Monthly Archives: January 2019

What is the best wine made in Burgundy?

Ok, so I finished this 30 minute essay on time, but looking back on it, I don’t know if I actually answered the question. I sort of did… When discussing the “best” wine in Burgundy, I believe that you MUST incorporate the producer as must as the specific terroir.

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In your opinion, what is the best wine made in Burgundy? If you were talking to a wine novice, how would you explain what is so special (or outstanding, or memorable) about that one particular wine?

Burgundy is an area of such nuance, that it can be completely overwhelming and an exhilarating hunt at the same time. With only two principal grapes, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and a long history of bottling single, small plots, it is overwhelming how different two wines grown next to each other can taste. But once you discover that those two wines do taste different, there is a lot to explore in the region.

To say what is the “best” depends on your budget and circumstances. There can be best value or best experience. The Burgundian terroir can be either wonderfully translated or completely obscured by the winemaker, so part of the hunt in Burgundy involves producers as well as the specific vineyard site. Therefore, there can also be a “best” Burgundy to choose when you don’t recognize the producer.

Some of the best values in Burgundy are outside of the famed Côte d’Or in the Côte Chalonnaise. This subregion is situated right below the Côte d’Or and while it does not benefit from the limestone escarpment of its famous neighbor to the north, there is enough limestone and different expositions that wonderful Pinot Noirs can be found here as well. One wonderful value is from Dureuil-Janthial, especially their Rully Rouge at about $35 per bottle, is a wonderful expression of Burgundian Pinot Noir. The wine is elegantly balanced between fruit and earthiness that you would expect in Burgundy.

If money is not an issue, look for any of the wines from Mugneret-Gibourg for a completely transcendent experience. The wines that these sisters produce quietly strike an emotional cord for their finesse, length of pure Pinot Noir fruits and spicy complexity with a silky texture that is the ultimate expression of Burgundy. While they don’t produce wines that sell for under $125 per bottle, these are also wines that have tremendous ageability and will evolve to include more of a truffled earth expression in time. Their Vosne-Romanée would be an exceptional wine to track down and try to understand why this is one of the best wines in the region.

As previously discussed (and evidence above), knowing the producer is also an important part of understanding Burgundy and when in a situation where you do not recognize producers (on a wine list or in an unfamiliar wine shop), Chablis AOC can usually provide you with the “best” Burgundy. The grape here is 100% Chablis and at the regional level, there is usually no new oak or heavy lees allowing you to experience the bright and flinty character that is so typical of this area.

Understanding Burgundy is not something that can be accomplished in a weekend and it can be a maddening experience once you start to explore. Starting here with the best of what this region has to offer should help you decide if this area is as special as all the wine geeks say.

What makes grower Champagne great?

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This was a 60 minute timed essay that I gave up on after about 40 mins. I am disappointed that, despite working with these wines and drinking these wines for much of my wine career, that I couldn’t articulate the arguments about why they are so wonderful.

I guess that’s why I do these essays. Find my blind spots.

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Describe how you would teach a class on the following subject: What’s so great about grower Champagne? Your target audience is introductory wine students. Include a definition of grower Champagne, the styles of wine expected in the category, and identify at least three specific wines that you would use for tasting.

The Champagne region is one of the most northerly winegrowing regions and has been subject to tremendous vintage variation given the marginal climate. Due to this, the business structure of the region has developed whereby there are many small growers of grapes and larger négociant houses buy these grapes, make the blends and market the wine. More attention has been paid recently to the growers who make their own wines, usually called Farmer Fizz or Grower Champagne. There are several reasons why more gatekeepers and consumers are paying attention to this category of Champagne including the transparency of terroir and vintages, and tremendous value proposition.

In terms of styles, grower Champagne are made in all the expected styles including a non-vintage house style (which may change more frequently from year to year given the more limited ability to blend), rosé, blanc de blancs, blanc de noirs, and prestige cuvées. Growers will, like négociants, use both stainless steel and barrel fermentation (new and used). Again, due to the limited vineyard sources, some cuvées may not be made every year and certainly total quantities overall will be much lower than the négociant houses.

Because grower Champagne is made only from grapes owned by the grower, the grower has less ability to blend from a larger pool of wines and ‘smooth out’ differences in terroir, and this is one of the most interesting aspects of grower Champagne. This transparency of terroir can be on the grapes: wines like Egly-Ouriet will put a magnifying glass on the the power of Pinot Noir as the house is based in Ambonnay, in one of the most respected terroirs for this grape. Transparency can also be of the area: Fleury, based in the southern-most Champagne area of the Aube will show a more accessible and round style of Champagne that accurately reflects this warmer area.

This is not grower Champagne.

Grower Champagne domaines generally have less storage capacity for reserve wines compared to négociants, and therefore, less ability to smooth out vintage variations. As a result, many grower non-vintage styles may include only three to four years’ back of reserve wine whereas négociants routinely blend back up to ten years+ of reserve wines for greater depth and complexity. Instead, less reserve wines will bring vintage variations more into focus.

While not the rule across the board, there is a trend for grower Champagnes to have a lower dosage (final sweetening adjustment immediately after disgorgement) enhancing this transparency to the terroir and the vintage.

