Burgundy Gains Value

Posted 03/20/2008 at 05:58 AM by Ben

Over the years it has become my habit to cruise right past the red Burgundy aisle in favor of Bordeaux at the local wine shop. It's not that I have found red Burgundy any less profound than Bordeaux on a glass by glass basis, but because Burgundy is more confusing, more inconsistent from vintage to vintage, and more expensive than Bordeaux. But that's changing.

The confusion and inconsistency will always be there, because they are part of Burgundy's DNA. The confusion results from Burgundy's medieval history, which has led to most of the famous vineyards being split up among many owners over the centuries due to French inheritance laws. So while you may adore Domain X's Chambertin, Domain Y's Chambertin may leave you totally cold.

Vintage variation seems to have become somewhat less severe of late, perhaps because of global warming, but Burgundy's northern location means that getting right, healthy grapes is likely to be a challenge in most vintages. Certainly more so than in the semi-maritime climate of Bordeaux.

The piece that is changing for the better is the price of Burgundy. While Bordeaux has been busy raising prices, Burgundy has been showing considerable restraint. While Burgundy still isn't cheap exactly, it's offering a lot of value these days relative to Bordeaux.

Modest Burgundy pricing is especially noticeable in the 2003 and 2004 vintages. Many excellent premier crus from the Côte de Nuits and from the Côte de Beaune are selling in the $40-$50 range. That's roughly the same as the price of the closest Bordeaux equivalents, the classified growths in the second through fifth- rank. That strikes me as as a pretty fair bargain, when one considers that far less premier cru Burgundy is produced compared to classified growth Bordeaux.

But the real deal is in the grand cru Burgundy. At about $150-$200 a bottle, respected grand cru such as Chambertin and Clos Vougeot are going for a veritable song compared to first growth Bordeaux such as Château Lafite-Rothschild, Château Margaux, and Château Mouton-Rothschild, which are pushing the $350-$500 plus range. The Burgundies are every bit as profound.

Fortunately, there are still plenty of high quality Burgundies from the 2004, 2003, and even the 2002 vintage to be found at retailer shelves at very attractive prices.

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