($70):   Though not the current release, consumers need to be aware of this wine since it is still available.  Domaine Parent, clearly one of the top growers in Pommard, opts to bottle this village wine separately because Anne Parent, who runs the domaine with her sister, Catherine, believes it is distinctive. … Read more

($60):  The vineyards of Blagny, a hamlet located high on the slope in Puligny-Montrachet, spread over both that village and the village of Meursault.  So, it’s not surprising that the wines from Meursault-Blagny have a mineral-like resemblance to those from Puligny. … Read more

($47, Polaner Selections):   With the sky-high prices of wines from the Côte d’Or, consumers who love the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay-based wines from Burgundy must look elsewhere within that region.  Givry, in the Côte Chalonnaise, is a good place to start, especially with the wines from Domaine Joblot, one of the top producers in the appellation. … Read more

($28, Polaner Selections):  Trapet Père et Fils, one of the great growers based in Gevery-Chambertin, makes outstanding wines from that village and neighboring villages, such as Marsannay.  They also make this under-the-radar wine with an eye-catching nearly blank label with tiny letters.… Read more

($35, Vineyard Roads):

  This is a fabulous value.  Benjamin Leroux, the former winemaker at Comte Armand, the famed Pommard property, established his own estate in 2007.  Now, like many small estates, has both his own grapes and buys some from growers he’s known over the years. 

($45, Vineyard Roads):   Auxey-Duresses, a village slightly off Burgundy’s the beaten track, offers great values precisely for that reason.  This white Burgundy punches far above its lowly village appellation, delivering bright and cutting minerality along with a hint of creaminess.  Another bargain for what it is and another case in my cellar.… Read more

($48, AP Imports): This wine exemplifies the confusion surrounding Burgundy.  The vineyard, Blanchot, is divided into two parts, Blanchot Dessus (dessus means “upper”) and Blanchot Dessous (dessous means lower).  Blanchot Dessus is a classified as a Premier Cru, while the lower part, is just a village wine. … Read more

 ($50, AP Imports): The 2016 vintage in Burgundy was plagued by calamitous weather causing significantly reduced yields in many locales and more than normal variability in quality throughout the region.  Some producers wound up making small amounts excellent wine, while others wound up with wines that were out of balance. … Read more

($18, Dreyfus, Ashby & Co.):  The wines from Saint-Véran, a small appellation surrounding its more famous cousin, Pouilly-Fuissé, can offer exceptional value, especially when produced by someone like Drouhin.  Made entirely from Chardonnay, Drouhin’s Saint-Véran combines a lovely stoniness characteristic of the appellation and a hint of creamy seductiveness with the elegant and lacy Drouhin style. … Read more

 ($16, Dreyfus, Ashby & Co.):  Véronique Drouhin explained that they have always purchased grapes from a variety of growers who have holdings in Les Crays, but this is the first year they decided to put the name of that lieu-dit (vineyard) on the label.  … Read more

($37, Louis Latour USA):  Latour’s En Caradeux, which always over delivers for the price, is true to form in 2016.  Pure and delicate, the wine is nonetheless rich and long.  It has the classic focus and harmony of Latour’s wines.  This exhilarating wine shows there are still well-priced Burgundies. … Read more

($55, Louis Latour USA):  Simonnet-Febvre’s 2016 Preuses is an exceptional wine at an exceptional price.   Full-bodied with exotic undertones, it nonetheless conveys the firm minerality of great Chablis.   Zesty, not shrill, the flavors jump from the glass and persist.   A seemingly endless finish just adds to the appeal of this energetic wine.… Read more

($35, Louis Latour USA):  The Fourchaume vineyard, which sits adjacent to the strip of Grand Cru vineyards in Chablis, is considered to be among the top 1er Cru vineyards.   This wine has the added richness and depth characteristic of Fourchaume without scarifying any verve or energy.  … Read more

($29, Kobrand Wine & Spirits):  Bouzeron is the only white wine appellation in Burgundy that prohibits Chardonnay in favor of another grape, Bourgogne Aligoté, because the soil is particularly well-suited to it.  Although wines labeled Bourgogne Aligoté can been thin and harsh, the wines from Bouzeron generally are not. … Read more

($26):  Domaine Paul Pernot, one of the leaders in Puligny-Montrachet, seemingly can do no wrong with their white wines.  Year in and year out, my notes indicate you can buy any of his white wines and be happy.  Take this Bourgogne Blanc, which comes exclusively from Chardonnay grown in plots located just outside the delineated area of Puligny-Montrachet. … Read more

($75, Louis Latour USA):  Les Chaillots is one of the many vineyards where Louis Latour owns vines.  Hence the labeling, Domaine Louis Latour.  The 2016 vintage received a bad rap because of the horrible weather that reduced yields dramatically.  The weather may have been bad, but many of the 2016s, such as this one, are excellent. … Read more

($44):  Pinson, one of my favorite Chablis producers, makes wines, even their village Chablis, that are focused, precise and well-priced.  This one, from a lesser known site, is quintessential Premier Cru Chablis, delivering a fine flinty stony signature that expands in the glass, but never becomes heavy or ripe. … Read more

