White & Red Burgundy

Burgundy is a tiny wine district just 200 miles south of Paris.  Producing a mere two or three percent of France’s total wine, this small region is a behemoth among oenophiles.   Indeed, Burgundy has a hugely loyal following among the world’s most serious wine lovers.  And, both the white and the red are at the pinnacle for many wine aficianados.

Chardonnay is the most widely planted grape in Burgundy, accounting for about half of the total grape production.  If it’s a white Burgundian wine, it is Chardonnay (the only exception is a small production of a very simple white wine made from the Aligoté grape which is often used in Burgundy’s sparkling wine production).  White Burgundies are for many the Holy Grail, however, few can afford the astronomical prices.   In an article on The Top 5 Most Expensive White Wines in the World, a walloping four of them were white Burgundies.  They ranged in price from $5,923 to a mere $1,257 a bottle.

White Burgundy has a cult following.   These Chardonnays, unlike many others in the New World, have a complex minerality.   As all of Burgundy was an ancient inland seabed 70 million years ago, the petrified remains of sea creatures in these resulting limestone soils, can greatly influence the wine’s mineral-like nuances.  Moreover, Burgundy’s Chardonnay is very different from the warmer climate Chardonnay of places like California.  White Burgundy is all about austerity with high acidity and subtle citrus and apple flavors and aromas.  Warm climate Chars tend to be more New World in style: malolactic fermentation (to soften the acidity), oak influences of vanilla and butter, along with ripe fruit flavors like pineapple and tropical fruits.

Red Burgundies are no slouch by any means.  Like their white counterparts, they are also made entirely from just one grape.  If it’s a Red Burgundy, it was made from Pinot Noir.  Also, like White Burgundy, Red Burgundy has achieved rock-star status among the world’s connoisseurs.  By the way:  Pinot Noir never appears on any bottle of wine in Burgundy.  That’s because people know that if it’s red and made in Burgundy, it can only be Pinot Noir.  (The same for Chardonnay…you will never see the varietal’s name anywhere on the Burgundian bottle). 

Like White Burgundy, Red Burgundy is more restrained in its style when compared to the New World Pinots.  Burgundian Pinot is about elegance and subtlety.  In contrast, New World Pinots are all about the fruit (which, by the way, is usually fully ripe which accounts for their more fruit-forward flavors and high alcohols.)  Red Burgundies are prized by serious wine-lovers for these differences.

Wine-Knows has just two spots available on its trip to Burgundy this June.  Come learn about both White and Red Burgundies at their birthplace at some of the region’s super-star producers.   http://www.wineknowstravel.com/burgundy-champagne/

Rock-Star Minerality

                                          Minerality can add a compelling nuance to wine

“Lick it” the winemaker instructed.  “Lick the rock” he demanded of our bulging eyeballs’ group of Wine-Knows.   We were in a vineyard filled with rocks at the base of the Andes mountains in Argentina and we all giggled…and then complied.  Suddenly it became very quiet as everyone was seemingly trying to process the wonder and the words to explain what they had just tasted.

“Salt” one Wine-Know volunteered.  Another offered a caveat:  “What I taste is the smell of wet earth.”  This prompted another tour participant to chime in that she tasted the “smell of river pebbles.”  A few offered comments about the texture of what they tasted describing it as “pasty” or “thick.”  All appeared to be surprised about what they had just experienced.

Minerality can be a difficult concept, especially for new wine drinkers.  First, most novices are drawn to fruity wines.  Second, the majority of wines are fruit-forward so that subtle nuances of minerality take a back seat.  Last, there isn’t a lot of common language to discuss these mineral-like smells and tastes.  This makes minerality even tricky for some veterans to wrap their arms around.

Where minerality in wine comes from is still unknown.  We don’t really know how it happens although there are many theories.  What is known is that there are certain chemicals that have been isolated in wine that have been shown to promote smells and tastes of minerals.  With flavors of strawberries in a Pinot Noir, or green apples in a Chardonnay we understand that there are not actually berries or apples in these wines.  Thus, it makes sense that certain compounds would give off non-fruit smells and instead offer hints of minerals.

The best recommendation I have for trying to understand minerality in your glass is Assyrtiko wine from the island of Santorini, Greece.  This varietal is all about minerals and there's little competing fruit (you can actually taste the minerality of the island's famous volcano).  Suggested best producers of this enticing white wine include Gaia, Sigalas and Boutari.

Rock-out in 2018!