Recently I had my first white Burgundy (Louis Latour 1er Cru), and I enjoyed it so much I had to open the only other one in my collection – a WineBid purchase for about $60, this village level Chassagne-Montrachet from another negociant and one of my favorite Chablis producers. My lady and I had a reservation at a local Michelin starred French restaurant on Friday, and I thought it would be the perfect time to open this bottle. It’s 100% Chardonnay, with its fermentation and lees aging in oak barrels for around two years. Pairing was a caramelized apple pork tenderloin and a mushroom conchiglie. Stored at 45, popped and poured.
Visually, a pale gold in the glass.
On the nose, just a great complexity of scents. A floral rim leads into yeasty brioche notes, followed by sweet, nutty pastry. After 8 years, the fruit notes are in the background, fading – lemon and mango.
On the palate, it felt relatively light, dry, with its notable trait this balanced acidity that paired wonderfully with our dishes. Alcohol is perfectly integrated, not noticeable – and this finish, my friends, that finish. Lightly buttered bread and citrus dancing on the tongue for minutes. Wow. Gotdamnit. I’m captivated.
Those notes from lees & oak aging are still on my mind, two days later. The pairing with the caramelized pork and her pasta was also delicious, and short of a dessert wine, I can’t think of many other wines that I’ve felt such a long, long finish from. It feels like a steal at $60, i immediately went out to get another bottle of white burg – some Faiveley Montagny – and of course I’ll be hunting WineBid thoroughly every week. I am fully grasping the comments about this dangerous road into white Burgundy. But Jesus H, that was amazing.
by JJxiv15
8 Comments
One of us one of us
Next stop, being homeless but drinking Raveneau!
this post is absolutely making me regret not opening a bottle of white burg tonight
The frost on this glass 🤤 love it.
It should be a law to serve Montrachet at 45° F only. I said what a said.
Enjoy!
I drink a lot of enty-level white Burgundy and this is a good thread to ask this question…
What’s the oldest vintage you’d buy for under $30 that’s been stored upright in a liquor store?
I’m so glad for you. White Burgundy can be so transcendent!
So, $60 bid? Or $60 all in? Its important we be honest with ourselves 😆
Bichot and Jadot will be the mass market negoces you can use to experiment a bit. Throw Faiveley in there as well though they own decent land themselves. Drouhin is fine too. Skip Louis Latour entirely. Once you find your spots in terms of location you can dial in on the domaines that truly dominate that terroir.
If you like chassagne the next step could be aJean-Noel Gagnard village bottling. If you enjoy general white burgundy you might also enjoy Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey aka PYCM. He does a Chassagne-Montrachet as well (the 1er chenevottes is lovely in particular) but the Saint-Aubin bottling is also excellent at a lower price point.
Carillon (both Jacques and Francois domaines) is an excellent choice for the Puligny as well.
You can always dial price point up in burgundy but those producers are my favorites that can be obtained easily and bought relatively cheaply.