Red Burgundy Research. Part 1. The Best Villages

[Wine Talks]

Feeling excited to finish my extensive research on Red Burgundy - home for the best Pinot Noir on the planet Earth.⁣⁣⁣

Red Burgundy Research. Part 1. The Best Villages
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Part 1 - the best villages ranking and village appellation profiles. ⁣⁣⁣
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Part 2 - Grand Cru rating and how the best 1er Crus compare to them.⁣⁣⁣
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Part 3 - the best winemakers. Extensive ranking of 100+ producers.⁣⁣⁣
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And remember the rule of thumb when picking your next fine wine. ⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
Follow these 3 criteria strictly in this order:⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
1. Winemaker⁣⁣⁣
2. Terroir⁣⁣⁣
3. Vintage⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
I invite you to a discussion. Which are your Top3 villages of red Burgundy?⁣⁣

[Racer Chris]

Which are your Top3 villages of red Burgundy?

Pauillac, St Julien, Margaux.

[jal]

I applaud the research but it is a complicated project
And I agree with the ranking of Winemaker, Terroir, Vintage.
That said without a doubt for me:
Chambolles Musigny
Volnay
Gevrey Chambertin

But obviously, since winemaker comes first, then Mugnier NSG Clos de la Maréchale is a wine I love and buy whenever I find. Same goes for Roumier's Morey St Denis Clos de la Bussière. So asking us to name the top 3 villages while saying that winemaker is the top criteria is a bit confusing, especially when you say that

The ranking of the village appellations* includes Premier Crus

.

I'm looking forward to the discussion and to hopefully elaborate on it.

[Claudius2]

Wine Talks
I largely agree with the ratings on your site, though I rarely buy wines from Vosne-Romanee due to the very high prices, and over here in Singapore, they are much more expensive than in Europe.
So there is a difference between my absolute favourite villages and those I most often buy.

In terms of absolute purchases, I'd say it would be as follows:

1. Gevry Chambertin
2. Nuits St Georges
3. Beaune (which would be No.2 if I added the whites such as Clos des Mouches)
4. Pommard
5. Volnay.

I have very few wines from CM, VR or MSD. Again, that does not mean I do not like them, but my choices here are limited unless I import them myself (and in fact I bring in wine from Beaune from a few estates).

I am quite happy to look for bargains at auction and for some reason, the wines from Beaune and other Cotes de Beaune villages (SLB, Pommard and to some extent, Volnay) tend to offer better value.
I am however not adverse to buying wines from less famous villages such as Fixin, Marsannay and Santenay.
For some unknown reason, when I first started to drink Burgundy (and that is a long time ago) I gravitated to GC and NSG, maybe as they were popular in Australia at the time. So I tend to know the producers and the individual vineyards better in those villages than anywhere else.

[stefan]

1 Chambolle Musigny
2 Gevrey Chambertin
3 Nuits St Georges

The first two are clear for me except for the order. Deciding on 3 is harder as Volnay is close. I buy more NSG, but that is largely because of price.

[Wine Talks]

I applaud the research but it is a complicated project
And I agree with the ranking of Winemaker, Terroir, Vintage.
That said without a doubt for me:
Chambolles Musigny
Volnay
Gevrey Chambertin

But obviously, since winemaker comes first, then Mugnier NSG Clos de la Maréchale is a wine I love and buy whenever I find. Same goes for Roumier's Morey St Denis Clos de la Bussière. So asking us to name the top 3 villages while saying that winemaker is the top criteria is a bit confusing, especially when you say that

The ranking of the village appellations* includes Premier Crus

.

I'm looking forward to the discussion and to hopefully elaborate on it.

First of all, thank you for your kind words! That means a lot to me. Curiosity and passion drives my motivation to do the study.
To be honest, it takes some courage to share it publicly and be ready for critics, rejection and denial. However, I find lots of support and that encourages me to continue with what I do.

Thank you for sharing your Top3.

