Good value red Burgundy: 32 wines to seek out
You can easily spend a small fortune on a bottle of Côte d’Or Pinot Noir if you so desire, but you don’t have to. Here are 32 best buys...
To listen to some people, good value red Burgundy is an oxymoron, right up there with friendly fire, jumbo shrimps and Hell’s Angels.
It all depends on what you mean by value, of course. If you’re in search of a £5.99 bottle of Gevrey-Chambertin – the unicorn of the wine world – you are almost certain to be disappointed. But that doesn’t mean that all Burgundy is second mortgage material.
This leaves a lot of wiggle room for other wines. We looked for wines available at £25 a bottle or less, to see what the region could offer.
Burgundy is predominantly a white wine area, so there’s less red to go round (28% by volume if you include a little bit of rosé). Most of this is made from Pinot Noir, of course, but don’t forget that Burgundy grows some Gamay, too, despite the grape’s banishment by Philip the Bold in 1395.
Gamay doesn’t just pop up in generic appellations such as Coteaux Bourguignons and Bourgogne Passe-tout-grains, but also in the Mâconnais, especially the closer you get to the Beaujolais.
As interest in cru Beaujolais has grown, so people are beginning to look at Gamays from southern Burgundy too. But what about Pinot Noir? Any joy there? Yes, indeed. Drinking basic red Burgundy is much less of a risk than it used to be.
There are several reasons for this:
- climate change (and generally earlier harvests);
- a run of good to very good vintages (the last awful crop was 2004);
- the widespread use of sorting tables, even for basic wines;
- and increased competition.
Plenty of top producers make excellent Bourgogne Rouge, as well as their swankier wines. Nor is the Côte d’Or completely off limits. Chorey-lès-Beaune, Fixin, Maranges, Marsannay, Santenay and Savigny-lès-Beaune are all capable of producing wines that won’t assault your credit card.
Further south, the Côte Chalonnaise provides even richer pickings in the Pinot Noir-focused appellations of Givry and Mercurey, as well as in more Chardonnay-dominated Rully.
Reds from here stack up extremely well, not just against Côte d’Or wines, but against those from the more celebrated Pinot-producing countries of the New World, such as Australia, Chile, New Zealand and South Africa.
And yet for all that, any red Burgundy drinker looking for a bargain will generally find him or herself drinking generic or regional wines. The rules that apply to buying grander wines from the region apply here too. Choose your producer with care and know a little bit about vintages. The best growers and négociants (the latter often have extensive vineyards too) consistently produce good wines.
And the warmer and drier the year, the more you can put a foot on the lower rungs of Burgundy’s quality ladder. This tasting proved that, jumbo shrimps be damned, the region can indeed provide value for money.
Tim Atkin MW is a widely published and awarded wine writer, photographer, judge and communicator. Among other honours, he is a member of the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin in Burgundy
Tim Atkins’ top 32 best buys
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Château de Santenay, Vieilles Vignes, Mercurey, Burgundy, France, 2016
Serious, dense, youthful and focused with deftly integrated oak. Needs time but this is a very impressive red Burgundy at the price, with the concentration...
2016
Château de SantenayMercurey
Dominique Gruhier, Domaine de l’Abbaye, Bourgogne, Epineuil, Burgundy, France, 2015
Fresh, spicy, savoury with some oak, showing sweet cranberry and raspberry flavours and the restraint and cool elegance of northern Burgundy. Complex and well balanced,...
2015
Dominique GruhierBourgogne
Domaine Besson, Le Haut Colombier, Givry, Burgundy, France, 2016
Impressive, sappy and alluringly perfumed with plenty of summer pudding fruit, notes of rose petal and violet and subtle vanilla oak. The tannins are very...
2016
Domaine BessonGivry
Albert Bichot, Secret de Famille, Bourgogne, Burgundy, France, 2016
Scented, lily-perfumed Pinot that’s appealingly light and ethereal on the nose and palate. It’s the fruit purity that impresses here, highlighting the transparency of red...
