by Mike Supple
published: 04 Oct 2007

Looking across Romanee Conti and La Romanee Vineyards

It’s a common scene: an impatient silence temporarily falls over what was just a lively, chatty room. Butterflies of anticipation flutter in stomachs as the host reveals the wines for the evening. Perhaps a 1983 Dom Perignon, a 1962 DRC La Tâche, a 1947 Petrus, and a 1967 Chateau d’Yquem. This is sure to be a memorable evening, if not a landmark one. But where is the creativity, the flair, the panache? Picking these wines requires no knowledge of the drink; just go to one of the popular critics’ web sites and search for wines by rating, then drop the appropriate sum with a high-end retailer.

Getting better wine for less money; this is what the game is all about.

The cat is out of the bag. Arguably 2005 is one of the best vintages Burgundy has seen. Laurence Jobard, oenologist for Maison Joseph Drouhin for 33 years, believes that the 2005 is the best vintage she has ever made, and I am hard pressed to find any winemaker who disagrees with her. The critics have all weighed in, and while there may be some bickering as to which individual wine takes the crown, the vintage is a screaming success. This news is both pleasurable and discouraging to Burgundy collectors, because increased hype around a vintage drives the market prices up and squeezes availability on these already hard-to-find wines.

Everybody I talk to has a different opinion. There are those who have never tried Burgundy but feel this is the time to buy everything they can get their hands on; other seasoned collectors stay the course and stick by their allocations from the same trusted producers year in and year out; still more lament the outlandish increase in prices and choose to leave a gap in their running verticals. The choice is up to the individual, but some of the 2005 red Burgundies I have tried are among the most stunning young wines I have yet to encounter. The key word in that sentence is “red”.

So what choice remains? Buy the wines from “off” vintages? In a manner of speaking, yes. Here is the dirty secret: the reputation of a vintage in Burgundy lives and dies by the Pinot Noir. This has led to the tragic overlooking of some of the most stunning white wines ever made, and this must end!

Sure, Chardonnay is grown almost everywhere in the world, but to date no other wine region matches the crisp purity, richness of fruit, striking minerality and unparalleled ability to age as a well made white Burgundy. While perhaps austere and lean in the tough years, drinking the best wines can be a truly transcendent experience. The year 1973 rarely shows up in vintage charts of notable years in Burgundy, but the 1973 DRC Le Montrachet is widely regarded as their greatest Montrachet, and some critics argue that it is still a perfect wine even with 34 years of age on it.

In the shadow of the great 2005 vintage, most of the wines from 2006 will be overlooked. This is not necessarily a bad thing particularly with Pinot Noir, as many of the wines will be fruity but short-lived, but to skip the vintage completely will be a mistake (particularly with the Chardonnay). Yes, there was hail that destroyed some vines, and yes, rain before the harvest led to some rot. But that IS Burgundy! The best winemakers know how to adapt and work with what Mother Nature provides. Every winemaker I spoke with from up north in Chablis to the southern end of the Cote d’Or agrees: 2006 is an anomaly, and never have the Chardonnay grapes gotten so ripe while maintaining such high acidity. As Laurent Ponsot himself recently told me, “‘06 is more balanced…pH, alcohol, acidity…everything is just - perfect.” He did quickly add the caveat that 2006 was “vraiment une année de challenge” and that the greatest wines were made on the vine, not in the cellar. In the land of Bourgogne, the rule of terroir is king. Follow the great soils and you will find the greatest wines.

What does this all mean? Amidst the continuing challenge of trying to buy reasonably priced French wines with a bruised and battered American Dollar, look to white Burgundy. Try the vintages in between the ripe red fury. Drink some ripe, crisp 2004s and 2006s while they’re young and fruity, and put some in your cellar to experience the true beauty of pure aged Chardonnay. Or don’t, and leave them all for me!