Christy Canterbury

How to Find Value in Burgundy

Christy Canterbury — Fri, 17 Feb 2017 14:00:00 GMT

Value is relative, especially in Burgundy. Wines from Burgundy are pricey, and there are no winds of change. Not even the relatively recent surge of the dollar helped.

Understanding the Expense

Why are these wines expensive? High demand and relative scarcity play a significant role. Burgundy’s wines are made in small quantities, mostly by wine domaines (93% of production) that are often very small and usually family owned. Some grand crus are made in barrels half or even quarter the size of the traditional Burgundian 228-liter barrels. Though Burgundy maintains sizeable territory in our thinking and conversing about wine, it accounts for only 3% of all French wine production and a mere 0.4% of global production. The 100 individual appellations in Burgundy are mostly small, and the most prestigious ones have no more plantable surface area.

Compounding the issue of scarcity is the fact that since 2011, crop yields have been cruelly low, mostly due to hail. The Côte de Beaune has been ravaged. Chablis has been speckled with hail, too, and the southwestern corner of the appellation (600 hectares, approximately 13% of the appellation) was entirely decimated in 2016. Many growers there didn’t harvest a grape. Moreover, when there is hail, sorting follows, which eliminates more juice.

Due to Burgundy’s popularity, importers, distributors, stores, and restaurants sometimes catapult prices into the stratosphere, even when growers release them at reasonable prices. I recently saw a magnum of Petit Chablis at my local wine store for $270. Knowing the price the producer released it at, I was utterly dismayed.

It’s also important to note that Pinot Noir is a notoriously finicky grape and a low-yielder. The grape accounts for just 28% of Burgundy’s production. (Ten percent is Crémant and the rest is white. Rosé is produced in droplets.)

And finally, Burgundy is no longer a secret. More and more markets are tuning in. The US remains the top export market, buying 20% of Burgundy’s exports. The UK buys 19%, but the next closest market, Japan, takes only 10%.

Nonetheless, values remain! About half of Burgundy’s wine falls into a category defined by prices that are hesitation provoking up to seriously elevated, including the grand crus and premier crus (which account for only one-third of production). The other half is “regional” wine, even if some in that category can still make you sweat.

While we’re in rather pricey territory regardless, we are no longer stepping carefully through the landmines of our grandparents’ and parents’ generations. No more of that adage that only one out of every three bottles in a case of Burgundy is good! Of course, as in every wine region, there are delicious bottles and there are dogs, but Burgundy producers are increasingly recognizing that Brettanomyces is not terroir. That relatively new problem of premature oxidation is now being understood (overly protective oxygen exclusion early in winemaking is not all positive), and many winemakers are changing their steps to avoid it. Producers have more training and understanding of viticulture and vinification than ever before, and they’re making better and better choices with each passing vintage. Years like 2007, 2008, and 2011 that would have been dismissed even 10 or 15 years ago can now be finessed into perfectly charming wines. Most of the young, up-and-coming generation has worked in wine elsewhere in the world, and this experience is reflected in the wines.

Négociant Wines

As we’ll explore, most of the value in Burgundy comes from specific villages, or from Chablis. There’s one other spotlight on value, however: négociant wines from domaine producers. Some producers make négociant grand cru, of course, but it mostly works in the other direction, with producers looking to add something affable and early or earlier-drinking to their lineup. These négociant bottlings are usually less expensive while still representative of the style of the domaine bottlings (though there are some exceptions where growing and production are not under the fingertips of the producer). There are also négociants who own little-to-no land and started their businesses partially to offer value-driven wines that are better than just “good.” Alas, with the recent short crops, their prices are becoming less enticing as the cost of grapes soars.

