FEATURES ARCHIVE

Burgundy offers the collector satisfaction on a number of levels— the wines are very enjoyable in a purely hedonistic sense and they age and appreciate well. The Burgundy region is very nuanced, with many different individual sites promising different rewards in different vintages. However, the wine can be perceived as difficult to collect, because the vintage variation in Burgundy is great, and the quantities available are very small. This naturally limits the amount of Burgundy sold (currently 10–20% of the total in most sales).

One estate stands above the rest in terms of rarity and price, the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, known as DRC. This is the one producer in the region of whom any bottling in any vintage will be a delight that will improve for years to come. Another producer who approaches the same quality (and often the same price) is Domaine Leroy, operated by a former owner of DRC. Also look for Henri Jayer, Domaine Georges Roumier, de Vogüé, and Armand Rousseau.

White Burgundy can be sublime, and its ability to age is legendary. Because of their firm racy acidity and their complex flavors, the wines are also very food friendly. There is a small secondary market in the best white wines of Burgundy, most of which have the word "Montrachet" somewhere in the name, and are produced by the leading domains, which include Comte Lafon and Domaine Leflaive as well as the Montrachet from DRC and the Montrachet "Marquis de Laguiche" from Joseph Drouhin.