($15, Loosen Bros. USA):  Created in 2011 and replacing the very down-market sounding appellation, Bourgogne Grand Ordinaire, Coteaux Bourguignons encompasses all vineyards from around Chablis in the north to Beaujolais in the south.  For reds, the allowable grapes include Pinot Noir, Gamay, and César, a lesser-known grape grown around the Chablis area. … Read more

($22, Louis Latour USA):  The 2015 vintage in Burgundy–and most of France for that matter — produced excellent reds, with ripeness and presence.  Whites were less consistent because sometimes the warmth of the vintage robbed them of needed acidity.  But when producers harnessed the ripeness without losing acidity, as with this wine, the result is stunning. … Read more

($89, A Jeanne-Marie des Champs Selection):  To me the talents of a producer shine when they make great wine from less than great sites.  Domaine Parent does that consistently, though they also make great wine from great sites, as their 2016 Les Chaponnières shows. … Read more

($144, A Jeanne-Marie des Champs Selection):  As enthusiastic as I am about Parent’s village wine, La Croix Blanche, Parent’s Les Chaponnières shows the glory of a premier cru.  Although it’s a touch more powerful, it’s really the wine’s elegance and complexity that puts it into a different category. … Read more

($305, Frederick Wildman and Sons):  Given the horrendous weather during the 2016 growing season in Burgundy, it’s amazing that growers made any wine at all.  Sadly, some did not since entire vineyards were wiped out by hail.  Many producers had written off vintage, prematurely, as it turned out. … Read more

($37, Becky Wasserman Selection):

 Becky Wasserman’s name on a bottle is a sure sign of quality.  Her name is never on the front label — that’s reserved for the producer and appellation.  Seeing her name on the back label is a superb recommendation for a producer you may have never heard of. 

($23, Dreyfus, Ashby & Co.):  Mercurey, a small town in the Côte Chalonnaise in Southern Burgundy, is an especially good place to look for values in 2015.  The extra warmth of the vintage helped these less prestigious sites.  Compared to Drouhin’s Rully, from a neighboring village in the Côte Chalonnaise, this Mercurey has more earthiness accompanying its bright fruitiness. … Read more

($17, Constellation Imports):   The Marlborough region on the northern end of New Zealand’s South Island is rapidly becoming known for Pinot Noir.  This one imparts a pure, clean fruitiness that is, paradoxically, both intense and delicate.  There’s not a trace of heaviness. … Read more

($69, Frederick Wildman and Sons):  Pouilly-Fuissé doesn’t get any better than this.  Le Clos, sure to be classified as a premier cru vineyard when the classification system for Pouilly-Fuissé goes into effect in the next year or so, is owned solely — a monopole — by Château de Fuissé, one of the top producers in the appellation. … Read more

($12):  Chaintré is one of the communes that comprise the Pouilly-Fuissé appellation.  If a wine comes exclusively from vineyards in the village, but lie outside of that famous appellation, they can carry the name of village instead of the more generic appellation of Mâcon-Villages. … Read more

($35, Dreyfus, Ashby & Co.):  The 2015 vintage in Burgundy was outstanding for both reds and whites.  Reds belong in the cellar, while the whites are delicious for earlier drinking as this one demonstrates.  Domaine Vaudon is the Drouhin estate in Chablis where they make sensational wines. … Read more

($23):  After tasting this lovely Rully, a word Master Sommelier Andrea Immer Robinson once used to describe a wine sprang to mind: “Delish!”  Fresh and juicy, there’s not a hint of over-ripeness in mid-weight red.  A hint of earthiness adds intrigue to this well-proportioned ready-to-drink village wine. … Read more

($30):  Mercurey, an often-overlooked village in the Côte Chalonnaise, is home to well-priced authentic Burgundy, both red and white.  In this era of stratospheric prices for Burgundies, consumers should search for wines from this village.  Château de Chamirey, one of the finest producers in the Côte Chalonnaise, made a superb array of Mercurey wines in 2016. … Read more

($35):  This is the first vintage that Château de Chamirey decided to bottle wine from this 3.5-acre vineyard separately.  Half went into this bottling, while the other half went into their village Mercurey blend.  Although not from a premier cru vineyard, this 2015 tastes like a premier cru wine. … Read more

($35):  Domaine Salomon is a — perhaps the — star in Givrey, yet another under-rated village in the Côte Chalonnaise.  (Don’t confuse this village with Gevrey, as in Chambertin, in the Côte d’Or.)  This wine, their flagship, hails from a 17.5-acre that they own exclusively. … Read more

($118, Frederick Wildman And Sons Ltd):  Vaudésir, along with Le Clos, sit atop most critics’ lists — certainly mine — of top Grand Cru vineyards in Chablis.  To me, the wines from Vaudésir, in the hands of the best producers, combine power with elegance and epitomize the stature of Grand Cru classification. … Read more

($48, Frederick Wildman And Sons Ltd):  Vaillon is a large well-known 1er cru vineyard on the Left Bank in Chablis that is composed of many plots.  Christian Moreau’s plot, where the average age of the vines is 56 years, according to their website, is in the heart of the vineyard. … Read more