| There is a place on our planet so extraordinary that the very ground it sits on has been pondered for centuries as part of an exhausting effort to uncover its profound mysteries.
Here, single hillsides are known by a dozen names, each broken down into unmanageably small plots based on only minuscule differences in soil composition or their angle to the midday sun. Agriculture here has been sustained, contemplated, debated and perfected for over a thousand years – by monks, nobility and farmers alike. Each generation has marvelled at this ground, so diverse and complex that a narrow road could mark the difference between splendour and mediocrity – between financial independence and a hard peasant life. The French people have been so captivated by this 50-kilometre stretch of ground that they have provided no less than 500 names for its individual parcels, creating the single most complex, challenging and intriguing wine structure known to man.
This place, of course, is Burgundy.
But despite Burgundy’s 1,300 years of winemaking history and experience, the region finds itself at a sort of crossroads, competing now with New World powerhouses California, Australia and even New Zealand. Backed by large advertising budgets, these relative newcomers have brought soft, easy wines in sleek, clever packages. By comparison, the simple labels of Burgundy, bound by tradition and bearing mysterious monikers such as Musigny, Corton and Volnay, seem rather plain and uninteresting. But the truth is, the wines of Burgundy have never been better or more exciting than they are today.
Yet Burgundy continues to struggle in the face of its unyielding competition, facing claims that the wines lack fruit and intensity and rarely win the wine competitions so important to New World journalists and consumers. In fact, it seems as if Burgundy bashing has almost become a hobby for some wine enthusiasts, who maintain that it is a crapshoot market with more poor wine than good, that it is overpriced and too confusing for the average consumer to understand.
These statements may have had some truth in the past, but today’s Burgundy is much different. The average domaine today is quite small, with a focus on quality over output. You’re more likely to find the winemakers in the vineyards, where tireless work has been taking place over the last decade to create the finest fruit possible. The trend of selling off fruit to the large houses has reversed and a return to artisan winemaking is evident across the Côte d’Or. While the trend in the ’70s and ’80s was to grow grapes and sell the fruit to larger houses for bottling and selling, a new generation of Burgundians has awoken to the possibilities of making their own wine. As rented vineyard land (or métayage) is slowly being returned to small families, the evident quality of Burgundian wine is rising sharply. Finally, these unique wines can be showcased as individuals, instead of being wasted in large blends assembled to appease overseas markets for generic Burgundy.
But there are still those who do not have the expertise or the resources to make their own wine, yet own some of the region’s finest land. For those growers there is a new alternative to selling off to large commercial operations. A new wave of smaller, more quality-oriented negotiants is starting to emerge, creating more individual, quality wines. This is an exciting trend in Burgundy and producers such as Olivier Leflaive, Nicolas Potel and Jean-Nicolas Méo of Méo-Camuzet are crafting some of the finest wines in the region.
Burgundy does remain complex but necessarily so; it is part of the intrigue and fascination that keeps us coming back for more. It’s true that you have to know a little more about the producers, as the pedigree of the particular region does not always show through. But for those who look beyond the label to the substance of the wine, there is much pleasure to discover in Burgundy.
Among the fine Burgundies available in Calgary are:
· 2002 Nicolas Potel Vielle Vigne ($25.95, MetroVino) – 60-80-year-old vines give this wine a rich, silky character and complex aromas.
· 2002 Demougeot Vielle Vigne Haute Côtes du Beaune ($22.25, The Wine Shop) – this fine example of Pinot Noir is always a great buy and with the excellent quality of the 2002 vintage the value is absolutely exceptional.
· 2001 Méo-Camuzet Bourgogne Rouge ($32, Bin 905) – this is a chance to taste one of Vosne-Romanée’s premier producers without having to pay a premier price.
For those who are willing to trade in the predictable and monolithic experience of a California Cabernet or Aussie shiraz for a taste of something more individual, subtle and sublime, there are great rewards in store. One can never appreciate or even understand Burgundy simply by pitting it against the lush fruit-forward styles of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the New World. The soul of Burgundy reveals itself only over time, which, sadly, seems to be something wine drinkers have a lot less of these days. |
Copyright ©2004 FFWD. All rights reserved.