Chablis Over-Delivers

Chablis is the killer value category in Burgundy. There are, after all, basic Côte d’Or Bourgogne Rouge bottlings from high-end names that cost more than a bottle of Grand Cru Chablis—hovering in the $40 to 60 range! Ratchet down the scale, and you’ll find sub-$15, tremendously zingy Chablis and Petit Chablis. Furthermore, if you think Chablis is all oyster shells and razor-like acidity, think again. Sure, it’s mostly lean Chardonnay, but there is enormous diversity in the Chablis palette thanks to the multitude of hills and valleys of the region. The local cooperative, La Chablisienne, calls its Petit Chablis wine Pas Si Petit, which translates as “not so little,” and indeed, when quality is the focus, these “small” wines shine particularly bright.

Value Villages from North to South

Neighboring Chablis, there are two red wine appellations that deserve note: Irancy and Coteaux Bourguignons. While Pinot Noir is the focus, both regions can add a dash of the local and feisty César, and Coteaux Bourguignons can also pop in some Gamay. What’s even more interesting about these regions is that they tend to release their wines later, especially Irancy. Not surprisingly, the wines tend to be sturdier expressions of Pinot Noir. They are closer to the limit of ripeness, and they show a bit of attitude about that. This is an excellent attribute, as Pinot Noir is a study in versatility. If you love it, appreciate it in all its forms!

Moving down to the Côte d’Or past Dijon, Marsannay is the first major village on the D974. Despite hosting several primo vineyards, the village boasts no premier crus, not that producers haven't been working on changing this for over a dozen years. Until—and if—INAO gets around to passing down a decision, the top wines will continue to sell for less than they would with a premier cru appellation.

Following down the Côte, there is also Fixin. Like Marsannay, Fixin makes lively and fresh wines that tend to be best early on. Still, some wines age tremendously well, and the best can easily take on a decade. Many producers are based in Marsannay or Gevrey-Chambertin and own or farm bits of neighboring Fixin.

Because the Côte de Nuits has almost no “inlets” into the escarpment of the Côte, there are fewer value-oriented wines there. The hard, steep, east-facing series of hills is rather brusque and doesn’t offer many valleys of more modest expression. There is Hautes-Côtes de Nuits villages, but to feel comfortable buying the wines here, the coolest part of a very cool region, it is important to know the producer and vintage. The wines can be bitingly lean—perhaps welcome when expected, but expectation is everything. The same goes for the Haute-Côtes de Beaune villages.

Within the Côte d’Or, wines from more value-oriented villages tend to be leaner. This often makes Chardonnay, a grape happy and ready to take on fat in the cellar, a better option than Pinot Noir.

Nuits-Saint-Georges is the first break in the string of cliffs in the Côte d’Or, and that is precisely where things start to change. In part, this is because Nuits-Saint-Georges is one of the historic négociant towns, trading in grapes, juice, and wine as well as owning vineyards that produce wine. Because Nuits-Saint-Georges is a commune that makes a high volume of wine for the Côte de Nuits, wines from this appellation can look advantageously priced. However, the price-to-value ratio can be deceiving, so proceed with caution.

From here south, lesser-known villages—and value—really begin to crop up. Hitting the border of the Côte de Beaune, unsung villages are abundant. The head of the Côte de Beaune is the grand cru hill of Corton. All around this hill are villages making wines worthy of recognition that are overshadowed, often literally, by the hill of Corton. Pernand-Vergelesses and Savigny-Lès-Beaune are the two top contenders, but as always producers can trump site.

Moving down the Côte de Beaune, Monthélie, one of the prettiest villages of Burgundy along with Santenay, is a Volnay look-a-like, at least in cooler years. Just to the south, Auxey-Duresses shouldn’t be overlooked either.

My personal favorite “value” Côte de Beaune appellation has, in the last 10 years, already seen its value eroded. Nonetheless, Saint-Aubin is brilliant for Chardonnay, including in the premier cru vineyard named “Sur Gamay,” where the wines are often not red.

Before slipping over the border from the Côte de Beaune into Côte Chalonnaise is Rully. With wind currents whipping around it, this area produces seriously chiseled Chardonnay.

