Drinking the other side of the street in white Burgundy

In speaking with a client this week regarding his in-store wine sales he pointed out that he's now selling white Burgundy. Fantastic! This is great stuuf. Understand that my excitement comes from the fact that I love Burgundy.

I can't afford it though- the best villages and the best vineyards anyway. What I can afford and do drink are the best wines from the towns next store. It's a lot like being a first time home buyer. Maybe you can't afford the super premium street, so you constantly look for the up-and-coming block. Same with me with regards to Burgundy.

So, moving back to white Burgundy, I have three villages that you should look to.

1. Auxey-Duresses...This is a town that borders Meursault to the North. As I get more and more into Meursault- and am able to taste the top producers (Roulot, Fichet, Coche-Drury, Lafon, etc...), I'm also discovering that almost all of these producers have vineyard holdings in Auxey-Duresses as well. Specifically Les Reugne vineyard if you can get it- as it's a sweet spot for Auxey. I find the wines a little more nervous than Meursault. A little more high-toned on the fruit. More citrus enters. More green apple. But, in the hands of a great producer like Fichet these wines drink just a notch down from their Meursault's and are priced at a huge discount against the Meursault's as well.

2. St Aubin...This town sits in a sleep little valley just off to the West between the areas of Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet. For me there is one producer- Lamy. (Note: I do represent Lamy professionally.) Hubert & Olivier Lamy make wines that, frankly, blow away most standard Chassagne and Puligny, and some premier cru quality Chassagne and Puligny as well. Specifically, buy their St Aubin En Remilly vineyard as it sits right next to the Grand Cru Batard-Montrachet, but is priced at 1/10 the price. And even his basic St Aubin is fantastic. Highly recommended.

3. St Romain...Another just outside of Meursault town. I've found the wines to be a little funkier here. A little more "pure hay", if you will. Mushrooms and earth pop up a little more. They are, well, Burgundian. Two producers worth noting here are Henri Boillot and Alan Gras. Gras especially, as he's known as pretty much THE producer from St Romain. And again, the wines are ridiculously cheap when you start comparing the prices against THE BEST wines from the big three: Meursault, Chassagne, and Puligny.

Point is, yes you can still drink very very well at a reasonable price in Burgundy. You just need to expand your geography and make sure you're choosing only the best producers.