Questions Uncorked

Jan 27, 2009

Hi Christie. Thank you so much for your note; what a wonderful gift idea for your boyfriend! Here is what I would suggest:

For a book choice, either Côte d’Or: A Celebration of the Great Wines of Burgundy by Clive Coates, M. W. or New France: A Complete Guide to Contemporary French Wine by Andrew Jefford. Both are fantastic and contain a tremendous amount of information.

If you go with the book on Burgundy, then I would recommend buying three bottles of Burgundy. I would look for a Chablis (some producers to look for would be Vincent Dauvissat or William Fèvre) which is made with the Chardonnay grape, and then another Chardonnay from a village in Burgundy such as Puligny-Montrachet or Mersault (Joseph Drouhin is a producer you should be able to find and he makes both a Puligny-Montrachet and a Meursault that would fit your budget). Finally, for your third bottle, I would suggest buying a red made from the Pinot Noir grape (I would look for ones from villages such as Gevery-Chambertin, Chambolle-Musigny or Nuits-Saint-Georges. Wines from these villages by producers such as Louis Jadot, Joseph Drouhin or Bouchard Père & Fils should be easy to find and fit your budget).

If you go with Jefford’s New France, then I would select 3 wines from 3 different regions in France. I would choose one wine from Bordeaux, one from Burgundy and one from the Rhône. My picks there would be a red wine from Bordeaux (something like the Chateau Cantemerle from the Haut Médoc or Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou’s La Croix de Beaucaillou from Saint Julien), a red or white from Burgundy (see above for some ideas from that region) and from the Rhône look for wines from Paul Jaboulet Ainé or Chapoutier – two very reliable producers that will fit your budget.
Let me know if I can be of any further help!

Cheers,
Sheri