Red Burgundy Research. Part 1. The Best Villages

What are your Top3 villages of red Burgundy?

  • Total voters
    49
Stas Medvedev

Stas Medvedev

Location
Riga, Latvia
Feeling excited to finish my extensive research on Red Burgundy - home for the best Pinot Noir on the planet Earth.⁣⁣⁣

Red Burgundy Research. Part 1. The Best Villages
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Part 1 - the best villages ranking and village appellation profiles. ⁣⁣⁣
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Part 2 - Grand Cru rating and how the best 1er Crus compare to them.⁣⁣⁣
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Part 3 - the best winemakers. Extensive ranking of 100+ producers.⁣⁣⁣
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And remember the rule of thumb when picking your next fine wine. ⁣⁣⁣
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Follow these 3 criteria strictly in this order:⁣⁣⁣
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1. Winemaker⁣⁣⁣
2. Terroir⁣⁣⁣
3. Vintage⁣⁣⁣
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I invite you to a discussion. Which are your Top3 villages of red Burgundy?
 
I wonder how many of you have read through my research which I provided link to when opened the thread.

This study focuses on Cote de Nuits and two villages of CdB - Volnay and Pommard.

Those other villages you refer to are not exclusive to Pinot Noir as much as the villages in the study.

Please also mind that when talking about village appellations we do not include Grand Crus which geographically are located within the borders of villages, but have the appellations of their own and will be discussed in the following part of the research yet to be published later this week.
 
To come up with answers inspires self-interrogation followed by a considerable desire not to make such broad judgements. There are white wines in five of the villages listed.
Perhaps the question would be better framed as 'which villages makes the best village level wine?'
 
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Thom Blach said:
To come up with answers inspires self-interrogation followed by a considerable desire not to make such broad judgements. There are white wines in five of the villages listed.
Perhaps the question would be better framed as 'which villages makes the best village level wine?'
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As you know, village appellations also include 1er Crus. So when thinking of a particular village style you might want to consider its 1er Crus as well.

The proportion of whites in the respective villages is relatively small, which you can see from the figures provided in the article.
 
Thom Blach said:
Indeed-I was thinking of Stas' definition, which is actually ' your favourite'!
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Thank you Tom!
I should apologize for my poor English as it's not my native language. You're absolutely right, I ment 'your favourite' when asking the question up in the poll.

As for the research, my purpose was actually to come up with certain order. Which village is ranked the highest and so on.
 
The question has relevance for people who are new to the fine wines of Burgundy. For the readers of Wine Pages however the question is pointless. If someone is kind enough to offer me for example,a Rousseau Chambertin, I am not going to think that it is a pity he did not offer me a wine from Vosne as it is a "better" village.
 
Howard Ripley said:
The question has relevance for people who are new to the fine wines of Burgundy. For the readers of Wine Pages however the question is pointless. If someone is kind enough to offer me for example,a Rousseau Chambertin, I am not going to think that it is a pity he did not offer me a wine from Vosne as it is a "better" village.
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Thank you for raising a very valid point here.
That very well supports the rule of thumb I was referring to, when choosing a fine wine.

The Winemaker is by far the predominant factor among the others, including the terroir.

However, if we may imagine even more generous example of someone offering you to choose from
Gevrey-Chambertin, Chambolle-Musigny and Vosne-Romanee wines produced by the one and only Domaine Leroy coming from the same vintage. What would be your preference then?

And thank you for reflecting and sharing your thoughts. I find it very useful for my further findings.
 
So are we to include our grand cru preferences in our assessment of the villages? I thought that was to come later. I suspect Vosne has what are generally regarded as the 'best' grand crus ( though it would be impossible not to include Chambertin in that list, as Howard suggests), and it almost certainly has the 'best' 1er crus, but it is much harder to make the case that it offers the 'best' village wine. I think Gevrey claims that title, partly because there is so much from which to choose.
Unfortunately I am not often required to choose between the village wines of Madame Bize-Leroy though I am willingly available for comparative tastings!
 
