Burgundy for the brave
Ask any Hong Kong wine merchant what trends they have seen in the marketplace during the past couple of years and it is likely that the growth of interest in burgundy will be mentioned.
No one is claiming that bordeaux is about to be knocked off its perch as market leader in terms of the sales it commands, partly due to the comparative size of the two regions; Bordeaux produces about four times the volume of wine that Burgundy does.
Burgundy is a much more challenging region to come to terms with than Bordeaux. Certainly, the classification of Burgundy's vineyards into grand and premier crus, followed by village appellations and the catch-all bourgogne blanc and rouge can provide a key which helps to unlock the mysteries of the region.
There is nothing like the level of detail provided by the 1855 classification of the medoc in Bordeaux. However frustrating this may be, it also provides an element of unpredictability, which for Burgundy lovers is one of the fascinations of the region.
Burgundy freaks stand out among wine consumers for their ability to withstand a large number of disappointments, with much anticipated, pricey bottles failing to deliver, yet still these masochists keep coming back for more in a way which defies belief.
Unless you have also fallen prey to this phenomenon yourself, you will never be able to understand it, much less define it.
There is a complex relationship between growers who own vineyards and negociants who buy in grapes to ma
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Very significant in terms of production of quality wines are those domains which own vineyards and make wine under their own labels exclusively from the production of their own vineyards.
To make matters more confusing these domains are increasingly operating their own negociant operations with bought-in grapes.
They may create a new label for these operations or on the other hand release their wines under labels which are indistinguishable from their domain wines except to those who know how to interpret the small print and recognize other key signifiers.
Confused? You should be, but fortune favors the brave and those in search of one of the most sublime wine experiences available should not hesitate to buy, drink and enjoy.
diogenes.ts@gmail.com
Lucien Le Moine Nuits St Georges 1er Cru Les Vaucrains 2006
HK$750 from Altaya Wines
www.altayawines.com
Making life even more complicated for the uninitiated is a new breed of micro-negociants such as this one under the direction of Mounir Saouma. Buying in grapes from favored sites, he often makes no more than one barrel of each cuvee. The wines reflect the winemaker while remaining true to their terroir.