Cheap & Cheerful Burgs: is it possible?

The truth be told I've actually been on many-a-tastings lately but just plain lazy to write about it... Well, actually I've been rather busy. You see, I'm running on a tight-rope regime every day. Ferrying two children in the mornings, fetching them back in the evenings, chasing evening conference calls, and running endless errands on weekends do not generally give one a lot of disposable time. But hey, I'm not complaining. So how the hell did I make time to taste (and be merry)? Well, whatever time slots left I have in a week, if there were no other obligations outstanding, I use them for just that -- tasting.

This particular event is indeed a refreshing turn. I am always a believer that wines, in order to be enjoyed and appreciated, must be tasted 'bottom-up' -- i.e., start with the lowly crus, the generics, etc., before moving on up. As a result I spent a majority of my limited burgundy-bashing years drowning in juices that won't make me feel guilty in the morning after. (I'd write more about my burgundy appreciation disciplines at a later time -- that would be a rather hefty topic in its own right.)

Generally these wines tend to be Bourgognes (reds and whites) and less glamorous appellations villages wines. For some reasons, I tend to shy away from generic appellation wines (e.g., Cote-de-Beaune or Cote-de-Nuits Villages) but that's probably a function of supply availability as opposed to personal preferences.

So tonight, the gang gathered for an interesting exercise of tasting recent (and available) retail burgundies costing $80 or less. This exercise hopes to show the versatility of this wondrous region, and the potential breadth of wines we're missing if we so choose to drink only 1er and grand crus. Besides, given the propensity of some of us to drink far more regularly than most vinos, there is an economic interest in this exercise as well...

The wines came in various names in both colours...

Domaine Roulot Bourgogne Blanc 2004

Heritiers des Comtes Lafon Macon-chardonnay Clos de la Crochette 2003

Coche-Dury Bourgogne Blanc 2002

Leflaive Bourgogne Blanc 2002

Claude Dugat Bourgogne Rouge 2001

Meo-Camuzet Frere et Soeur Fixin 2002

Roty Marsannay "Champs Saint Etienne" 2002

Hubert Lignier Gevrey-Chambertin 2001

Cecile Tremblay Vosne-Romanee VV 2003

Maurice Ecard Savigny Les Beaune "Les Narbantons" 1999 & 2002

Louis Jadot Beaune 1er Cru Cent Vignes

Marquis d'Angerville Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Ducs 1976 (okay so this is not a cheap one, but a cheerful one nonetheless)

The trio of the bourgogne blanc show just how diverse and great the quality of these 'humble' wines are. Each show the tell-tale domaine style. I always assert that one of the best ways to tell how good or lousy a domaine is through its interpretation of its bourgogne level wines. This is particularly true to the white burgundies -- probably because white burgundy domaines tend to have a smaller confine of vineyard holdings and so its bourgognes would tend to reflect more closely its elder brothers/sisters. Could that be true? Well, at least that's my theory...

The most complete of the three is the Leflaive -- it's the most voluminous, floral and persistent. The Roulot, given the youthfulness of the wine, is rather thin and disjointed. I do like the malic characteristics though... The Coche-Dury was the most 'serious' of these. It was not cheap by the way, exceeding our budget by a reasonable amount, but we just had to try this famous house. The wine came across smokier and squarer but with a forceful penetrating quality rarely seen in wines at this level. I personally liked it a lot.

The last white from Lafon showed the pointed ripeness of the vintage with a decidedly more exotic, wooded, spicier and pineapple-y character. Nice but hardly distinctive.

Ecard is a reliable source of terroir driven, balanced Savigny-les-Beaune. Interestingly I have encountered not few Savignys that really put the question in my mind why this particular communes aren't more well known than it actually deserves. We have two version of the same Ecard Savigny les Narbantons tonight. The 1999 showed plenty of high-toned cherries which are sweet and coated with an ashy character. It is still closed, but is becoming drinkable, with a nice paler shade of ruby and ended with a dusty tannic grip. Built to age and is not showing sign of nearing its apogee just yet. The 2002 was immediately brighter and more candied. It was creamy, red-fruit drenched and quite primary. Very fruit driven, but not showing the stuff it's got yet. Hard to guess as a Savigny at this stage -- although quite Cote-de-Beaune origin oriented.

If the 02 Ecard was candied, the Cecile Tremblay Vosne 2003 VV is unabashedly spilling out with berries. It almost reminded me of a Beaujolais in its straightforward fruitiness. Creamy and dark raspberries tinged, it has a beguiling almost creamy texture which I could only attribute to the old vines it said it's made of.

Taking a more serious turn, Hubert Lignier's Gevrey 2001 screams of nothing but minerals and dark cherries. It was very Gevrey like (although I didn't guess it as such as in this semi-blind I wasn't aware there was going to be a Gevrey), it was sweet, linear and structured. This has midpalate sweetness. I like.

There was an unusual wine which tasted rather soupy and stemmy. The beetroot aromatics are pronounced, turning floral. On the palate this verged towards rose-syrup. I thought this was plain funky or weird. I guessed Cote-Chalonnaise. Turned out to be a St. Romain red from Domaine de Chassorney vintage 2002. Very advanced and quite tired. Interesting but not inspiring.

Dugat's Bourgogne 2001 showed black cherries, irons and minerals. This had a slightly citric finish and entered very linearly into the mouth into the centre of the palate. I liked this wine and was pleasantly surprised that it had become drinkable. The few bottles I had in the past two years showed nothing like this.

After tasting Meo's Fixin 2003, I am now quite convinced that the house-style of this domaine is quite pronounced. They don't appear very manipulated but there's a distinct confectionery sweet character of its wines. Even the very northerly Fixin region in this vintage showed the same caramelly sweetness and texture and had none of that tangy rusty flavours I expect from a Fixin.

The Roty's Marsannay did not show as well as the 2001 version. This turned out quite fleshy with a waxy midpalate and slightly sticky texture. Honestly I expect more cut from this house.

Jadot never ceases to amaze me. In most blind tastings I've attended, I always end up liking his wines. There's a certain degree of austerity and authority in his wines that I seldom get from other producers, let alone negociants. This has begun to mellow down. Still fresh and voluminous in the mouth with a Beaune-like minerality and angle, this wine reeked of class and length. Remarkable.

The last wine, which is a non-budget for sure, is an education for all. Showing meaty aged aromas, the fruit profile of this wine borders on the exotic with passionfruit and jackfruits suggestions. The fruits are sweet and although lacking the cut of the best vintages, this has length, breed and finesse. A producer to watch indeed with a very special monopole vineyard -- d'Angerville Volnay 1er Clos des Ducs 1976.