Givry and Mercurey serve up some tremendous Pinot Noir. You have to dial in to the producer level to find the best examples, but because hail is rarely an issue here and ripening is easier, producers are usually sitting prettier, harvest-wise, than those further north. Especially in Givry, you can even find premier cru wines that can age for a decade or so, like Les Croichots or En Sazenay.

A bit further south, the Mâconnais is slightly better known for whites. This is the home of Pouilly-Fuissé, Saint Véran, Viré-Clessé, and a smattering of villages whose names follow the regional wine name Mâcon, as in Mâcon-Milly-Lamartine. All of these appended-name villages show highly defined terroir, and terroir purists are reviving these areas. Saint Véran tends to be the priciest, but with Pouilly-Fuissé’s first premier cru designations expected to go into effect this year, that may soon change.

Crémant de Bourgogne

Last and hardly least comes the Crémant de Bourgogne category. These wines are crafted in the traditional, Champagne style and made mostly from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir (Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, and Gamay can also be included) grown on a good portion of limestone. Easily half the price of non-vintage Brut Champagne, they are grown on similar soils. This is a thriving category that deserves attention. In the last decade, Crémant de Bourgogne has risen from one to eight percent of Burgundy's production!

Know Your Producer

Whatever the appellation, whatever the vintage, there is still nothing like knowing the producer. With that knowledge in hand, it’s possible to find value at $18 and at $180. Between the financial outlay and the rewards of a bit of research (and in Burgundy the research is mostly pleasurable if you appreciate more restrained wine styles), there is plenty of value to be found in Burgundy.

Grapes and Dolly the Sheep: A Look at Pinot Noir and Chardonnay Clones

Christy Canterbury — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 17:07:00 GMT

What is a clone? With regard to wine, that is. Are vine clones akin to Dolly the Sheep? Frightening! Yet, in the New World, and particularly in the United States, we obsess over clones, especially with regard to two of the world’s most coveted vitis vinifera grape varieties: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

How peculiar.

(Oh, and don’t worry. Dolly and 777 aren’t exactly the same. After all, Dolly required three mothers.)

Still, why are both called “clones”? Merriam-Webster and The Oxford Companion to Wine come to the rescue:

Merriam-Webster: “the aggregate of genetically identical cells or organisms asexually produced by a single progenitor cell or organism”
Oxford Companion to Wine: “a single vine or a population of vines all derived by vegetative propagation from cuttings or buds from a single 'mother vine'”

What do vine clones do? First, clones provide diversity. Second, they provide different colors, flavors, mouthfeels, tannins and ripeness. Third, they work better or worse with certain soils and rootstocks and may ripen earlier or later than others. As Benjamin Lewin MW writes in his book, In Search of Pinot Noir, “The general feeling is that no one of these clones by itself gives a really complete flavor spectrum, but that combinations make fine wine.”

How do winemakers choose clones? They choose them for all the reasons in the above paragraph as well as for the simple fact that they may be available. (Really, it can be that anti-climatic.) Or, they may choose certain clones because they are in their vineyard already and show favorable characteristics. A winemaker/vigneron may not look outside of his/her vineyard for planting material, preferring to use massale, or mass, selection. Selection and sélection massale mean the same thing.

This is a good point at which to elaborate on selections. However, part of the confusion with selections is that they bear no specific definition and their histories are often unclear. Nonetheless, there are similarities to brandy and cognac: all clones are selections but not all selections are clones. A selection is simply a clipping from a vine that shows favorable characteristics. A clone, however, has a pedigree derived from field and laboratory research, as done through Foundation Plant Services (FPS) in California and the Établissement National Technique pour l’Amélioration de la Viticulture (ENTAV) in the Languedoc. Such a pedigree can take a decade or two to establish.

Is this really such a big decision? Yes. It really is. At least 50 Pinot Noir clones are officially recognized in France alone, and this doesn’t include the beauties that can only be called selections. Though straining to keep up with the prolific Pinot Noir, Chardonnay is hardly a slacker with 34 strains recognized in France in the last official count I found.

