Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Why wine? Why Burgundy? Why now?
I had a lot of reasons not to write this column.
For one, it stretches back to the other side of the divide, before the pandemic, when the wine panel was able to convene and taste together without trepidation.
It seems unreal to recall sitting down in unmasked fellowship on a chilly day at the end of February. We had the pleasure of tasting village reds from the Côte de Beaune, the southern section of the heart of Burgundy, all from the deliciously drinkable 2017 vintage.
So much has changed. Now, the future of these and many restaurants is uncertain, as are the fate of millions of jobs and livelihoods.
The cost of the wine also gave me pause. Although these bottles are good values given the current high cost of Burgundy, they are nonetheless relatively expensive. With so many people hurting, should we really be considering them?
I had doubts as well beyond the pandemic. Given the strife and animosity in the wake of the George Floyd killing, and the existential questions Americans are now debating, how do we even begin to talk about wine?
It is true that wine is often no more than a pleasant triviality, something to take the edge off, to ease pain. Opening a bottle and pouring a glass has always served as a popular mode of self-medication, no more so than in these fearful, lonely times.
But good wine can also inspire thoughtful contemplation and introspection, which perhaps now more than ever is in short supply. And it can lead to caring conversations as well, to listening as well as talking, to shared bonds, to new memories and more humane ways of thinking.
I’m not saying good wine is a panacea. It’s up to people to find solutions. But wine has the power to bring people together. Few wines are better equipped than Burgundy to inspire this sort of reflection on values, joy, sorrow and shared humanity.
It’s no accident that in the last 20 years, Burgundy has become the most coveted wine in the world. That is due in part to status-seeking and trophychasing, undeniably.
But Burgundy’s arrival as a luxury good followed its rise in popularity. Part of its appeal is its soulfully complex, subtle and joyful aromas and flavors. The pleasure of Burgundy is amplified many times over by an intellectual attraction to the idea of terroir.
This notion that wine can express the culture of the place in which it was produced is at its most powerful in Burgundy. Nowhere else are the characteristics of land and community envisioned with such intricate detail.
I mentioned that our subject was reds from the Côte de Beaune. The heart of Burgundy, the Côte d’Or, is a long, narrow swath of land that encompasses limestone-and-clay soils, flatlands and a series of east- and south-facing slopes south of the city of Dijon.
The northern half, the Côte de Nuits, contains the most esteemed red wine appellations, including Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey-St.-Denis, Chambolle-Musigny and Vosne/Romanée.
The southern half, the Côte de Beaune, begins just north of the city of Beaune, and includes wonderful white wine appellations like Corton-Charlemagne, Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne Montrachet.
It also includes a number of red wine areas like Volnay, Pommard, Monthelie and Santenay; numerous appellations around Beaune, including Savigny-lès-Beaune and Chorey-lès-Beaune, and around Corton, like Aloxe Corton and Pernand Vergelesses.
Within the hierarchy of Burgundy, in which vineyards are judged on their potential to yield great and distinctive wines, the most exalted vineyards are the grand crus. Just underneath are the premier cru vineyards, which are thought to be exceptional enough to warrant singling out,but not so great as to achieve the peak ranking.
These days, grand cru Burgundies are priced well beyond the reach of most consumers. Increasingly, premier crus are as well, with many over $100 a bottle.
But village wines — those that are distinctive enough to reflect the characteristics of a village, but from vineyards not judged to have further singular features — are still sometimes within reach. Those from the Côte de Beaune are especially good values, relatively speaking, because the region has generally been more exalted for its whites than for its reds.
We tasted 20 bottles from the 2017 vintage, which I called deliciously drinkable because they won’t require years of aging and because, yes, the wines are easygoing in the best sense.
We all loved the wines. Our favorites were elegant, beautiful expressions of what Burgundy has to offer.
Our top bottle was the graceful, energetic Savignylès-Beaune from Chandon de Briailles, a serious wine that was nonetheless joyful, a neat trick. But then, Chandon de Briailles is an excellent producer, and its wines are often great values. Even in a year like 2017, they will reward a bit of aging.
I understand these wines are not cheap. But it’s the cost of doing business if you want to understand or enjoy Burgundy.
It’s only wine, I know.
It’s not a solution, but I’m glad that we have it.