Bourgogne Rouge
Learn more about Bourgogne Rouge
Bourgogne Rouge is the term used to apply to red wines from Burgundy that fall under the generic Bourgogne AOC, which can be produced by over 350 individual villages across the region. As with Bourgogne Blanc and Bourgogne Rosé, this is a very general appellation and thus is hard to pinpoint any specific characteristics of the wine as a whole, due to the huge variety of wines produced.
Around 4,600 acres of land across Burgundy are used to produce Bourgogne Rouge, which is around twice as much as is dedicated towards the production of generic whites.
Pinot Noir is the primary grape used in Bourgogne Rouge production, although Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and in Yonne, César grapes are all also permitted to make up the rest of the wine. These wines tend to be focused and acidic, with the fruit less cloying than in some New World wines also made from Pinot Noir, and they develop more floral notes as they age.
Although an entry-level wine, some Bourgogne Rouges can be exquisite depending on the area and producer, and yet at a very affordable price.
Prices:
Bottle
£16.50
Bottle 6 x 75cl 445cs
Bottle
£16.95
Bottle 6 x 75cl 210cs
Bottle
£17.50
Bottle 12 x 75cl 204cs
Bottle
£17.95
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle
£21.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 9cs
Anne McHale MW - Wine Education Specialist
Bottle
£22.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 25cs
Bottle
£22.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 57cs
Bottle
£22.50
Bottle 6 x 75cl 4cs
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director
One of the brightest talents in the northern Côte de Nuits is Laurent Fournier who runs the estate which carries his father’s name, as well as being the man in charge of the dossier for defining some Premier Cru vineyards in Marsannay. We have been hugely impressed with his wines for several years and are now offering them En Primeur for the first time. There is a quality of fruit here which fully reflects the joys of the Côte de Nuits, yet at rather more affordable prices.
Bottle
£22.50
Bottle 12 x 75cl 2cs
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director
Bottle
£23.50
Bottle 6 x 75cl 45cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 2cs
Bottle
£25.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 2cs
Bottle
£28.95
Bottle 6 x 75cl 18cs
86-89/100 Allen Meadows, burghound.com, Jan 2016
Bottle
£29.95
Bottle 6 x 75cl 15cs
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director
The Sérafins (Christian, his daughter Karine and niece Frédérique) do not rack their wines before bottling, having separated out all but the fine lees after the fermentation. Such is the concentration of the fruit in these wines that they can easily handle the new barrels in which they are being matured. The Sérafins take particular care to apportion particular forests and coopers to different cuvées. Overall, their crop is down by 30% in 2012.
Bottle
£35.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 20cs
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer
Christian Sérafin is very happy with how 2013 worked out in the end, though yields were once again 25% below normal, even if a touch more than in 2012. The team removed rot and unripe bunches in the vineyard, then waited to pick until after the wet weekend which helped both sugar and acidity.
Bottle
£35.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 18cs
Bottle
£36.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 4cs
Bottle
£46.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 10cs
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director
2010 is the first vintage to be made in the new cuvérie at this domaine, but it will be the last that is vinified by Sylvain Cathiard himself, he is handing over responsibility to his son Sébastien in 2011. The harvest began on 25th September with volumes just a little down compared to previous years, but as ever, Sylvain and his son have produced a most seductive range of wines.
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director
There is a marvellous sense of energy in Thibault Liger-Belairs 2010 wines, perhaps his finest vintage to date. This is a vintage where the wines express the characters of their terroirs very well. Thibault decided on a longer than usual vinification but with very little active extraction and fewer stems than in 2009. Where Thibault purchases grapes (Aloxe-Corton, Chambolle-Musigny) his team manages the vineyard work after the initial pruning.
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer
Sylvain considers 2013 to be a very classic Burgundy vintage, with good acidity similar to 2010. This delivers very good terroir definition and the classification levels are well marked out. Pure and precise wines, but unfortunately volumes are a further 20% below 2012 because of bad flowering and the need to sort the grapes. Contrary to many Sébastien favoured a bit more extraction, with longer maceration both before and after fermentation, and a bit more punching down during. Very interesting results as you will see. He has also cut back on the new oak.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director
Thibault’s two domaines, based in Moulin à Vent and Nuits-St Georges, both returned paltry yields of 16 hl/ha in 2012. Among the Côte d’Or appellations, the Hautes Côtes, Nuits and Gevrey-Chambertin suffered in particular. All of which is a great shame, given the quality of the wines which have been made. Even where Thibault purchases grapes (Aloxe-Corton and Chambolle- Musigny), Thibault makes the major decisions in the vineyard management. His own vines are farmed biodynamically, with ploughing by horse.
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director
Picking began on 24th September through to 5th October, producing a tiny yield in Premeaux after heavy rain during flowering. However, Chambolle survived in places and did go through malolactic fermentation with ease, leaving Nuits-St Georges to be much later. Despite healthy fruit, the crop has been reduced severely, producing as little as 12 hl/ ha in places. Patrice uses 30% new wood on his village wines and 40% for his Premiers Crus. Wines marked as ‘Patrice Rion label’ are officially negoçiant cuvées, but in every case, except the village Chambolle-Musigny, the Rions have done all the vineyard work as well as made the wine.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director
2010 is the fourth vintage of this recently created domaine which is vinified by Sylvain Debord in the now largely refurbished winery on the edge of Beaune, all under the watchful eye of Nicolas Potel. Nicolas and Sylvian are particularly keen to use 450 and 600 litre barrels rather than the traditionally smaller Burgundian size, as they aerate the wines nicely without adding too much of an oak effect. The senior wines such as Beaune Grves and upwards, are vinified with all of their stems.
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer
With prices in Burgundy still rising, even if often for understandable reasons, the appellations Bourgogne Blanc and Bourgogne Rouge are great places to look for affordable wines. You get the opportunity to drink wine from a top winemaker, from vines which are adjacent to the famous villages, and which will be accessible earlier. The 2005 Bourgognes Rouges are still delicious and youthful more than 10 years later, but most wines have been drinking well for a few years now.
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer
With prices in Burgundy still rising, even if often for understandable reasons, the appellations Bourgogne Blanc and Bourgogne Rouge are great places to look for affordable wines. You get the opportunity to drink wine from a top winemaker, from vines which are adjacent to the famous villages, and which will be accessible earlier. The 2005 Bourgognes Rouges are still delicious and youthful more than 10 years later, but most wines have been drinking well for a few years now.
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director