With many claims being made in the other thread (“The Pain of Burgundy”) about how there are so many great values available from Burgundy, I thought I’d resurrect this thread to see if anyone wanted to share some of those with the board. I’m not asking for anyone to divulge their double-secret Burgundy insider’s deal, but just some good sensible buys in the low and medium price range which are out there for us plebeians to buy.
It doesn’t even need to be 2009.
Thanks!
Find some 2007 Beaune premier crus from Jadot. They should be in the $30s, at most. Also, the 2007 Savigny les Beaune Narbontons from Jadot is a great value at under $30. I would also recommend 2008s from Jadot, but they will need to be held.
The 2007 Jadots are the best QPR I have tasted lately.
These are usually good, and with careful shopping, they can be found in the $35 - $50 range:
Pavelot Savigny Dominode
Bize Savigny Aux Vergelesses
Bize Savigny Aux Forneaux
Morot Beaune Teurons
Chandon de Briailles Pernand Ile de Vergelesses
Pavelot Pernand Les Vergelesses
I think these are worth considering, sometimes, too:
Matrot Blagny La Piece Sous la Bois
Lamy Saint-Aubin Derriere Chez Edouard V.V.
Question for the OP… Are you looking for inexpensive but good wines to drink in the very near term (this year or so), or are you looking for high value wines to age? In general, wines like those in Nowell’s post will be tasty now, but will age well for a decade or more. However, for sheer bottles/dollar, things like Cotes du Nuits Villages and Bourgognes will end up at $20 and under and offer a lot of near term drinking pleasure (I tasted a few at a local shop this weekend).
For near term drinking, I’d recommend you grab a mixed half case or case of Bourgognes, try them and let the shop know what you liked and what you didn’t. A half case is ~$120, so not a lot of cash and in my experience there’s a very high “yeah, this is pretty good” rate.
Rick, as I said in the original post, “I’m interested in “daily drinkers” (say, <$30) and mid-level QPR Burgs (say, $30-$50).” Maybe slightly more in the latter than the former? Thanks for any suggestions.
Are there any of those $20 wines that have particularly appealed to you recently?
2009 Joseph Drouhin Chorey-les-Beaune from PC for $19.99
yep.
2009 Domaine Jean Fournier Bourgogne Rouge
2009 Frédéric Magnien Bourgogne Rouge
2009 R. Dubois Côtes du Nuits-Villages
2009 Bernard Moreau Bourgogne Passetoutgrains
2009 Domaine Pierre Guillemot Bourgogne Rouge
Tasted the first 4 last Saturday and heard from people who tried the Guillemot and who are in my tasting group that it was good. Look too for the Drouhin Cotes du Nuits Village. For early drinking and even short term aging (~5 years) I think the lower level wines actually excel in vintages like 2009. The vintage tends to be a ‘rising tides lift all boats’ one where the quality gap between lower level wines like a CdV or a Bourgogne and 1er cru wines isn’t as large as it usually is but the price gap tends to be pretty big usually. That makes the lower levels prime value picks. The styles also tend to be more to my liking - no one slams their Bourgogne with 100% new oak, etc. The four wines I tasted all had good acid structure and plenty of fruit.
Well, since this thread was resurrected, I can say that the 09 Voillot Bourgogne that I mentioned in my June post of this thread have been profoundly underwhelming. Definite swing and miss for my palate. 100% agree with Howard on the 07 Jadots. Fantastic juice for the price.
I recently enjoyed a bottle of 2009 Domaine Arlaud Bourgogne Roncevie. I think about $30. Pretty good drink to my new world palate.
Too bad about the Voillot; I have a couple of bottles coming. I’ve tried the Roncevie from a couple of vintages and been underwhelmed. May not have held it long enough.
I have only had a few wines from Voillot and I am not sure that they have been from the best vintages (I know one was a 2003), but I cannot say I am a fan. There are too many other Burgundy producers I like a whole lot better.
Another good QPR producer (at least from the couple of wines I have had from them) is Domaine Dublaire. Also, find a 2006 Bouchard Beaune de Chateau.
I agree on Chandon des Briailles, but Envoyer keeps offering great buys on 2001s and 2002s, so why buy 2009s for near-term consumption.
Now if you want my simple dummies guide to buying good Burgundy, just go to a store with good prices and try Jadot, Bouchard, Drouhin or Faiveley. Big producers, not that hard to find.