2016
Albert BichotBourgogne
Domaine Truchetet, Vieilles Vignes, Bourgogne, Burgundy, France, 2016
From the wilder shores of Burgundian Pinot Noir, showing a savoury bite, this needs more time in bottle to shed a little bit of what...
2016
Domaine TruchetetBourgogne
Derey Freres, Les Champs Perdrix, Marsannay, Burgundy, France, 2015
A wine that shows the class of the 2015 vintage, even in so-called ‘lesser’ appellations. Serious, rich and slightly meaty, with very stylish oak handling...
2015
Derey FreresMarsannay
Domaine des Vercheres, Bourgogne, Burgundy, France, 2016
A generic bottling that emphasises the graceful, fine-boned side of Pinot Noir’s protean personality. Wild strawberry and raspberry coulis aromas lead into a palate that’s...
2016
Domaine des VercheresBourgogne
Domaine Gilles Jourdan, Côte de Nuits-Villages, Burgundy, France, 2015
Some surprisingly good wines lurk within the Côte de Nuits-Villages appellation, and this is a case in point. Perfume is this wine’s calling card: an...
2015
Domaine Gilles JourdanCôte de Nuits-Villages
Domaine Matrot, Vielles Vignes, Maranges, Burgundy, France, 2015
Maranges is an unheralded Côte de Beaune source of value-for-money red Burgundies. This example from a domaine better known for its elegant whites is spicy,...
2015
Domaine MatrotMaranges
Domaine Faiveley, La Framboisière, Mercurey, Burgundy, France, 2016
90
One of the most reliable wines in the Côte Chalonnaise, so good to see it performing well in a blind tasting. Appealing raspberry fruit, with quite a bit of oak influence, at this price level. Good focus, length and balance. What’s not to like?
2016
Domaine FaiveleyMercurey
Domaine Françoise André, Tue-Boeuf, Chorey-lès-Beaune, Burgundy, France, 2015
Showing more grip and firmness than many Chorey wines, even in their youth, this is a comparatively dense Pinot Noir that will reward cellaring. A...
2015
Domaine Françoise AndréChorey-lès-Beaune
Domaine de Monterrain, Mâconnais, Mâcon-Serrières, Burgundy, France, 2015
Don’t forget about Gamay outside the Beaujolais, as it can be equally delicious in the Mâconnais. This is a case in point, showing scented spices...
2015
Domaine de MonterrainMâconnais
Domaine Pierre Labet, Vieilles Vignes, Bourgogne, Burgundy, France, 2014
Can you taste old vines? Sometimes you can. This has very good concentration for a generic red Burgundy, with noteworthy intensity of aromas and flavours....
2014
Domaine Pierre LabetBourgogne
Henri Gouges, Bourgogne, Burgundy, France, 2015
Even at the generic level, Gouges wines are not made for immediate appeal or pleasure. This is built to evolve in bottle, with an undertone...
2015
Henri GougesBourgogne
Jaffelin, Rully, Burgundy, France, 2016
Rully is an appellation that produces under-appreciated reds, such is the dominance of Chardonnay in its vineyards. But this is very smart: delicate, gentle and...
2016
JaffelinRully
Jean-Claude Boisset, Les Ursulines, Bourgogne, Burgundy, France, 2016
90
Another noteworthy showing from a large négociant house, this generic red is perfumed and alluring with nice bramble and tobacco pouch notes, plenty of juicy, crunchy red fruits and a faintly gamey undertone that adds to the complexity.
2016
Jean-Claude BoissetBourgogne
René Lequin-Colin, Santenay, 1er Cru La Comme, Burgundy, France, 2015
Santenay is one of the few villages in the Côte d’Or that can make premier cru wines at an approachable price. This wine underlines the...
2015
René Lequin-ColinSantenay
Vignerons De Mancey, Les Cadoles, Mâconnais, Mâcon-Mancey, Burgundy, France, 2016
An intensely coloured Gamay that wouldn’t look out of place in a line-up of Morgons or Moulin-à-Vents, showing aromas of clove and pepper spice, refreshing,...
