. My other more value wines that I have been buying are Mongeard, Gros Frere, and D’Angerville.
Thank you. Thoughts on 2020 vintage?
I would highly highly recommend picking up a copy of Jasper Morris’ Inside Burgundy. I started reading it around the beginning of January, and really have found it helpful. I would say that I went from less than a novice to, now, being confident in my knowledge of at least the Cote de Nuit. And, if there is anything I come across I don’t recognize, I can easily find more info in the book to help.
It is an expensive and long book, but, seeing as you are planning on spending thousands of dollars on wine, this isn’t really even a drop in the bucket. Also, I really do think it is the quickest resources to understanding a complicated wine region you will find.
i once had a 2004. As you said, avoid that vintage.
I have as of yet tasted very little of 2020. The big reviewers are generally positive, so it’s probably worth exploring.
I would buy what’s available and affordable. The Morey St Denis is excellent. Best 1er Cru often is Chambolle Gruenchers, and I love the Clos St Denis … finer than CdlRoche and more intense than Echezeaux.
Sure Malconsorts is fine … (not to speak of RSV and Chambertin) …
Chevillon an excellent source.
Gros and MM tend to have more of an oak signature.
D’Angerville a very good source of Volnay, but I do feel my 99s and 02s are still not hitting prime time so patience is important.
Never been offered RSV or Chambertin but do rate highly the Bonnes Mares,
Current d’Angerville is made quite differently from the wines of the previous generation (the shift occurred around 2004), so unless Ryan is backfilling, newer d’Angerville drinks just fine younger. 2013 d’Angerville is in great drinking shape right now.
Thanks Greg. That’s good to know.
I did read that d’angerville changed hands to the son in 2005 so commentary makes sense.
Kent - your favorite l’arlot wine? Thanks again for your insightful replies!!