Recommendations

Recommendations

●●●Exceptional  ●●Excellent ●Very Good

Prices are approximate. Check Winesearcher.com to verify availability, or ask a favorite wine store to order through a distributor.

Burgundy is an expensive fascination even without traveling to the region. A primer: With few exceptions, reds are pinot noir and whites are chardonnay. Sampling wines labeled simply as “Bourgogne” (the French word for Burgundy) will give you the most basic introduction. There are at least 100 appellations in Burgundy, depending on how you count them: regional wines, such as Cote de Nuits or Cote de Beaune, and village wines, such as Volnay, Vosne-Romanee or Gevrey-Chambertin. Then there are premier cru and grand cru vineyards, plus “monopoles,” vineyards owned by a single producer.

As with any region, the more narrowly the wine’s origin can be defined on the label, the more exclusive and expensive it is and the more likely it will express a particular “terroir.”

When other people are not offering me Burgundy, I tend to look for wines from the smaller villages, which are often less expensive and more difficult to pronounce but provide good value. Vintages are also important, but we are lucky; both 2009 and 2010 were excellent years. Here are some nice reds.

Frederic Magnien, Fixin, 2009

★★¹ / ₂

Burgundy, France, $35

Fixin is a town best pronounced while sneezing. But the wines are fine, and Frederic Magnien captures a stony mineral quality and flavors of red cherries and forest mushrooms.

Country Vintner: Available in the District at Paul’s of Chevy Chase; on the list at Agora, Komi, Rogue 24. Available in Virginia at Crystal City Wine Shop; on the list at Capital Grille in Tysons Corner, Trummer’s on Main in Clifton.

Maison Louis Latour, Chorey-les-Beaune 2009

★★¹ / ₂

Burgundy, France, $25

Maison Louis Latour is a major “negociant,” buying and bottling wines from throughout Burgundy. Quality tends to be excellent, and the Chorey-les-Beaune is no exception. It offers black cherry fruit with a hint of woodsy spice and elegant balance.

M Touton Selection: Available in the District at Ace Beverage, Burka’s Wine & Liquor, Cairo Wine & Liquor, Magruder’s, Paul’s of Chevy Chase. Available in Maryland at Cork 57 Beer and Wine in Bethesda, Columbia Palace Wine & Spirits in Columbia, Jason’s Wine & Spirits and Pine Orchard Wine in Ellicott City, Mills Fine Wine and Spirits in Annapolis, Old Farm Liquors in Frederick, Silesia Liquors in Fort Washington.

Maison Louis Latour, Marsannay, 2009

★★

Burgundy, France, $20

This is an excellent pinot, somewhat earthy with dark-fruit flavors.

M Touton Selection: Available in the District at Cairo Wine & Liquor, Chinatown Liquor, Connecticut Avenue Wine & Liquor, Paul’s of Chevy Chase, Rodman’s, Sherry’s Fine Wine & Spirits, Watergate Wine & Beverage. Available in Maryland at Bin 201 Wine Sellers and Eastport Liquors in Annapolis; Bin 604 Wine Sellers in Baltimore; Columbia Palace Wine & Spirits, King’s Contrivance Liquor Shop and the Wine Bin in Columbia; Jason’s Wine & Spirits and Pine Orchard Wine in Ellicott City; Old Farm Liquors and Viniferous in Frederick; Quench Beer-Wine-Deli in Colesville; Rodman’s in White Flint; the Winery in Chester; Westlake Wine & Beer in Bethesda; on the list at La Ferme and Mon Ami Gabi in Bethesda, Petit Louie in Baltimore.

Olivier Decelle-Pierre Jean Villa, Bourgogne 2009

★★

Burgundy, France, $20

A nice, subtle pinot noir, it has high-toned fruit flavors and a resonance, like a tuning fork’s echo, that persists through the finish. Let it grow on you.

Weygandt-Metzler: Available in the District at Weygandt Wines.

Maurice Ecard, Savigny-les-Beaune, 2010

★★

Burgundy, France, $18

I tasted an advance sample of this wine, which should arrive in mid-July and have good availability throughout the region. It’s pretty and elegant, with a faint herbal note, moderate tannins and a lovely, lingering finish. This would make a nice comparison tasting with the slightly richer Latour Marsannay. Ecard also makes a nice Bourgogne 2010.

Kysela Pere et Fils: Available in mid-July.