Grower Champagnes also have a fascination because of their relative scarcity. On the other hand, there can be more value in a bottle of grower Champagne simply because these Champagnes do not have to support large marketing budgets that are necessary at the négociant houses to maintain the luxury and lifestyle aspirations associated with those wines all over the globe. Gaston-Chiquet’s non-vintage “Tradition” is a classic grower Champagne that exemplifies this value proposition. At around $45 retail, this wine is also 1er Cru and shows the complexity expected of such a high-quality wine, and is a steal compared to the more familiar entry-level Veuve Cliquot at about $60+. One gets the sense that they are paying more for the marketing budget of the latter, though that familiar ‘orange label’ will lower the risk of purchase for wine drinkers who do not spend a lot of time studying Champagne.

Transparency of terroir (grapes and/or area) and transparency of vintages coupled with the value proposition offered by the grower Champagnes makes this category of wine fascinating to gatekeepers and consumers. As Champagne is positioned as the ultimate wine of celebration, and because of the smaller volumes of grower Champagnes, both categories are important to keep up with worldwide demand, and both categories should be appreciated for their respective benefits.

What makes a wine great?

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This is where you can find a lot of great wines.

Another timed practice essay (60 minutes). I love Karen MacNeil’s writing and keep The Wine Bible within arm’s reach. Her opening chapter in this 900+ page book is picking apart what makes a wine great. A refreshing move and the perfect way to set the tone of this book.

I have been schooled to judge a wine’s quality by the typical FA-BLIC-IT standard whereas The Wine Bible goes into more poetic terms and teases apart some aspects that I think need to show up together in order to judge a wine as truly great. In addition to my combination of distinctiveness and terroir below, I also think that any wine that shows non-fruit aromas are inherently also complex. If there any way to show complexity without showing non-fruit flavors?

This was a fun topic to tear apart, though I had trouble naming all of The Wine Bible’s nine attributes of greatness, but I’m pretty such they are all covered by FA-BLIC-IT. Though maybe this opens the discussion comparing the differences of a quality wine and a great wine…

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In your opinion, what are the three most important aspects of “wine greatness” and why?

While it is easy and automatic to decide if a wine is to your liking, to really appreciate a great wine, a taster needs to put aside their subjective opinions and judge a wine on its inherent merits. Greatness in a wine can be defined in several ways and generally incorporates finesse, ageability, balance, length, intensity, complexity, integration and typicity. The Wine Bible defines nine attributes of a great wine that are captured in the list above. The most important of these aspects of wine greatness are non-fruit aromas (part of complexity), precision (part of integration) and the combination of a wine being distinct though still reflecting the terroir of an area (typicity).

Complexity of a wine is defined by the number of discrete aromas and flavors a wine can hold, and a great wine will hold many non-fruit flavors as well as fruit flavors. For example, Beaujolais Nouveau typically shows juicy strawberry and banana flavors. Beautiful flavors on their own, but these wines are typically not regarded as complex. Another Gamay wine from the AOC of Morgon would typically show aromas and flavors of red fruits (cherries, strawberries), dark fruits (blackberry) as well as mineral notes and earth notes of forest floor or mushroom. The wine from Morgon AOC is showing more ‘categories’ of aromas and flavors (fruits, minerality and earth) compared to the Beaujolais Nouveau (just fruits), and this complexity, especially via non-fruit descriptors, is one of the most important aspects of wine greatness.

Off vintage? Yea, not when you are a great wine…

Precision separates good wine from great wine. When a wine can show each of its complex aromas and flavors in defined layers, it should be considered a great wine. A vivid example of this kind of greatness can be found in many parts of the world, including California. There are Napa Cabernet Sauvignons that exhibit all of the power and complexity associated with this region, but, usually a little further up price category, other Napa Cabernet Sauvignons have a precision in delivering blackberry fruit as vividly as vanilla oak notes and as distinctively as showing its smoky notes. Both of these examples are of a balanced wine, but in the latter example, there is not a muddling or a general ‘wash’ of flavors but rather each flavor is vividly etched out across your palate. Even in an off-vintage, a wine like 2004 Château Angelus from St-Emilion in Bordeaux is still exhibiting a precision in flavors which confirms its status as a great wine.

The last aspect is a combination of terroir and distinctiveness. The Wine Bible separates distinctiveness and ability to showcase terroir, but truly great wines will show these together. A distinct wine is to say that it does not show sameness, which is a very important trait to consider when judging a wine’s greatness. However, a wine like Château Beaucastel in Châteauneuf du Pâpe shows a distinction for being only Château Beaucastel. By being atypical for what is expected in this area, this wine is certainly distinct, but falls short of great because its style obscures any sense of terroir. Combining distinctiveness and terroir is one of the most critical aspects of great wines.

A delicious white wine made from Cabernet Franc. Distinct? Yes. Shows terroir? No. Could have been from any cool-climate old world appellation.

While there are many attributes of great wines including distinction, balance, complexity, non-fruit flavors, precision, terroir, length, shape, and ability to evoke an emotion, the most important of these are complexity, precision and that combination of distinctives while still showing where the wine is from. Fortunately for wine drinkers, many wines on the market will exhibit some of these attributes (especially balance and length), but the more of these ‘categories’ of greatness a wine can check off, the more the wine can be considered as one of the world’s great wines.