Also, Chris, if those are the only <$50 Burgundies your local stores have, find new stores.
That was the selection at Hi Time and Wine Exchange, two pretty good stores, though that was just what 09s they had in stock a couple of months ago, they probably have more now.
I think the lower level wines actually excel in vintages like 2009. The vintage tends to be a ‘rising tides lift all boats’ one where the quality gap between lower level wines like a CdV or a Bourgogne and 1er cru wines isn’t as large as it usually is but the price gap tends to be pretty big usually. That makes the lower levels prime value picks.
That was my thought in posting the thread originally, that this might be a good vintage to get some QPR Burgs both for drinking and for learning/exploring a bit.
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I’ll start looking around to see what is available, particularly nearby.
Well, we’re just talking about the Bourgogne here. Jeremey spoke (wrote) praisingly of Voillot recently, which counts for something, and Meadows also likes the 09 Bourgogne. Maybe it’ll come around. But I’d really like to try the 09 Guillemot Bourgogne.
I just discovered this thread after a google search and decided to resurrect it.
I live in an area where red Burgundy of any grade (good, bad, or indifferent) is nearly impossible to find. The largest wine store in my area…which carries thousands of different labels of wine…has 8 red burgundies (not including Beaujolais types), only one of which is worth considering. This is the Domaine Jean Fournier 2010 Cuvee St. Urbain Marsannay, and it is a gem.
Everything at the aforementioned store is wildly overpriced, so I ordered a case from a small retailer who is by far the least expensive in the area. After 10% case discount it cost me $23.95/bottle, before tax, which is probably more than most of you would pay for it. But at that price it’s still a bargain; really delightful Burgundy, and currently my favorite wine (of all types) in that price range. Every time I drink one of my (preciously hoarded) bottles of Cuvee St. Urbain I wonder why I drink anything else.
Finding other Burgundies to explore at reasonable cost here, is nearly a full-time job. I have resorted to making most of my wine purchases from Internet-retailers, which in itself presents quite a hurdle as our state legislature does its best to prevent this from happening. Every bottle of wine I buy represents about 3 hours of internet research (I find sites like WB to be a great aid). Nearly all of the Burgs listed above (and those at similar threads over at Cellar Tracker, where I am more active) are simply unavailable here, as most internet retailers don’t bother to jump through all the hoops necessary to ship legally to Kentucky.
So keep up the good work, folks, and post your Burgundy bargains. You are helping a poor Burgundy-deprived soul out here who really does need, and appreciate, the help. ![[thankyou.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/d/df165fe9c1593d19166ae7e1ffe5e272089cc07b.gif "thankyou"){kind=small}
Edward,
You might want to start a thread about QPR 2010s - which I find to be a much better vintage than 2009.
Also can you name a few of the retailers that do ship to you? I’d be happy to look at their sites and give you any feedback I have on their available burgs.
OK, I’ll attend to a new thread later today.
Wilkinson Wine Cellars seems, at this point, to be the best of the internet retailers who ship here (and trust me, there are very few of them), but their Burg selection is a bit thin (they are better for Rhones). Macarthur Beverages ships here also, and they have a good selection, but not the best prices. Zachy’s and Kermit Lynch will also ship here, through very expensive third-party shippers, which shoots QPR. There are probably some I’m forgetting; I’ll add others if I remember them.
Best deal here for me is WTSO, and I buy so much stuff from them that they should give me stock in the business and a seat on the board. But wine types there just pop up randomly from the consumer’s perspective.
The best internet retailers, generally, from a standpoint of price and selection, seem to be in California and in the NYC area…and I have not found one of those who ships here (without a third-party shipper) yet. This might be a blessing, otherwise I’d probably go bankrupt… 
OH, and one more thing…the Drouhin 2009 Chorey-les-Beaune can be a bargain (I bought a case of it), but there seems to be a good bit of bottle-to-bottle variation in this one…when it’s “on”, it’s wonderful, but it needs air to shine, and some bottles are too oaky.
Both of the Boisset Bourgognes les Ursulines are fanyastic quality and value in '09 and '10.
I’ve seen them both better other makers 1’er’s blind several times…
This has turned out to be my least favorite vintage for this bottling but it’s still a good one. I’ve been puzzled by the bottle variation too, not really getting oak but rather some bottles just seem unbalanced. I’m gonna let my 6 or so remaining ones rest a couple of years. The 2010’s are pretty great qprs.