The way I present the research findings is intentional. I want to proceed from less important factors to the most important ones. Exactly as I stated in my rule of thumb. It is the winemaker who comes the first and the terroir that follows.
However, I acknowledge the fact that we all have our own stylistic preferences, we are exposed to different experiences. We have our own beliefs.

For example, I often find that the reputation of Grand Crus located in certain village affect the overall image and reputation of the village and its 1er Crus. However, Grand Crus are separate appellations and must be treated accordingly.
Think of Morey-Saint-Denis with 5 GCs. For many it has this image of top tier commune. But the data proves the opposite. On the other hand think of 2nd trio with NSG, Volnay and Pommard which have no GCs.

My research is not the dogma, but rather a provocative invitation into further exploration of this wonderful region of Burgundy.

[DavidG]

Very interesting report. A lot to learn there for the Burgundy novice like me. Thanks for the link, clearly an in-depth project.

For purchase decisions, I would say that there is one factor missing from the rankings, perhaps more important than winemaker, terroir, or vintage: tasting. Tasting before buying is often difficult or impossible, making rankings based on the other factors useful. Though I’d buy on the advice of a trusted palate who's tasted the wine over a ranking system without tasting notes.

[Wine Talks]

Wine Talks
I largely agree with the ratings on your site, though I rarely buy wines from Vosne-Romanee due to the very high prices, and over here in Singapore, they are much more expensive than in Europe.
So there is a difference between my absolute favourite villages and those I most often buy.

In terms of absolute purchases, I'd say it would be as follows:

1. Gevry Chambertin
2. Nuits St Georges
3. Beaune (which would be No.2 if I added the whites such as Clos des Mouches)
4. Pommard
5. Volnay.

I have very few wines from CM, VR or MSD. Again, that does not mean I do not like them, but my choices here are limited unless I import them myself (and in fact I bring in wine from Beaune from a few estates).

I am quite happy to look for bargains at auction and for some reason, the wines from Beaune and other Cotes de Beaune villages (SLB, Pommard and to some extent, Volnay) tend to offer better value.
I am however not adverse to buying wines from less famous villages such as Fixin, Marsannay and Santenay.
For some unknown reason, when I first started to drink Burgundy (and that is a long time ago) I gravitated to GC and NSG, maybe as they were popular in Australia at the time. So I tend to know the producers and the individual vineyards better in those villages than anywhere else.

I am so glad to see your interest to my article and the research. Thank you for sharing your preferences. I fully agree that the price factor is very limiting one.

The aim of my study is to invite wine enthusiasts in further exploration of this wonderful region. I believe the results I arrived to are not set in stone. The region is evolutioning. We see a huge interest and focus recently on lesser appellations most of time driven the skyrocket costs of property in Cote d'Or and its wines. I am very much looking forward to hearing back from you all and will appreciate further discussions as my other chapters being released.

Cheers!

[Wine Talks]

1 Chambolle Musigny
2 Gevrey Chambertin
3 Nuits St Georges

The first two are clear for me except for the order. Deciding on 3 is harder as Volnay is close. I buy more NSG, but that is largely because of price.

Thank you for sharing! Your Top3 fits in my rating. I agree the order is different.
Would be great to hear your thoughts once I publish my other parts of the research.

[Wine Talks]

Very interesting report. A lot to learn there for the Burgundy novice like me. Thanks for the link, clearly an in-depth project.

For purchase decisions, I would say that there is one factor missing from the rankings, perhaps more important than winemaker, terroir, or vintage: tasting. Tasting before buying is often difficult or impossible, making rankings based on the other factors useful. Though I’d buy on the advice of a trusted palate who's tasted the wine over a ranking system without tasting notes.

Thank you for raising a very valid point here.

My whole research is based on analysing the data from professional wine journalists and critics. So in a way that's the underlying basis. My findings reflect the reputation of the villages, sites and winemakers and the overall interest of professionals and their focus.

[Nicklasss]

Thanks for all these information Wine talks. Rating Bourgogne villages is a very tough thing.

I guess that basically, everyone not located in France will have more or less acceess to some village wines, because poduced quantities are low, so it come back to what you have acess.

