Top three white Burgundy producers in your cellar

[Anton_D]

This whole thread has cemented one thing in my mind. I own much less white Burgundy than I thought because I actually drink a ton of it…

I am slightly embarrassed to say that I try to drink it soon after purchase before it can show premox.

That whole premox fiasco drove down my white Burgundy drinking by over 90%. (I like to ‘forget’ about wines in the cellar for periods of time and didn’t want the angst of knowing those bottles were sitting around.)

Nowadays, I mostly buy what the small wine shop owners recommend as I encounter them and have lost brand loyalty.

It’s the only grape that’s ever happened to for me.

Your post summed it up well!

[B_Buzzini]

PYCM
La Chablisienne
Caves Duplessis/Billaud Simon

[brodie_thomson]

Raveneau
Dauvissat
Lamy

[Rauno_E_NZ]

Carillon (Louis & Jacques)
Roulot
Boillot / Sauzet (toss up)

[Kent_Comley]

Hubert Lamy
PYCM
Not sure

[Stephen_Williams]

PYCM
Ramonet
Coche

[Kent_Comley]

Nice Stephen. I can’t ever recall seeing a white from Rousseau - which vineyards do they produce?

[mdavis]

Dauvissat
Roulot
Raveneau

[Fred_C]

Thanks for the color William, insightful as always. Sounds like I’ll have to pick up some as soon as I have the chance.

I don’t think you’ll regret it!

A brief resumé of the styles of their main 1er crus may be helpful:

• Vergers: lowest pH, most chiseled but not so austere it doesn’t show well young, 12 drinks well now for example
• Chenevottes: the most exotic and honeyed, as is often the case with this site, planted with very old vines that give low yields, the grapes turn golden fast
• Maltroie: a nice balance between texture of Chenvottes and cut of Vergers
• Clos Saint-Jean: not far from Vergers on the slope, lively but expressive young, this drinks the soonest of all the 1er crus
• Grandes Ruchottes: textural and muscular, some very old vines here, needs a decade of bottle age
• Cardeuse: monopole in red since 1952, from the southern end of Moregot, a contender for the title of best red Chassagne being made

William, thank you for the vineyard comparison!

What about the Morgeot?

Also I know some are Domaine wines and others are negociant. Do you have any preferences?

[Fred_C]

For me it is

Ramonet
Bernard Moreau
Bouchard Pere

My numbers for each of these are much lower than for my top red Burgundy producers, which makes sense as I do not want to hold white Burgundies for long periods anymore.

Have been hearing a lot about Bernard Moreau as of late but haven’t gotten around to trying any of the wines. Are there any bottlings in particular that you think are a good introduction to the house style?

I only recently discovered Bernard Moreau myself after picking the Chevalier blind as my top wine and the Batard as top 3 in Don’s 2011 hyphenated Montrachet vintage assessment dinner over the likes of PYCM and Ramonet.

When I went to buy some, the pricing was already as high as Ramonet and PYCM. Clearly this was a wine people have been buying. Alas, the 2017 pricing stateside is in the unobtainium category.

[Howard_Cooper]

This whole thread has cemented one thing in my mind. I own much less white Burgundy than I thought because I actually drink a ton of it…

Great reason.

[William_Kelley]

William, thank you for the vineyard comparison!

What about the Morgeot?

Also I know some are Domaine wines and others are negociant. Do you have any preferences?

That was certainly an omission, given that Moreau is arguably that site’s best exponent today! The Morgeot is muscular and, like the Ruchottes, quite reserved, but always reliably incisive—something not to be taken for granted with Morgeot.

The Caillerets, Bâtard and Chevalier are all purchases/exchanges, with the latter being in must and the two former in grapes. I think they fit into the range pretty seamlessly. Hopefully one day Alex will be able to get the Chevalier in grapes so he can press it, too!

