I’m sure it won’t be lost on readers that the wines I taste and review are not necessarily the wines I am able to drink at home regularly. Especially when it comes to Burgundy.
As France editor, I’ve been lucky enough to taste some thrilling Burgundy over the years, from the new Domaine de la Romanée-Conti releases shrouded in mystery, to sipping samples of Domaine de Montille, Domaine Dujac and Domaine Leflaive while listening to hip hop in a 16th-century château.
I understand the compulsion to search for the kind of tension, precision, poise and concentration that stops you short mid-sentence.
But Burgundy prices remain at an all-time high, despite a general softening of the secondary fine wine market.
And with plenty of other fine and honourable wines available at far more accessible price points, the question has to be asked: why look to Burgundy at all for value or everyday drinking?
Well, even on a modest home-drinking budget, when you find the right bottle, things can just…slot into place. When you pick up a wine that’s reasonably affordable and delivers freshness and pleasure and not disappointment, you’ll keep going back to it.
So instead of abandoning the search, it’s a region I’ll keep hunting for value in – and if you have some good insights, there’s nothing like the thrill of a canny buy.
Get our daily fine wine reviews, latest wine ratings, news and travel guides delivered straight to your inbox.
Confession time
I want characterful wines and no fussing over food matching
(Image credit: Natalie Earl)
When I’m opening wine at home, I don’t really think about how it will pair with what I’m eating. I’m just not that big on food and wine pairings. There, I’ve said it.
My partner is a great cook, so we pick a dish we want to eat, and we simply pick a wine we feel like drinking – unless there’s heavy spice and heat involved, in which case we tend to stick to beer or cider.
We cook hearty vegetarian dishes where good quality organic vegetables take centre stage. Pulses and grains feature heavily and bring great textural variety.
Our staple flavour palette ranges from the herbs and olive oil of the Mediterranean, to the deep spicing of harissa, ras el hanout, paprika and cumin, to miso, sesame and soy.
It’s simple cooking, but deep and warming. I get as much joy from the food and the wine as separate pleasures as I would from fussing over matching exact flavour, fat or acidity profiles.
That means when I buy Burgundy to drink at home, I’m not looking for a wine that needs a dish to complete it.
Wines that stand on their own
(Image credit: Natalie Earl)
I recently discovered this £30 Montagny 1er cru 2023 from Domaine de Montorge. that packed in so much zesty flavour, there was more than enough going on in the glass to hold its own throughout the evening.
Looking for something more opulent, I recently reached for Maison Roche de Bellene’s Bourgogne Côte d’Or Chardonnay 2022. It has this gorgeous burst of ripe pineapple, the richness of vanilla cream and toast and a really appealing succulence of sweet fruit, balanced by the salinity of crushed sea shells.
It offers a lot of pleasure at the £25-£28 price point.
Beyond style I look for lesser-known appellations that punch above their price. The Pouilly-Loché Les Mûres 2022 from Clos des Rocs is one.
Loché is less well known that neighbouring Fuissé, so it’s a little cheaper, and from the 2024 vintage this site will be reclassified as premier cru, making this 2022 a sweet buy while it lasts. It’s vibrant, racy, with a little confit lemon and tarte tatin.
Auxey-Duresses is another example. The 2021 from Domaine Lafouge is a dainty, perfumed Pinot from a cooler vintage that’s perfect for early drinking and still retails under £30.
Some sleuthing pays off too. I love finding wines that are much more than what they appear.
Secret insights
Domaine Arlaud’s Roncevie Bourgogne 2023 is a favourite of mine for this reason. This 4.8ha plot of Pinot Noir was historically classified as Gevrey-Chambertin, but when Joseph Arlaud, an incomer from neighbouring Morey-St-Denis, bought it in 1964, Arlaud’s half was declassified while the other half remained Gevrey.
Essentially village-level red Burgundy at a regional-level price point, under £30.
I also look for lesser appellations made by renowned producers. Bret Brothers, the négociant side of top producer La Soufrandière, makes Cuvée Terroir du Mâconnais, Mâcon-Villages 2023 which is sourced from from parcels in Pouilly-Fuissé, Pouilly-Loché and Pouilly-Vinzelles.
It’s so mouthwatering yet also has these notes of buttery biscuit and spiced apple.
Or there’s Domaine Tessier’s Cote d’Or Bourgogne – made by a small Meursault domaine from two lieux-dits (Les Pellans and Les Herbeux) in the Meursault appellation and one (Femelottes) in Puligny.
With its rich and silky texture, it’s a steal for the quality.
I have a real soft spot for Aligoté; at its best it can be fragrant, floral, crisp and juicy. The Domaine Jean-Baptiste Ponsot, En l’Asne, Bourgogne Aligoté 2022 is a serious wine in its own right.
From 65-year-old vines (old vines are another thing I look out for, for the extra concentration and depth they can bring) grown in Rully.
And under £20?
Hearty, flavoursome dishes and, in this instance, ‘knockout’ Languedoc wines
(Image credit: Natalie Earl)
If I want something under £20, I’ve more or less accepted Burgundy isn’t really the place to look – personally for that money I’d rather buy something knockout from the Languedoc.
But when I need Burgundy that’s widely available and decent, I turn to a reliable cooperative, like Cave de Lugny.
It produces a fair amount of the own-label Burgundy sold at lower price points in the UK.
I particularly like the Bourgogne Blanc it makes for Yapp Bros (£18.50), and the Crémant de Bourgogne it makes for Tesco (£15).
I’m yet to be truly wowed by red Burgundy at lower price points, so for great value reds with real character I tend to look south instead, to Beaujolais, where fine and ageworthy Gamay can be found for a fraction of the equivalent quality in the Côte d’Or.
Finding everyday drinking wines in Burgundy isn’t easy, but it’s not impossible either, and once you find some favourites they’ll have been worth the wait.
