Wine of the week: a bargain from Burgundy

Believe it or not, there are bargains to be had in Burgundy, but it does require moving away from established names and famous villages, and, to prove it, here is a brilliant, affordable example of Bourgogne Blanc.

While we normally bring you recommendations from our bank of medallists from the Global Wine Masters, this week I’m breaking with convention to share with you a find from a tasting last month.

The set of samples were all from Burgundy, in particular its new tier called Bourgogne Côte d’Or, which was instigated to recognise those wines that are a step above the more generic Régionale Bourgogne AOC, and below the village-level classifications in this part of Burgundy – the likes of Meursault or Chambolle-Musigny.

And this new tier does seem to be a refuge for some good value drops, taking in beautifully-made wines that just miss out on carrying more famous names of the region for a range of reasons – they are just beyond the boundaries, or blend grapes from across a larger area than a village-level wine would allow.

Of the wines I tried, one in particular impressed. Hailing from what is already often a brilliant value source of Bourgogne Blanc – Saint-Aubin – it hails from a family-run business based in this southerly part of the Côte d’Or called Domaine Roux.

For those in the UK, you can read more about the domaine and its wines on its UK importer Bibendum’s website, and you can buy some of its wines via Tannico, including the one I’m recommending, although I notice that it’s listed as Bourgogne Chardonnay, rather than the new name of ‘Bourgogne Côte d’Or’ – which, I should add, does come with stricter rules on yields than the more generic classification that was being used before for wines like this one.

Coming from the 2018 vintage, it’s tastes like a lovely, bright, intensely flavoured, barrel-influenced Saint-Aubin Chardonnay, but at half the price – retailing for £16 in the UK.

Below is my tasting note on the wine.

Roux Père et Fils (Saint-Aubin), Bourgogne Côte d’Or, 2018

Intense, open, youthful, oak-influenced nose, with wood shavings, citrus, toast and also an attractive note of freshly-struck match.

The palate also has a note of struck match, and toast, then a long finish, with grapefruit, chalk and a lingering hazelnut character and fine chalky texture too. This is very good, and complex, and while quite light and fresh in style, it is intensely flavoured. It really lingers. It is youthful, with the potential to age and develop, but the intense fruit and nuttiness leaves a powerful and lasting impression.

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