Pinot Noir

At a 30,000-foot level, there are two strains of Pinot Noir: Pinot Droit and Pinot Fin, a.k.a. Pinot Classique. The first is known for its upright growth and healthy yields while the second is known for its smaller berries that yield more concentrated juice.

Were you about to plant a vineyard of Pinot Noir in the US, below are the major non-massale clones and their characteristics that you would surely consider. The characteristics attributed to each clone come from a combination of my tasting notes, discussions with producers and discoveries in other professional sources, such as the cross-reference list at the bottom of this section.

Dijon Clones:Domaine Ponsot is the source of these widely celebrated clones. Clone numbers beginning with “11” are older clones.
- 114 – Early ripening; profound color with purple inflections; complex flavors; concentrated black and red fruits; seemingly intrinsic balance; fine yet abundant tannin.
- 115 – Also early ripening; mid-depth color; favors complexity and savoriness; dark fruits – cherry, plum, blackberry; intense and rounded in structure; full-bodied.
- 667 – Deep and vibrant color; eloquent bouquet; rather tannic; cellar-worthy structure.
- 777 – A “tour de force” of flavor and color concentration; balance despite a yin-yang of round tannins and persistent flavor.
Roederer Clone: Six clones were imported to the USA in 1984 by Louis Roederer from Chouilly, France, for its Anderson Valley operation. Only two did not have Rupestris stem pitting virus concerns. These are registered as FPS 31 and FPS 32. Technically, only 32 is known as the Roederer Clone. These are commonly used in sparkling wine, and FPS 32 is also used for still wine. When made into still wine, FPS 32 gives dark fruit flavors.
Pommard Clones: Château de Pommard provided the source of these clones in the 1940s. Often favored over Dijon Clones in cooler Oregon (versus California).
- Pommard 4 - firm in tannin and lightly warm on the palate with generous juiciness accompanied by light glycerol. Impressively pale.\
- Pommard 5 & 6 – Density, structure and chewiness belie its fruit-driven nose.
Wädenswil Clones: Swiss in origin.
- 2A - best known. Finessed tannins, alluring perfume and lifted acidity. Interestingly, this clone has thicker skins than the others. These skins release ample quantities of tartaric acid, contributing to the clone’s mouth-watering quality.
Martini Clones: Heritage clones from the Inglenook estate are well-represented in Carneros and Russian River Valley today. The FPS registered Martini Clone, FPS 13, gives decadently soft, ripe and often jammy fruit.
Swan Clones: From Joseph Swan's Russian River Valley estate, originally planted in 1969. The source for his budwood may have been Domaine de la Romanée Conti (as a suitcase clone) or the Martin Ray Vineyard. The Swan Selections tend to provide bright fruit and elegance.

Interestingly and confusingly, the same Pinot Noir clone can be known by a different name in different parts of the world. Here is a handy cross-reference chart from a recent Mornington Peninsula International Pinot Noir Celebration.

Chardonnay

Were you considering plantings of Chardonnay, dissimilar from its Pinot Noir cousin in that it transplants more easily to different sites and climates, you would surely be noodling over the clones below. Chardonnay also segments in two major, though different, categories: “regular” and “aromatic”, or “musqué”. Also unlike Pinot Noir, Chardonnay clones are obsessed over less. This may be because Chardonnay is so malleable that its processing trumps the clone – and sometimes the site – in the eyes of many winemakers.

