Is there such a thing as affordable white burgundy?
These singular wines from Franceâs gastronomic heartland are expensive to make and to buy, but if you know where to look, they donât have to
These singular wines from Franceâs gastronomic heartland are expensive to make and to buy, but if you know where to look, they donât have to break the bank Everyone loves white burgundy. Made from chardonnay grapes, these wines from Franceâs gastronomic heartland, stretching from just south of Champagne to just north of Lyon, are singular: graceful, textured and full of joy. But prices tend to be less friendly; Doug Wregg from organic wine importer Les Caves de Pyrene says âaffordable burgundyâ is âalmost an oxymoronâ due to limited supply, labour-intensive production techniques and historic prestige.
The recent slew of poor vintages has made those low yields even lower, and prices higher. But good examples do exist at under ÂŁ25 a pop, which is where Iâve set my budget benchmark today. That sum wonât get you premier cru meursault, or anything from the CĂ´te dâOr, a narrow hillside of celebrated limestone slopes south of Dijon, but there is still plenty within reach. Not least aligotĂŠ, the regionâs second white grape, which can reliably be found for less than ÂŁ25 (try Majesticâs Famille Gueguen number at ÂŁ15.50 a bottle on the âmix sixâ offer), but âwhite burgundyâ always means chardonnay, which is my focus today.
A sensible start is in the Mâconnais, the southernmost point of Burgundyâs wine-producing area, where warmer temperatures and clay-limestone soil make for a rounder style of wine. Almost every supermarket has an own-label Mâcon Villages â I spent many a tidy Friday night in my twenties in a south London park with the Sainsburyâs Taste the Difference iteration (now ÂŁ12.50 â inflation!) and a large bag of Doritos Cool Original (a good pairing, incidentally) â and they tend to be easy, fruity table wines.
Usually, theyâre unoaked, too, removing a layer of process that helps keep the price down. That said, oak doesnât necessarily mean better; rather, its absence arguably lets the terroirs sing louder. Wreggâs Domaine des Cadoles 2022 Mâcon Chardonnay in todayâs pick is a lovely example, at once mineral and creamy. Continue reading...
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