I actually DO want to see vintage reflected, for “better” or “worse”, in the wines I drink. We have elevated terroir as the ultimate goal of all winemaking; wine that gives us the gift of a snapshot of a particular parcel of land in a particular place subject to that year’s particular weather. Might be romantic, but I love the idea of wine as a living reflection of the time and place in which it was made. I want to see fresher wines in cooler years, richer wines in warmer ones; different acid/structure/tannin/fruit quality from year to year. I suppose it’s a bit difficult to separate that from a producer’s signature, and maybe that’s the definition of a great Burgundy; a winemaker who coaxes out, above all, a sense of balance and harmony while reflecting the conditions under which the grapes were grown, year after year. Aside from the real-life effects on the ground, the real tragedy of climate change when it comes to wine is the creep of homogeneity. I think that the generally accepted definition of a “great” vintage being one of richness and concentration is a mistake, especially when it comes to Burgundy. The quest for “perfection” is quixotic at the best of times, after all.
I…did not answer your question. But I would think a start would be a generally accepted upper tier lieu-dit or 1er cru from a great producer, perhaps. A GC will likely carry some baseline level of concentration and a lower-level offering perhaps by definition always a sense of relative anonymity, but a quality vineyard in the middle might be a good jumping-off point.
“good for a bad vintage” - i.e., not green for a 2004 or 2011, or not an overripe mess for a 2003 (this is more for "stellar for the vintage); or
“much better than the producer usually does since it’s a good vintage”, like what Jadot is for me in 2016 (I don’t usually love Jadot, but have found their 16s consistently great). (This is more for “sleeper of the vintage”.)
Does anyone know the current difference between Domaine Pierre Amiot and Domaine Didier Amiot? I see they’ve amicably split, but I cannot find anything on Didier’s wines, let alone how they compare to Pierre Amiot.
I have not had any wines from Didier Amiot’s estate but last summer I tasted with Chantal Amiot at Domaine Amiot et Fils. Our History - Domaine Amiot et Fils I don’t know it is the character of the vintage we tasted (2021), their son Leon coming to work at the winery or what, but I thought these were the best wines I have tasted from Amiot. Relatively short visit to Burgundy - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers I opened a bottle of 2021 MSD Ruchots a few months ago and it was fabulous. I should have bought a whole lot more of this.
This would be a whole lot easier if I actually knew when the wines were young what the best possible years for Burgundy is. 2005 was proclaimed the greatest of all possible vintages, but 20 years later they still are way too young to drink and a lot of people have begun to ask whether this is a more wonderful year or a less wonderful year. By contrast, vintages like 2000, 2001, 2007 and 2017 are turning out to be much better than predicted when the wines were young.
What is the more or less wonderful vintage between 2020 and 2021? My guess right now is 2021, but I really don’t know.
For anyone who has read my posts over the years, my answer will not be a surprise. What you are describing are the wines of Jacky Truchot. I wish others made wine in the same style he did.
But, more generally I would look for producers who are outstanding farmers who have old vines.