[Howard_Cooper]

For me it is

Ramonet
Bernard Moreau
Bouchard Pere

My numbers for each of these are much lower than for my top red Burgundy producers, which makes sense as I do not want to hold white Burgundies for long periods anymore.

Have been hearing a lot about Bernard Moreau as of late but haven’t gotten around to trying any of the wines. Are there any bottlings in particular that you think are a good introduction to the house style?

I only recently discovered Bernard Moreau myself after picking the Chevalier blind as my top wine and the Batard as top 3 in Don’s 2011 hyphenated Montrachet vintage assessment dinner over the likes of PYCM and Ramonet.

When I went to buy some, the pricing was already as high as Ramonet and PYCM. Clearly this was a wine people have been buying. Alas, the 2017 pricing stateside is in the unobtainium category.

Unobtainable??? I look at wine-searcher and the wines are widely available but it does seem like the prices are vastly different from place to place. We seem to be on the lucky side in DC.

[Howard_Cooper]

That was certainly an omission, given that Moreau is arguably that site’s best exponent today!

I have 2014s from Moreau, Ramonet and Drouhin so I hope to test that issue someday side-by-side, at least from that vintage. However, I had a 2014 Ramonet last week that is going to be really tough for anyone else to beat. [I tasted all three when I was in Burgundy in 2016 so I know all are fabulous.]

[William_Kelley]

That was certainly an omission, given that Moreau is arguably that site’s best exponent today!

I have 2014s from Moreau, Ramonet and Drouhin so I hope to test that issue someday side-by-side, at least from that vintage. However, I had a 2014 Ramonet last week that is going to be really tough for anyone else to beat. [I tasted all three when I was in Burgundy in 2016 so I know all are fabulous.]

In '14, I only have the Ramonet Morgeot in magnum so I am going to have to wait a while longer

My intuition is that the Moreau will prove the more structured of the two, but I agree that in '14 it will be hard to pick a favorite.

[jason_stein]

That was certainly an omission, given that Moreau is arguably that site’s best exponent today!

I have 2014s from Moreau, Ramonet and Drouhin so I hope to test that issue someday side-by-side, at least from that vintage. However, I had a 2014 Ramonet last week that is going to be really tough for anyone else to beat. [I tasted all three when I was in Burgundy in 2016 so I know all are fabulous.]

Ramonet’s lineup in 2014 is simply stunning.

[Howard_Cooper]

That was certainly an omission, given that Moreau is arguably that site’s best exponent today!

I have 2014s from Moreau, Ramonet and Drouhin so I hope to test that issue someday side-by-side, at least from that vintage. However, I had a 2014 Ramonet last week that is going to be really tough for anyone else to beat. [I tasted all three when I was in Burgundy in 2016 so I know all are fabulous.]

In '14, I only have the Ramonet Morgeot in magnum so I am going to have to wait a while longer

My intuition is that the Moreau will prove the more structured of the two, but I agree that in '14 it will be hard to pick a favorite.

I assume that when I drink these wines the big winners will be me and the people I drink the wines with.

[Howard_Cooper]

That was certainly an omission, given that Moreau is arguably that site’s best exponent today!

I have 2014s from Moreau, Ramonet and Drouhin so I hope to test that issue someday side-by-side, at least from that vintage. However, I had a 2014 Ramonet last week that is going to be really tough for anyone else to beat. [I tasted all three when I was in Burgundy in 2016 so I know all are fabulous.]

Ramonet’s lineup in 2014 is simply stunning.

Yep.

[Fred_C]

Unobtainable??? I look at wine-searcher and the wines are widely available but it does seem like the prices are vastly different from place to place. We seem to be on the lucky side in DC.

I was offered only 1 bottle of the Ruchottes and passed on the Chevalier Montrachet at over 1k in 2017.

[Joel_Singer]

Back to our originally scheduled program. The top three White Burgundy producers in my cellar (by number of bottles purchased) are:

1. Henri Boillot
2. Marc Colin
3. Hubert Lamy