Burgundy wines require service attention
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ISACS is the founder and CEO of EnjoyGourmet, a leading gourmet digital (www.enjoygourmet.com.cn) and print media company in China. He has authored over a dozen wine and food books including the awarded ISACS Guides and other gourmet books and is a wine consultant to governments, wine regions and organizations. He also hosts wine events for leading organizations and companies throughout China. Contact John via jcolumn@enjoygourmet.com.
To know wine is to love Burgundy. It’s as simple as that. Some drinkers may prefer the wines of Bordeaux, Champagne, Piedmont, Veneto, Tuscany, Rioja or Napa Valley but if they’re true wine aficionados then they still have a certain reverence for Burgundy.
Why? Because at their apex the whites and reds of Burgundy are among the most elegant and ineffably complex and nuanced wines in the world.
The earliest documented proof of winemaking in Burgundy was in 1 AD by the Romans, however it is now widely believed that the Celt tribes that inhabited the region before the birth of Christ were the first to cultivate vines. By the end of the 6th century the wines of Burgundy were famous throughout the Roman Empire and used as a currency for trading. In the Middle Ages, Benedictine monks composed meticulous instructions on the cultivation, pressing, fermentation and aging of Pinot wines. Pinot Noir wines reached a new zenith of popularity and quality during the period of the Dukes of Burgundy from 1364 through 1477.
From the Renaissance to modern times the commercial success and prestige of Pinot Noir wines has steadily risen.
Despite global respect, Burgundy wines are still mostly unloved in China. This is especially true of Burgundy red wines. There are good reasons. Pinot Noir as expressed in its ancestral home is often an acquired taste.
Burgundy reds are difficult to understand, higher in acidity and among the wine world’s least obvious wines. Another reason the popularity of Burgundy red wines lags not only in China but also in other wine markets is their overall delicate nature.
Just like the fine green teas featured in this week’s iDeal section, Burgundy wines merit special attention to details, especially service details.
Service
Three prime issues when serving red wines is breathing time, glasses and temperature. Wide bowled Burgundy and Pinot Noir special glasses are perfect but any clear, amply-sized crystal glass is acceptable. Proper breathing time for Burgundy red wines is controversial.
Some Burgundy specialists advocate decanting and an hour or more breathing time for the best reds, while others swear against decanting and counsel only 20 or so minutes development in the glass. I suggest trusting your own smell and taste faculties to judge when the wine is open and ready for drinking.
Pinot Noir wines in general, and Burgundy reds in particular, are quite sensitive to temperature. Even the best Grand Cru red served at 25 Celsius is a travesty. As a rule, serve lighter and lesser wines about 14 Celsius and top reds approximately 16 Celsius.
The most basic Burgundy red wine is often called Bourgogne AOC or Bourgogne Pinot Noir AOC. These reasonably priced wines are made with Pinot Noir grapes that can be sourced from anywhere within Burgundy.
A step up in classification is a Villages level red Burgundy. These wines are also 100 percent Pinot Noir but come from a specific village area in Burgundy.
Though slightly more concentrated and complex than the Bourgogne AOC reds, these wines are still quite light and fresh. At the top of the Burgundy quality pyramid are the Premier and Grand Cru wines that are more concentrated, intense, complex and persistent.
Some consider the words Burgundy and good-value mutually exclusive. But this need not be the case and one example are the reds of Cote de Beaune. This sub-region of Burgundy comprises the southern half of the acclaimed Cote d’Or. Celebrated for Chardonnay white wines that are considered by many the best in the world, the red wines of this region don’t always get the attention they deserve.
This may not be fair, but it also means there are good deals to be had. Cote de Beaune Village level wines which are almost always significantly better than generic Bourgogne reds and usually only slightly higher in price. Premier Cru Cote de Beaune reds arguably offer Burgundy’s best premium red wine price/quality ratio. There are 20 different villages and 17 of these have their own appellation. So the easiest way is to choose the right producer. One of the best producer is Albert Ponnelle. Another excellent producer making wines of great purity and typicity is Domaine de Montille.
Other producers with good Cote de Beaune reds available in Shanghai include Louis Latour, Louis Max, Moillard-Grivot and Joseph Drouhin.
Varieties:
The main varieties in Cote de Beaune are Pinot Noir for red wines and Chardonnay for whites.
Key term:
Typicity is a wine specific term that won’t pass your computer’s spell check; it refers to wine that are typical of their variety and terroir.
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