Some of the Best Under $40 Red Burgundies on Earth
– Price Inflation Have Killed this Category
– The Days of Burgundy on Tuesday Are Mostly Over
– But Not At Fass Selections
– Burgundy Does Not Have to Be a Luxury Item
2022
– A Stunning Vintage
– The Top AOCs Need Age
– The “Lesser” Villages Are Spectacularly Delicious Today
– And Ready to Drink
Laurent & Karen Boussey
– Style Is the Perfect Marriage of Density and Elegance
– Some Richness – But An Element Balanced by Minerality
– A Very, Very Good Producer
– On the Very Early Part of the Recognition Curve
– Direct from the Winery
– Below the Bottom of the Market Prices
2022 Laurent Boussey Beaune “Les Prevoles”
– Directly Under the Great 1er Cru, Tuvilains
– Nose: After 10 minutes the Fruit Aromatically Erupts like a Volcano
– Strawberry and Watermelon
– Incredibly Sexy Pinot Fruit
– Classic Tweed Jacket
– Some Licorice
– Palate: Ungodly 2022 Fruit
– Refined and Superbly Elegant
– Terrific Blackberries
– Lovely Spice
– Tremendous QPR Here
– Drink Now but Can Age for 6-10 Years
2022 Laurent Boussey Aloxe-Corton “Les Valoziers”
– Most Incredible Refined Charm
– All Class and Refinement in a Vintage like 2022
– Nose: Old School Burgundy
– As Mineral As It Gets
– Amazing Spice
– Large and Deep Red/Black Cherry
– Thrilling 2022 Fruit
– Palate: Very “Sweet,” Thrilling 2022 Fruit
– Palate Saturating, Yet Light As a Feather
– Spice Echoes on the Finish
– A Whisper of Licorice
– Old School Burgundy Structure
2022 Reds at Boussey – A Truly Stunning Vintage
This is a breakout vintage for Boussey that reminds me of his thrilling 2019s. Boussey already gets terrific fruit clarity but it has stepped up a notch in 2022 with fruit that is crackling and sumptuous at the same time. There are mid to late season black and red cherries and stunning, rapturous textures. There are silky tannins and a hidden structure that ensures early drinkability and ensures a long life.
2022 at the lower to mid tier levels is really something else. The value of these wines, which are maybe my favorite under $30 Burgundies ever in that they offer elite fruit, complexity and depth. Via 3 tier for under $30 you get garbage. I won’t spin it. It’s not good. There is no good under $30 Burgundy via 3 tiers.
The fruit quality and character of 2022 is literally perfect. The fruit straddles red and black perfectly and there is a sleek, ripe, succulent quality that is to die for. Just to die for. I will have so much 2022 in my cellar as I know how rare fruit quality like this is. Maybe in 2010 and definitely in 1999, in my not so humble opinion. I’ve been tasting Burgundy since the 1996 vintage and only three times I’ve tasted fruit this pure, this vivid and this great.
Todays offer is one to load up on. These are old school, classic and traditional Burgs with chiseled incredible fruit (especially in 2022). Both of these wines are absurd values and are drinking wonderfully now.
Oh and I buy direct so these are incredible values when you compare to 3 tier.
What Is a Sexy Burgundy?
When we think of Red Burgundy and how to describe it, the first things that come to mind are aromatics and finesse. It’s not fruit and it’s certainly not sex appeal. But there are certainly wines that have that fruit, that lipstick, that texture that make them so seductive, and yes, sexy. The aromatics tend more towards the fruit and spice side rather than florals and mineral. And these wines have the presence to stand up to almost any food. There is that Burgundy elegance, of course, but there is also that sex appeal for lack of a better word. I don’t sell that many of these wines as they are less common but when I do sell them you should stock up. Because they are a very different style of Burgundy and one that you will want to drink on a somewhat regular basis. There is nothing sexier than buying sexy Burgundy in top vintages and it providing value that cannot be reproduced anywhere in the world. Small Burgundies in top vintages is what bringing sexy back is all about.
The Wines
Today I have two wines that I expected to be just very good and they turned out to be profound. These are just unreal wines in a category that I find difficult to find in the traditional 3-tier wine market for Burgundy and that is high quality under $40 Red Burgundies. You can find 3 to 1 better value white Burgundy at that oh so precious under $40 price point than red Burgundy. Chablis inflates those numbers a bit though, I’ll admit. But under $40 red Burgundy is becoming a thing of the past.
I’m lucky to have two of those wines today.
If I had an award for the most honest wine I’ve ever offered this would be up there. The 2022 Laurent Boussey Beaune “Les Prevoles” for $31.99 a bottle on a 4-Pack. Beaune lieu-dits can be excellent values but it’s also important to get a good producer. I’ve tasted as much bad Beaune reds as any type of wine I can think of. But when they are good I tend to gravitate towards them as they are really great values and I love the slightly rustic yet linear style and in the right vintages it has “crank it up” fruit. Les Prevoles as a site has a relationship to Fass Selections. It is directly under the great 1er Cru, Tuvilains that former Fass Selections superstar Herve Murat made a few vintages of for us. This wine is just incredible. This was going to get an email of it’s own but I decided against it.
The nose. After 10 minutes the fruit aromatically erupts like a volcano. Strawberry and watermelon. Wow. Really great. Classic Beaune Prévoles tweed jacket as well. Just wafting aromas. Classic and woolly nose if you know what I mean. Very Burgundian. I know, I hate tautological tasting notes but you’ll get what I mean. The sweet red cherry fruits really jump out of the nose. Stunning. On day 2 the nose has vivid sour and black cherry. Lots of zesty fruit. Tweed. Cherry pit. Licorice.
