Two Solid Burgs from Bouzereau-Gruere
November 14th, 2020
Over the past few years, Bouzereau-Gruere has become one of our sleeper favorites here in the White Burgundy category. Their wines offer everything you can ask for in classic Burgundian Chardonnay - precision, clarity, typicity, nuance - and do it while also deserving to be placed squarely in the 'value' category, as well.
(Which isn't something you can say for many producers of major-appellation whites these days...)
So, yes, of course we have one of their whites in today's offer, and it's a real gem, at that.
The Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru Blanchots Dessus from the absolutely fantastic 2017 vintage is aromatic, focused, textured and mineral, with many a fine detail underneath.
It'll more than satisfy your White Burgundy jones without eclipsing the triple-digit mark...well, without coming all that close to the triple digit mark, actually.
So, when I start out with 'Proper, Delicious White Burgundy for Notta Lotta', it's usually more than enough to prompt plenty of response, but there's more...
Today, I've also got what I think might be this 'sleeper' producer's 'sleeper' wine...the Bourgogne Rouge.
Adjacent to the winery in Meursault, is a single plot of Pinot Noir vines called Les Pelles that was planted in 1959 and, despite the obvious financial incentive to replant it as Chardonnay, it has been kept that way all along.
Getting back to the idea of 'not nearly as easy to find these days as it used to be', sub-$30/btl Bourgogne Rouge that isn't just 'solid', but drinks far and above its price point is another category that seems to dwindle by the vintage.
One glass of this little gem, I'm quite confident, will have you agreeing with that statement. It's deep, weighty and has a wonderfully dark and mineral pitch to it, and the freshness brought on by the wine's racy and firm backbone keeps everything in balance.
What impresses me the most, though, is the fact that it's a wine that, right now, might actually drink better on day two, which is something that, for me at least, most Burgundian Pinot Noir doesn't always do all that well.
It also suggests to me that it's a wine that'll easily develop a bit over the next couple years, too.
The sisters Marie-Laure and Marie-Anne Bouzereau craft high quality wines at very fair prices in some of Burgundy's best real estate...and they do so without a lot of fanfare.
I like to think I'd be doing it the same way were I in their shoes...
BOUZEREAU-GRUERE
Bourgogne Rouge 2018 $25/btl (discounts 10% in a case of 12)
Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru Blanchots Dessus 2017
You may order by emailing info@mcf-rarewine.com or calling 212.255.8870.
Matt Franco
MCF Rare Wine, Ltd
249 West 13th Street NYC 10011
212.255.8870
WARNING: DRINKING DISTILLED SPIRITS, BEER, COOLERS, WINE AND OTHER ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES MAY INCREASE CANCER RISK, AND, DURING PREGNANCY, CAN CAUSE BIRTH DEFECTS.