Dijon Clones: First arrived in the US along with their Pinot Noir siblings in the 1970s.
- 77 & 809 – Highly perfumed.
- 75, 78, 121, 124, 125 – Highly productive.
- 76, 95, 96 – High quality with good complexity. Widely planted in Oregon. The latter two are also widely planted in New Zealand.
Wente Clones: Seemingly THE Chardonnay source in California as the Wente and Masson (Mount Eden) vineyards were the only significant ones left after Prohibition. The non-heat treated version is predestined to a significant quantity of millerandage, or “hens and chicks”, which ultimately improves concentration. California growers and winemakers use the term “Wente” loosely. Some refer to the FPS registered clones while others refer to non-certified selections also known as Shot Wente. “Shot Wente” is a selection, not a clone. Registered Wente clones include FPS 67 and 72.
Martini Clones: Selections taken from the Stony Hill (McCrea family) vineyard by Michael Martini, Jr. The clippings for the original Stony Hill vineyard came from the Wente Vineyard. (UC Davis admits that the exact origins for many UCD clones are not known. Tracing them was not considered important back in the day.)
- Martini selections that were registered by FPS are Clones 4, 5, 6, 8 and 14. Clones 4 & 5 are high yielders with high cluster weights and large berries yet high acidity.
- FPS 4 and 5 were also combined into a new clone, 108, in the late 1960s, which sometimes goes by, again confusingly, “Wente clone” or “Davis clone”. FPS 108 was widely planted not only in California but also in early Washington State vineyards.
Mendoza Clone: Unclear origins despite the nod to South America in the clone’s name. It seems unlikely that Argentina was a reference point for higher quality Chardonnay several decades ago. Nonetheless, it is a low- to moderate-yielder given its tendency to millerandage. Michael Hill-Smith MW, of Australia’s Shaw & Smith, says it is low in phenolics so it is well-suited to skin contact, which turbo-charges its aromatics.
Mount Eden Selection: Paul Masson imported the original plant material from Burgundy just prior to 1900. As with Wente and Martini clones, its progengy are spread far and wide. This is a highly respected selection. According to a UC Davis report, Zelma Long once described the clone as showing, “depth, power and texture.” This selection has been “cleaned” of the viruses it carried via shoot tip culture (rather than heat treating the vine, which can cause mutation). The “clean” version was registered just over a decade ago as FPS 66.

So, why do all of these clones matter anyway? After all, Burgundy largely feigns disinterest in clones. They relegate this clonal parlance to their New World brethren producing “their varieties”. As the insightful Michael Glover of Bannockburn in Australia once wrote to me, “Clone talk is a great way for the industry’s new entrants to express to wine writers just how serious they are in their new endeavors to make great Pinot Noir.”

As Oregon learned about the clones it brought north from California – and what many, many other regions learned in different patterns through the process, is that clones are finicky. They are highly site specific. They don’t play nice on every playground. Planting density, altitude, aspect, irrigation (or lack thereof), wind, etc. all play a part. I’ve even heard one producer liken them to humans, “Some people love the beach; others prefer the slopes.” The jigsaw of qualities to consider is mind-boggling, and winemakers need to be honest with themselves – sooner rather than later – when something doesn’t work. Scott Zapotocky, vineyard manager of Paul Hobbs in Sonoma, said as much when we met this January. After all, as Michael Glover also wrote:

“What works or doesn’t work at Bannockburn Vineyards in Geelong with a clone that is planted at 10,000 vines per hectare and dry grown does not have much relevance to how that clone may perform in the Mornington Peninsula planted at 2,000 vines per hectare and irrigated.”

Still, Allen Meadows, in his insightful 2008 letter to US Pinot Noir producers, stated that he worries the most popular clones planted in the US speak of the clones more than of the terroir. However, Lewin quotes Nick Peay, of Peay Vineyards, who has a different take on this issue, saying, “When Pinot is picked overripe, the wines tend to taste the same regardless of clone or site.” And, California producers, especially, are wont to pick overripe though a handful of producers are changing their wine styles.

With today’s spotlight on clones in the US, it’s hard to believe that just three decades ago, vineyard managers simply ordered “Chardonnay” and “Pinot Noir” from nurseries. Still, what are producers, sites and clones combining to express? Even with all the scientific advances, we have many unanswered questions. And, to complicate things for the future, many of these famously numbered clones – the Dijon family, in particular – began appearing in the US in the 1970s – a chilly decade in Burgundy. Our climate has changed. How will these clones trace time? Will they be relegated to the history books or will they morph anew, with or without human help?

It will be highly interesting to look back after the next three decades to see how our development and use of clones has progressed.