Matt Walls’ hidden gems: Domaine Burgaud, Côte-Rôtie

Which style of Côte-Rôtie do you prefer: traditional or modern?

As winemaking has evolved in Côte-Rôtie, it seems as though wines are increasingly grouped into one style or the other.

But this view is overly simplistic. Domaine Burgaud defies such easy categorisation.

Perhaps this is why the estate remains somewhat under the radar. Though this could simply be down to their size; with 4.5ha, they are a small domaine, but one that crafts reliable, authentic wines that are worth knowing about.

Scroll down to see Matt Walls’ tasting notes and scores for 12 vintages of Domanie Burgaud wines

How Domaine Burgaud started

It all started thanks to Roger Burgaud in the 1950s. In the mornings he worked in the biscuit factory in Ampuis. In the afternoons, however, like so many local men he’d return to the family smallholding to tend to his crops. He was a vigneron at heart, and he bought and replanted vineyards on some of the finest slopes, at a time when much of the appellation had been abandoned.

It was Roger’s son, Bernard, that converted the entire family domaine to viticulture. He took over in 1980 and gradually expanded the domaine to its current size.

They now have vines in the lieux-dits of Côte Blonde, Champin, Leyat, Fongeant, Les Moutonnes and Brosse. Bernard’s son Pierre recently rejoined the estate, and 2020 is his first vintage.

Of their various vineyards, only the vines planted in Côte Blonde are on ‘blonde’ gneiss soils, the rest are on ‘brune’ schist. It’s long been traditional to grow a little Viognier among the Syrah in Côte Blonde, but not here.

‘When my father planted in Côte Blonde, he included some Viognier, but eventually he came to realise that it brought nothing to the finished wine, so he pulled it out,’ says Pierre. So their holdings are now 100% Syrah.

Old vs new

Traditional ways aren’t always the best ways. Perhaps they once served a purpose that’s no longer required, and this, suggests Pierre, is the case with Viognier in Côte-Rôtie.

Before the appellation rule book was published, local winemakers grew Viognier for whites and Syrah for reds on these hillsides.

When appellation officials decided that Côte-Rôtie should be a red-only appellation, they agreed a ‘tolerance’ of up to 20% Viognier in the wines.

Local growers found it useful, because its high sugar levels could help bolster the more moderate Syrah alcohols in cooler vintages. But with climate change, Pierre points out, this is no longer required.

The domaine’s approach to harvesting isn’t exactly traditional either. On their steepest slope, Bernard designed and built a zip wire to deliver trays of hand-picked grapes directly to the cellar. It’s a smart innovation that saves them time and effort.

Winemaking techniques

The use of stems has become a hot topic of late; embraced by traditionalists, discarded by modernists.

When Bernard joined the domaine in 1980, he changed course from using whole bunches to total destemming. They’re sticking to this method going forward as they don’t believe stems bring any benefits to the wine.

On the contrary, they point out that stems reduce acidity, unhelpful in a warming climate, ‘and they can bring herbal flavours that we don’t find that interesting,’ says Pierre. They do believe in using natural yeasts, however, which help to accentuate the expression of terroir.

Traditionally, maceration in Côte-Rôtie involves using a cage to suspend the cap of grape skins in the wine. Here they use a machine to pneumatically punch it down. But again, is traditional always best? Bernard suggests that the primary reason winemakers used to submerge the cap was so it freed them up to work on their other crops and livestock – no longer a worry for most winemakers today.

If a modern winery uses 100% new oak barriques to mature their wine, and a traditional winery prefers to use older demi-muids, where does Burgaud sit here? They use barriques, but only 20% new, and maturation time is fairly short for the region at 15 months, which Bernard says helps ensure the wines have a long life.

When it comes to their range, they’ve resisted the trend for bottling individual lieux-dits. Here they prefer the old-fashioned way – producing just one cuvée, their Côte-Rôtie.

What is Domaine Burgaud’s style?

For wines that are relatively small in stature, almost Burgundian in style, they do have impressive longevity; they’ll develop for 20 years or more in a good vintage.

Stylistically this isn’t an oaky style of Côte-Rôtie, the aromas and flavours are fruit-derived, from grapes that are ripe, but not overripe. They are typically harmonious and balanced with a certain old-fashioned charm.

These aren’t showy wines; they have a quiet elegance, so they might appeal more to established lovers of the style rather than newcomers. Perhaps they’re not as eye-catching as some of their neighbours, but they produce a very genuine Côte-Rôtie that reflects its vintage candidly, and, at around £40/$50 a bottle, they’re at the cheaper end of the scale.

Looking to the future with an eye on the past

With Pierre now installed and his first vintage in barrel, what should we expect?

‘We’re staying in the same vein, in terms of the viticulture and vinification, I haven’t really changed anything,’ he says, and he isn’t planning to either. That doesn’t mean standing still however; his first concern is combatting the effects of climate change on his vines, and reducing their carbon outputs.

‘When I rejoined the estate, I asked a lot of questions, but my father always had very coherent, practical answers,’ says Pierre, which is why he’s happy to continue with the status quo.

This is what I admire in Domaine Burgaud; the pragmatism to select a technique as a means to an end, rather than following tradition, or breaking it, for its own sake.

Domaine Bernard Burgaud: 12 wines back to 2009

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