2016
Vignerons De ManceyMâconnais
Vignerons De Mancey, Les Essentielles, Bourgogne, Burgundy, France, 2016
One of three wines selected from an up-and-coming cooperative in the Mâconnais, this is another wine that outperformed its lowly appellation and origin. Floral, savoury...
2016
Vignerons De ManceyBourgogne
Domaine Bernard Moreau, Bourgogne, Burgundy, France, 2017
Pale in colour, but that’s no bad thing with Pinot Noir. Spicy and aromatic, with a hint of Turkish Delight on the nose. Juicy, floral...
2017
Domaine Bernard MoreauBourgogne
Domaine Chapuis, Bourgogne, Burgundy, France, 2016
Developed nose and colour, but the palate is juicy and fresh with good minerality and crunchy pomegranate and redcurrant fruit.
2016
Domaine ChapuisBourgogne
Domaine Chofflet-Valdenaire, Cuvée Jean Chofflet, Givry, Burgundy, France, 2016
Complex, savoury and slightly meaty nose, with fresh acidity and some appealing fruit sweetness. Good length and focus with the ability to age.
2016
Domaine Chofflet-ValdenaireGivry
Domaine de la Douaix, Le Clos des Fervelots, Bourgogne, Burgundy, France, 2012
Fresh, sappy, higher altitude style with minerality, zip and acidity. Light, tangy and fresh.
2012
Domaine de la DouaixBourgogne
Domaine Dupré, Bourgogne, Burgundy, France, 2016
Spicy, fresh and stony on the nose and palate, showing bright, aromatic, summer pudding flavours framed by acidity. Peppery finish.
2016
Domaine DupréBourgogne
Jean Guiton, Savigny-lès-Beaune, Burgundy, France, 2015
Fresh, sappy, aromatic and floral. Slightly bitter, oaky finish, but savoury and complex with good underlying concentration.
2015
Jean GuitonSavigny-lès-Beaune
Domaine Michel Juillot, Les Vignes de Maillonge, Mercurey, Burgundy, France, 2016
Vigorous and firm with some extraction. Good fruit focus, aromatic with some reduction. Just slightly lacks fruit sweetness.
2016
Domaine Michel JuillotMercurey
Domaine Pierre Laurent, Bourgogne, Burgundy, France, 2017
Fresh, tangy, Hautes-Côtes style wine with some oak influence. Light and refreshing, and taut on the finish. Juicy and floral.
2017
Domaine Pierre LaurentBourgogne
Domaine Thenard, Givry, 1er Cru Les Bois Chevaux, Burgundy, France, 2013
Light, fruity, pleasant and attractive. Sweet and well made, this is floral and focused with good acidity and some grip.
2013
Domaine ThenardGivry
Françoise & Denis Clair, Bourgogne, Hautes Côtes de Beaune, Burgundy, France, 2015
Sweet oak, tangy and attractive, with some fruit sweetness. Pleasant, if light. Subtle reduction.
2015
Françoise & Denis ClairBourgogne
Girardin Père & Fils, Vieilles Vignes, St-Romain, Burgundy, France, 2015
Light, floral, well balanced, aromatic, juicy, reductive and fresh. Lighter style.
2015
Girardin Père & FilsSt-Romain
Maison Roche de Bellene, Tanners Red Burgundy, Bourgogne, Burgundy, France, 2015
Savoury, chalky notes on the nose. Some reduction, possibly a little too much. But this is young, serious and framed by oak. Needs time.
2015
Maison Roche de BelleneBourgogne
Vignerons De Mancey, Les Essentielles, Mâconnais, Mâcon-Mancey, Burgundy, France, 2016
Dark, plush colour. Pepper and clove spice, suggesting some whole-bunch fermentation, with blackcurrant leaf and red plum flavours and a firm finish.
2016
Vignerons De ManceyMâconnais
