If you love wine, especially Bordeaux, you need to pay special attention to this category. It provides some of the very best values in the world for red wines in the $20 - $50 range. And I’m going to explain why in a short series of posts.
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2014 was one of those rare vintages in Burgundy that was equally good for red and white wines. Most of the hyperbole was directed to the fantastic quality of the white wines. Indeed it is true that from Macon, through the Cote Chalonnaise and in the great growths of the Cote de Beaune - even all the way up to Chablis - the 2014 white Burgundies were hailed by everybody as the greatest vintage since 1992 and so on and on. They are undeniably marvelous.
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...in Chateauneuf-du-Pape, there was a castle that the pope lived in. In the 14th century a castle was built on the hill over the village. This was during the Avignon Papacy when the Pope(s) lived in Avignon rather than Rome. Why? Because French King Philip IV finagled the election of a Frenchman, Clement V to the papacy.
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Chantereves is an absolutely brilliant tiny negociant in Savigny-les-Beaune. The Chantereves team is the very outgoing and charming – Tomoko Kuriyama and her shyer and more reticent husband, Guillaume Bott. Tomoko went to wine school in Geisenhem and became the estate manager at Freiderich Altenkirch in the Rheingau.
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Beaujolais is perhaps the most versatile wine to accompany almost all foods. Probably not good with a caramel stout brownie sundae float, but I have not tried it. However, in Lyon, a town that celebrates food, Beaujolais is served with virtually everything. A salad with warm chicken livers in a mustard vinaigrette? Check. A spinach salad with lardons and warm vinaigrette made with the bacon fat. Cool bottle of Beaujolais--yes! Salmon? Very nice with Fleurie. A roast chicken and Regnie? Yes please. Steak and fries: Morgon. Blood sausage and Chiroubles? Why not.
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More so than any of the other villages covered in this Edges of Burgundy series, Pernand-Vergelesses qualifies for its Edges status thanks to both its red wine and its white wines. Don't be surprised by this: P-V lies just beneath Corton, the great hill and only village (a small exception in Musigny aside) capable of making Grand Cru wine from both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. With two grapes for the price of one village, this is an area worthy of your attention. Let's get started.
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It is easy to see why Marsannay gets "Edges" status. It is literally at the very edge of the Cote d'Or. For a long while, it's wines were all designated mere Bourgogne. That only changed in 1987, when Marsannay was awarded full AOC status. It still does not have any premier crus, and many people still associate it with Rose (interesting fact: Marsannay is the only village entitled to produce in red, white and rose!)
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Our last stop in Chablis was with Patrick Piuze, a 41 year old French Canadian who found his way to Burgundy. He worked the harvest for Franck Grux at Olivier Leflaive in 2000. Grux was so impressed with his hard work and enthusiasm he was offered a job.
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It's true that Mercurey does not produce any reds on the level of the Cote d'Or's greatest. Yet, compared to red wines from many other regions of the world -- including many others that produce Pinot Noir and Chardonnay -- the quality is extremely high and the prices are unaccountably low. Let's get drinking!
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