Thom Blach said:
So are we to include our grand cru preferences in our assessment of the villages? I thought that was to come later. I suspect Vosne has what are generally regarded as the 'best' grand crus ( though it would be impossible not to include Chambertin in that list, as Howard suggests), and it almost certainly has the 'best' 1er crus, but it is much harder to make the case that it offers the 'best' village wine. I think Gevrey claims that title, partly because there is so much from which to choose.
Unfortunately I am not often required to choose between the village wines of Madame Bize-Leroy though I am willingly available for comparative tastings!
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My question suggested for the poll excludes Grand Crus from the consideration. When choosing your favourite village think of its communal and 1er Cru levels.

And yes, Domaine Leroy produces Gevrey-Chambertin village level wine.
 
Stas Medvedev said:
Please also mind that when talking about village appellations we do not include Grand Crus which geographically are located within the borders of villages, but have the appellations of their own and will be discussed in the following part of the research yet to be published later this week.
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What about declassified grand cru, e.g., de Vogüé Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru, La Forge de Tart, Mugneret-Gibourg Gevrey-Chambertin and Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru, 2004 Leroys, etc.?
 
Claude Kolm said:
What about declassified grand cru, e.g., de Vogüé Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru, La Forge de Tart, Mugneret-Gibourg Gevrey-Chambertin and Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru, 2004 Leroys, etc.?
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Dear Claude,

Thank you for pointing out those specific and very important examples.
To answer your question, yes those declassified GGs into 1er Crus and village level wines automatically appear among the other village appellation wines. And they of course contribute in the overall result. However, those wines do not turn the overall picture upside down as we are talking about a fraction of the total number of wines produced under each appellation.
 
Stas Medvedev said:
Dear Claude,

Thank you for pointing out those specific and very important examples.
To answer your question, yes those declassified GGs into 1er Crus and village level wines automatically appear among the other village appellation wines. And they of course contribute in the overall result. However, those wines do not turn the overall picture upside down as we are talking about a fraction of the total number of wines produced under each appellation.
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I don't really understand this result or for that matter what significance you think the poll will have, but FWIW, I voted: Chambolle, Vosne, and Volnay. I once mentioned to the late Michel Lafarge that those were my three favorite villages and he responded, "Buh, c'est logique."
 
Graham Harvey said:
@Stas Medvedev - a v tough audience of enthusiasts and some experts here!
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@Graham Harvey I think that is the best audience I could dream of!
I find it very useful to have such debates and get the criticism rather than staying in own comfort zone and sharing my research with those who have a very little knowledge on the subject.

In no way my research is some kind of a new dogma. I just want to raise the awareness among a very very conservative audience of true Burgundy aficionados to certain things that the data reveals.

If you look at the region as a whole you will notice many ongoing transformations. There are underlying movements that are happening. I am curious what are the impacts and the future of the region.

New winemakers emerge.
Global warming impacts certain sites / terroirs
New ways of farming and vineyard management
Property cost
Taste preferences of end consumers do change

Those things we can't ignore and that's a no brainer there will be an impact. I am very curious to notice those trends.

I hope my findings will trigger a new discussion and will bring the focus of both professionals, experts and enthusiasts back to region to question many things that remain untouched. Burgundy is not static, it is very dynamic. We just need to allow ourselves to notice that.

I hope my research will be provoking enough to have those conversations to occur.
 
Claude, it is hardly surprising that Michel agreed with your list of three best villages which included Volnay! Incidentally, such a gentleman. I miss him.
Stas, I have thought long and hard about your question concerning all Domaine Leroy village wines from the same vintage, and which would I choose. I would have no hesitation in choosing her Vosne-Romanée Les Genaivrières which was served to me once in the company of grand crus from a variety of top producers. It more than held its own and in cask at the domaine it always showed exceptionally well. However this choice only concerns Domaine Leroy. If all other domaines are included, I must confess that I would find it near impossible to answer.
 
I was fully expecting this poll to disappear in a puff of smoke having been flagged by multiple people. Seems I was wrong. Easter cheer perhaps in the current gloomy climate. It has turned in to the best example for a while of a well intended question being trolled mercilessly by the WP community who do indeed know a vast amount about Burgundy and who have cost me a lot of money whilst of course supplying a lot of pleasure almost in equal measure with huge disappointment!
 
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