For me, it is clear that I like my Bourgogne on the "feminine" side, softer, complex but long. So I'm not a fan of Vosne Romanée as i consider these wines heavier.

I don't drink lot of Beaune but I should drink more. I know i'm missing something here.

My 3 favorite village, when I included 1er Crus:

- Chambolle Musigny
- Gevrey Chambertin
- Nuits Saint Georges

If i don't consider 1er Crus, my favorite would be Pommard, and probably Savigny-les-Beaune, both for their sligthly lower price but high quality village wines.

This is just illustrating a bit more the complexity of any ratings of Bourgogne.

Nic

[jal]

Producer to me is the trickiest part in Burgundy. There are just so many, new ones show up all the times, names are similar, hard to tell which one is a negociant, which one is an estate and which is both (or either).

Here's a few examples:
Mongeard Mugneret vs Mugneret Gibourg vs Georges Mugneret (or is that Georges Mugneret Gibourg)?
Hudelot Noellat vs Hudelot-Baillet
de Montille vs Deux Montille (Oh yeah, the siblings did a play on words! How not confusing! esp since they were also involved in making their father's wines)
Louis Carillon's sons inherited his parcels, great, so now there are François Carillon and Jacques Carillon, both produce Villages, 1er Crus and
Grand Crus in Puligny. Go figure which is better, in which year, which terroir... (Jacques' wines are better but in great vintages, there's very little difference between the Puligny Village imo)
And there are dozens more

Production is small - one producer may have made a killer wine one year, then jacked up the price the next year as to make it unaffordable and unobtainable

And let's not forget again that some producer's wine can be growing their own grapes but also bottling negociants wines under the label.

So yes, fine producer first, assuming you know, but going with terroir or vintage first also works sometimes.

Basically, Burgundy is a minefield imo, with plenty of great undervalued regular Bourgogne. But also plenty of incredibly overpriced stuff; WInes of amazing depth (Vogue Musigny, Roumier Musigny), wines that won't be ready for decades (Lafarge Volnay, Faiveley Amoureuses) all selling at obscene prices sometimes in the thousands of $$$. These would make the Bordeaux First Growths pricing look affordable.

So in my opinion, there is no textbook, there's only tasting, and if you like buy a case. Even the Village can age and last a few years.

Sorry about the rant

[AKR]

RRV FTW!

[Wine Talks]

Thanks for all these information Wine talks. Rating Bourgogne villages is a very tough thing.

I guess that basically, everyone not located in France will have more or less acceess to some village wines, because poduced quantities are low, so it come back to what you have acess.

For me, it is clear that I like my Bourgogne on the "feminine" side, softer, complex but long. So I'm not a fan of Vosne Romanée as i consider these wines heavier.

I don't drink lot of Beaune but I should drink more. I know i'm missing something here.

My 3 favorite village, when I included 1er Crus:

- Chambolle Musigny
- Gevrey Chambertin
- Nuits Saint Georges

If i don't consider 1er Crus, my favorite would be Pommard, and probably Savigny-les-Beaune, both for their sligthly lower price but high quality village wines.

This is just illustrating a bit more the complexity of any ratings of Bourgogne.

Nic

Thank you Nic for sharing. I do acknowledge the fact that my undertaking is quite a challenging one.
The idea I am trying to convey is that we might be trapped in some old beliefs. So a fresh look at what data is revealing might be a good signal to re-assess those beliefs.
Burgundy is highly conservative region. However there are many underlying movements and changes ongoing. They are happening right now. And that's a no brainer it will have an impact. So nothing here is set in stone and must remain as is.

New winemakers emerge.
Global warming impacts certain sites / terroirs
New ways of farming and vineyard management
Property cost
Taste preferences of end consumers do change

Many other things are happening.

I hope my findings will trigger a new discussion and will bring the focus of both professionals, experts and enthusiasts back to region to question many things that remain untouched. Burgundy is not static, it is very dynamic. We just need to allow ourselves to notice that.

I hope my research will be provoking enough to have those conversations to occur.