Palate has ungodly 2022 sexy, slippery fruit. Stunning purity and mouthfeel. Dark Black cherry fruits. Balance is magical. So dense and chewy Refined and superbly elegant. Super sappy with linearity and super vivid and crunchy detailed black cherry fruit. This is the most refined version of this wine I’ve ever had. Velvety tannins pump out the fruit. Very chewy. Long finish with a hint of rusticity. Pure. Lovely. Drink now through 2035 or so.
On day 2, palate is deep, juicy and ripe and cuts a lovely swath. Enormous concentration and purity. Very fresh and energetic.
Tremendous QPR here. Drink now but can age for 6-10 years. The fruit is so ungodly great that it must be tried young.
Where I Rant on Aloxe-Corton
If there is one very fine red wine appellation in Burgundy that is as underrated as Aloxe-Corton please let me know. This is not in the Chalonnaise nor in the more expensive Côte de Nuits but in white wine country. It’s in the Côte de Beaune. Côte de Beaune of course has the elegant stylings of Volnay, the massiveness yet finesse of a great Pommard and the power, finesse and depth of a great Grand Cru Corton. That’s the big 3 and if you’re not in that club you’re out of luck. Appellation bias is real and in Burgundy is where the problem remains the worst. People can’t really even explain Aloxe-Corton like I just pithily did with Corton, Volnay and Pommard. That’s a shame as a great Aloxe can mimic any of these. Yes, even Corton. For me, if I was to condense Aloxe-Corton into a soundbite, it would be, that some are highly structured wines and need age and others can be drunk within a few years of release. There are various 1er Crus of differing quality but the top ones in the right hands make for some thrilling Burgundy drinking. I love the stuff, and there is a fruit quality that is quite impressive is top Aloxe. Sweet and dense. The structure reminds me more of Pommard. The village wines also have a knack for a long slow evolution in the bottle and can develop into complex, gamey and well-fruited wines. If there is any village where you almost have to wait 5-10 years for the wines not to be austere, it is Aloxe-Corton. But this is not a bad thing at all. As the reward is so great as mature Aloxe-Corton can be a stunning Burgundy of great complexity, meatiness and depth. But in vintages like 2019 some of that austerity goes bye bye and is converted to luscious and succulent fruit. Waves of it.
Today I am super excited to offer the 2022 Laurent Boussey Aloxe-Corton “Les Valoziers” for $43.99 on a 4-Pack. This wine is a stunner and out of the wide range of wines Laurent Boussey makes this is easily the most structured and best value for the money. Would be $60 or so via 3-tier and a value at that price.
The depth of fruit and structure on this wine is epic. Sweet fruit and velvety tannins are its calling card. But there is ridiculous and I mean ridiculous fruit and this is a cellar value if I’ve ever seen one. But it can and does drink well young.
The nose is as mineral as it gets with amazing spice after a few hours. But also large and deep red/black cherry. The sweet fruit is exuberant on the nose but make no mistake there are super intense minerals as well. It screams old school Burgundy on the nose. This really reminds me of any great 2010.
The palate has very sweet, thrilling 2022 fruit which is the essence of Pinot in a classic vintage. I mean just thrilling. Dense and my god it is so sweet. Yes it is also tannic, but they are really fine and refined. Very balanced and it has most incredible refined charm of any Red Burgundy I’ve sold in a long time. Refined wines and vintages like 2022 work well together. The rustic edge of Aloxe is flooded with fruit when you have the crazy low yields you had in 2022 and the wine that was maybe a tad rustic in a less ripe vintage like 14 or 11 shows all class and refinement in a vintage like 2022. This might explain the unreal sweetness of the fruit and how intensely it saturates one’s palate yet is light as a feather. This is easily 1er Cru in quality. It brings so much sweetness AND freshness that it makes the impact that much more. I love this wine. Spice echoes on the finish and there is some big time old school Burgundy structure here. This is one of the best wines Laurent makes and I adore it and the 2022 is a masterpiece of an Aloxe.
Please call Cheryl at 949 378 5251 after emailing with your firstorder if you are a first time customer (we prefer not to receive credit card numbers over E-Mail).
OFFICE HOURS 4-7 PM
I love drinking and selecting wines – but my passion for teaching people about wine is almost as big. I’m happy to announce a block of time each day where people can call me just to chat about wine in general. These blocks are NOT intended to sell wine (I do that all day). This is to talk to me about wine pairings or great producers or how long to age wines or styles of wine making or the latest wine controversy. My goal is to help people learn more about wine and enjoy it more. Call me at 917-912-4355 from 4-7EST Monday – Friday.
|
|
A Word about Fass Selections and Social Media
I am big into certain social media and I want people to take pictures of the wines they have received or will receive and tag me in them and share their thoughts. I a am on Instagram. Please tag me there. I also am on Delectable which I love a lot. It is Iphone/Ipad only, but it’s like Instagram meets Facebook for wine. Tag me there and find me there as well. I want to know if you liked the wine, were not moved by the wine, hated the wine or the wine gave you a religious experience. I want to know it all. Feedback is key and I will answer all feedback e-mails as quickly as I can.
For all billing and invoicing inquiries please contact Nick at accounts@fassselections.com or 646-498-6078