TN: Ode to lower-end red Burgundy

Sep 12, 2003 2 Replies

(ok, so it's not really an ode, just a comment) Wednesday night Betsy had made mustard chicken, which I usually pair with whiute, but nice cool weather made us lean towards red. The 2000 Francoise & Denis Clair Bourgogne-Hautes Côtes de Beaune was light to medium-bodied, with nice strawberry and cherry fruit, and hints of earth and herbs. Nice finish. Was this profound or complex? No. But I thought of the NY Times tasting panel article of a week ago, where they talked about how it's really hard to find anything at all attractive for less than $30 from Burgundy. Even in the less than outstanding 2000 vintage I found a LOT of pleasure from this wine($12), the Michel Gros Bourgogne-Hautes Côtes de Nuits($13), and the Lafarge Bourgogne ($18). Maybe they should have just bought with more care. Oh, I'd give this a B+ for being a nice, food-friendly, pretty wine. Last night Betsy made boiled lobster, baked rice with toasted almonds, and a stirfry of baby bok choy, Napa cabbage, mushrooms and yellow peppers. I opened the 1999 Genot-Boulanger "Les Bouchères" Meursault 1er Cru. Peaches and tropical fruit with an overlay of nuts, and somewhat buttery. Good acidity, but the wine just has a bit more oak than I'd prefer - though with a somewhat hard edge, not really like a woody CalChard. B


Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre at best. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Dale



Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply


Thanks for this. I've about given up looking for good inexpensive burgs.

As I said in other thread (talking about Aligoté), in Burgundy producer is what to look for. Appelation and vintage matter, but not as much as maker. Dale

Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply

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