[Wine Talks]

RRV FTW!

Not sure I understand those TLAs (three letter acronyms)

[Wine Talks]

Producer to me is the trickiest part in Burgundy. There are just so many, new ones show up all the times, names are similar, hard to tell which one is a negociant, which one is an estate and which is both (or either).

Here's a few examples:
Mongeard Mugneret vs Mugneret Gibourg vs Georges Mugneret (or is that Georges Mugneret Gibourg)?
Hudelot Noellat vs Hudelot-Baillet
de Montille vs Deux Montille (Oh yeah, the siblings did a play on words! How not confusing! esp since they were also involved in making their father's wines)
Louis Carillon's sons inherited his parcels, great, so now there are François Carillon and Jacques Carillon, both produce Villages, 1er Crus and
Grand Crus in Puligny. Go figure which is better, in which year, which terroir... (Jacques' wines are better but in great vintages, there's very little difference between the Puligny Village imo)
And there are dozens more

Production is small - one producer may have made a killer wine one year, then jacked up the price the next year as to make it unaffordable and unobtainable

And let's not forget again that some producer's wine can be growing their own grapes but also bottling negociants wines under the label.

So yes, fine producer first, assuming you know, but going with terroir or vintage first also works sometimes.

Basically, Burgundy is a minefield imo, with plenty of great undervalued regular Bourgogne. But also plenty of incredibly overpriced stuff; WInes of amazing depth (Vogue Musigny, Roumier Musigny), wines that won't be ready for decades (Lafarge Volnay, Faiveley Amoureuses) all selling at obscene prices sometimes in the thousands of $$$. These would make the Bordeaux First Growths pricing look affordable.

So in my opinion, there is no textbook, there's only tasting, and if you like buy a case. Even the Village can age and last a few years.

Sorry about the rant

Dear jal,

Thank you so much for such a great response and your insights. I find it very helpful and interesting.

I often times observe a tendency to over complicate and mystify things when it has to do with Burgundy. I do acknowledge how complicated Burgundy is. I think that is one of the reasons many wine enthusiast just love it for.
However, giving it some structure and bringing more light in those dark areas might be useful as well.

[JoelD]

Very interesting report. A lot to learn there for the Burgundy novice like me. Thanks for the link, clearly an in-depth project.

For purchase decisions, I would say that there is one factor missing from the rankings, perhaps more important than winemaker, terroir, or vintage: tasting. Tasting before buying is often difficult or impossible, making rankings based on the other factors useful. Though I’d buy on the advice of a trusted palate who's tasted the wine over a ranking system without tasting notes.

I would second this, and add to it. Reviews/ratings from multiple sources combined. multiple reviewers if possible + CT. Hard to do this on current releases sometimes but for anything that is 4-10 years old it is much easier. I have had very good luck with this. Just re-enrolled with Burghound yesterday actually

I am still learning and determining my favorite red regions and subregions, however thus far i am a huge fan of the following specific ones:

1) Echezeaux
2a) Volnay(Specifically like Taillepieds and Caillerets)
2b) Gevrey Chambertin

As far as whites, I am a huge Puligny Montrachet fan, especially Les Folatieries, Pucelles, Garenne, Caillerets

[Antoine]

in the cellar ranked by purchases over the years
Grands crus:
1 Gevrey
2 Vosne
3 Vougeot
4 Morey
5 Chambolle
1er crus
1 Chambolle
2 Vosne
3 Nuits
4 Gevrey
Village
1 Chambolle
2 Gevrey
3 Vosne
4 Morey
5 Nuits
I was shocked by the prices quoted in the link... I have never paid more than 500 € for a bottle and most my 1er crus have cost less than 100€ ... although not all for sure

[Claudius2]

Antoine
I agree with your comment about prices.
I get various price lists from domaines directly and they were higher than I'd pay.

[DavidG]

This score analysis reminded me of Alain Bringolf, who used to post here as winemega. He accumulated scores from various pros and non pros and analyzed them statistically. He joined us on our first BWE Bordeaux tour in 2005. Very pleasant guy.