Burgundy

Burgundy is made in small pieces. A single vineyard in Vosne-Romanée or Gevrey-Chambertin might produce a few thousand bottles in a year, split between several growers, and that was as true in 1966 as it is now. So a Burgundy from a particular year is not simply an older wine. It is one of a very small number of bottles that were ever made, most of which were drunk long ago.

Pinot Noir for the reds, Chardonnay for the whites of Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and Chablis. The wines are lighter in colour than people expect and slower to give themselves up. Age turns Pinot Noir towards mushroom, dried rose and old leather, and the strong years hold that shape for decades: 1959, 1961, 1964, 1969, 1978, 1990 and 1996. Village and premier cru bottles are far easier to find than grand cru, and often make the better gift.

For the older years the wine was frequently bottled by a merchant house rather than by the grower. Bouchard, Drouhin, Jadot and Faiveley all sold Burgundy under their own labels, and those bottles are both easier to find and easier to check than a domaine bottling from the same vineyard, because the labels, capsules and printing of each house are well documented. It is worth knowing that before you settle on a single name.

Because the quantities are small, Burgundy takes us longer. We work through merchants and private cellars in France, Belgium and Switzerland, and we will tell you honestly if a year is going to be difficult or costly before you commit to anything. Condition is checked by hand before the bottle is dispatched.