The Cellar: Affordable Classics from Burgundy

The Cellar: Affordable Classics from Burgundy

Over the past weeks we have crisscrossed the world of wine. From Argentina to Piedmont, to South Africa, back across the Atlantic to Napa Valley then to Austria and most recently, New Zealand. This week and the next our wine travels will bring us back to where it all began, to wine's mother-country and the place most wine lovers love and respect – France. More specifically, we will travel to central eastern France to the region of Burgundy – the home of some of the world’s most sought-after and expensive wine.

Fully understanding all aspects of Burgundy takes serious studying, but in terms of the grapes grown and the quality produced it can be explained fairly simply. Two grape varieties dominate Burgundy; Chardonnay for whites and Pinot Noir for reds. There are roughly four quality levels: regional wines where the grapes are sourced from all of Burgundy, village wines where the grapes are sourced in and around a specific village and finally Premier and Grand Cru wines, which are wines that come from specific vineyards.  

2009 Mâcon-Charnay Franclieu from Jean Manciat

Most of the Burgundy’s in the $10-$20 price range are regional or village wines, but don’t be upset as there are plenty of good wines at this level. Among them this week’s first wine. Burgundian winelabels

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

are notoriously difficult to decipher. ‘Mâcon Charnay’ means that the wine is produced in the sub-region of Mâcon (Mâconnais), within the commune of Charnay. After taking control of his family's 13 acres of Chardonnay grapes, Jean Manciat pulled out of the local cooperative. His mission was to produce more distinct and better-quality wines so he reduced yields and vineyard treatments and resumed the old tradition of hand-harvesting the grapes.

Today Jean Manciat makes some of the region's best, reasonably-priced white Burgundies available in the US market. The 2009 Franclieu featured here is made in ‘Chablis-style’, meaning with no oak but in stainless-steel vats to express the fruity flavors, floral aromas and flinty minerality that characterize this style of Chardonnay. I like it a lot and believe it represents a great value at around $17. It is warmer in the Mâconnais so the fruit gets riper than in the more northern (cooler) sub-regions of Burgundy. The result is a wine that is full in green- and citrus-fruit flavors with mouthwatering acidity but remains crisp and lean in body. A complex and long wine that is worth seeking out.

2009 Bourgogne-Chitry from Marcel Giraudon

This week’s red Burgundy is also a village wine. This wine is from the commune of Chitry, which is not located inside one of the major sub-regions. Because of this the only regional prefix that can be used is the generic

‘Bourgogne’ (Burgundy in French). Chitry is one of a small cluster of wine producing communes located in northwestern Burgundy. Here, Marcel Giraudon runs his family’s 55-acre vineyard and winery producing red, as well as white wines in the cool hills overlooking the valley where the village of Chitry is located.

As with the all reds from Burgundy this is a Pinot Noir, and an interesting one at that. As mentioned, this is a cool climate Pinot. It is a light wine, a far cry from what all you Californian Pinot drinkers probably are used to. It is also fairly acidic, with bright cherries and only vague hints of dirt and spice. While not a hearty food-wine this wine can certainly be enjoyed this with a platter of sliced cheeses and meats, or with a light dinner like, as I had, with tilapia fish tacos. Delish! Make sure you check out next weeks reviews as we explore the other two varietals of Burgundy; Aligote and Gamay. See you then….. 

Enjoy!

Steffen Rasch CSW is ready to answer any wine-related questions, comments or concerns you may have. Feel free to email him at [email protected]. And as always, don’t forget to follow GoLocalProv’s Wine Cellar on Facebook.