Bourgogne negociants?

To me it all depends on the specific wines if you are looking to find the bottles that are really and truly world class and compete with the finest Domaines like DRC, Leroy, Roumier, Ramonet, Mortet etc.

Overall, my vote would have to go to Jadot. Across the board the wines are solid and many are truly unbelievably fine. Tops at Jadot are Chevalier Montrachet Les Demoiselles (they own the land so this is not truly a "negociant" wine where the negociant buys grapes from others) and Chambolle Les Amoureuses. But better still, Jadot makes some stunning wines in the under $30 range from lesser known regions that are very much worthy of cellaring. Pernand Verglesses Clos de la Criox de Pierre and Savigny Les Beaune Aux Gouettes are prime examples.

The negociant Leroy is probably the best, but the pricing is out of this world. The Bourgognes start at $25 each, and the prices go up very fast- topping out in the mid $100s for the top wines. For quality, it gets no better than Leroy, but you pay a steep price and you must cellar them a very long time. The 1972 Vosne Romanee Beauxmonts is ready now. The 1978 Mersaults (white wines) are still not ready and the 1973 Mersault Les Perrieres (also white and from a so-so vintage overall) is finally in full bloom and wonderful. Wines are stunning across the board.

Drouhin is also very fine. Griottes Chambertin, Montrachet and Batard Montrachet are the finest IMHO. These tend to be more fruity and forward in general, but the winemaking is serious and quite excellent. I find the lower level wines to be spotty in off vintages, but in top years Drouhin is a good choice and also fairly easy to find. 1993 was a stunning year for Drouhin- their best of the vintages I have sampled.

Bouchard I have never been impressed with. Even the specialty wine Beaune Clos de la Mousse is lackluster in my experience. The wine is good, but lacking on the midpalate and often too peppery for my taste.

Louis Latour may be the most overrated negociant in burgundy. The wines are very tasty, but they never come close to the best of their appelations. If you are going to spend $200 on a so-so Latour Montrachet, I figure you might as well blow $300 and get the very good Drouhin or the out of this world Ramonet. And in a less than stellar vintage, these often fall well short of even being very good IMHO.

Verget and Laurent can make very tasty wines, but I find they are too overworked to age well. I was long criticized for this opinion, but the fact these wines are now slow sellers (they used to be hot items) and an ever-increasing number of negative TNs on various boards seem to confirm my initial impressions. As with the Latour example above, these wines are okay but why not spend a bit more and get the real deal?

Girardin is probably the best QPR out there and the wines are widely available. I have never found these wines to reach the peaks of the top Domaines, but the prices do not approach that level either. These wines age well too and I find them to be well balanced and well made for the most part. Girardin is not a bad place to get your wines!

Hope this helps.

Tom.

I guess I had this wine in Paris a few years ago at Lucas-Carton - and it was completely over the hill. And it was not only my bottle

- the sommelier (who tried to steer me to a 1964 Corton) confirmed all bottles being equal.

Add the Musigny (du Domaine) to this list. Had it only once (1971 vintage drunk in 1986), but was one of my all-time Burgundy favorites.

M.

Could be Michael, could be. I have only had the Drouhin Musigny once- the 2000 vintage. And it was pretty stunning come to think of it. If it progresses as I hope, then I would be tempted to add it to my "top Drouhin" list.

Sorry you had a bad go with the 1972 Leroy Beauxmonts. Was it freshly ex-Domaine? My bottles had just been released from Leroy and surely that plays a role in how youthful and fresh they were. I first got them in 1997 I believe.

Take care,

Tom.