Couple of months ago I have been to a tasting about Burgundy. I have borrowed its engaging title, because everybody wants affordable Burgundy, but usually you just cannot get it. The question really is, could a decent Burgundy be affordable at all?
Well, as a matter of fact it can. If you go for appellations its name is not mainstream, maybe less fashionable. You can find gems in generic appellations, like Bourgogne Blanc also. It well might be a rather mixed bag, but you could get hold of real treats for reasonable price. That is what has happened in that wine tasting.
We sampled nine wines and I loved all whites and three items of the reds. Usually I consider myself a red wine drinker, but somehow the whites appealed to me more on this occasion.
Joseph Burrier 2014 Mâcon-Verzé AC
We are at the Mâconnais. 100% Chardonnay from a lesser known, less popular appellation. But not everything is about Poully-Fuisse. Half of the wine fermented in oak barrels, half in stainless steel tanks which results a fresh and, rich Burgundy with pear, acacia, ripe apple. An absolute gem!
Olivier Leflavie - Les Sétilles 2014 Bourgogne AC
100 % Chardonnay from over 60 plots within the communes of Puligny-Montrachet and Meursault. We are at the Côt d'Or! That is not a bad start. This fragmented nature of the source of the grapes gives a greater complexity and results a generic Bourgogne AC wine. In a way it is like a Super Tuscan, without the price tag. Like his famous cousins it is a great and rich wine, with lovely acidity, citrus and ripe stone fruit.
Louis Jadot - Domaine Gagey 2015 Bouzeron AC
From the northern part of Côte Chalonnaise right next to Rully and using the famous third grape variety of Burgundy: Aligote. Fermented and vinified in stainless steel, but the third of it aged in new French Oak. Ripe, lively and peachy!
All wine prices at this tasting vary between £8-£16 per bottle. Don`t you think that is reasonable?
Photographs by The Tannin Addict.