RED, RED WINE

JOEL L. FLEISHMAN

The best of Burgundy (and California Pinot Noir)

Wine

Why don't more people buy Burgundy? For starters, relative to other wines only a small quantity is produced, and it is, consequently, expensive. The main drawback, however, is that a purchaser must have a great deal of information to make an informed choice. One must know the location in which the grapes are grown, such as Montrachet for whites and Chambertin for reds, and then be able to sort out the countless hyphenations with the names of nearby towns: Puligny-Montrachet, for instance. In addition to the place-names, one frequently finds vineyard or subplace designations, as in Clos St. Jacques, a subdivision of Gevrey-Chambertin. Add to this a list of quality designators, including Grand Cru, Premier Cru, and Tete de Cuv6e, which convey many different nuances of quality depending on the integrity of the designation affixer. And that, of course, is the most important label ingredient of all— the name of the grower or shipper. There is much greater quality consistency among all the wines shipped by such houses and growers as Remoissenet, Faiveley, Louis Latour, and Drouhin than there is among all of the Cortons, Chambertins, Montrachets, and their brood of hyphenations. That is why, for the tasting reported on here, I chose so many wines shipped by Remoissenet. Over the years, I have found its wines both consistent in quality and likely to age beautifully.

Included also in the tasting, of course, are the California Pinot Noirs, our native "Burgundies." They taste and age virtually the same as Burgundies, and usually, but not always, they are less expensive. Finally, I included some wines from the Rhone, Burgundy's neighbor to the south. While they are always more straightforward and less elegant than their more aristocratic cousins, the best of the Rhones—Cote-Rdtie, Gigondas, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, and the grand Hermitage—are both more accessible and cheaper than the great Burgundies.

The wines tasted are listed in the order in which they were ranked by the tasters. In each flight, the top five wines are all quite good, and are worth buying. On retasting and after inter-flight comparisons, the consensus best-of-tasting wines were the following:

—Two Calera Pinot Noirs from California, the Selleck and the Jensen, are surely the equals of any wine in the tasting. The Vougeot from Mongeard-Mugneret is less forward than the Caleras but more complex and deeper. The Clair-Dau Gevrey-Chambertin, Clos St. Jacques, has similar essences and, though medium-bodied in weight, is rich and intense. Finally, the Remoissenet Corton and Corton Clos du Roi are both magnificent wines. The former has a perfect balance of deep black-cherry and tobacco flavors, while the latter is even darker and more concentrated, suggesting great power as well as great promise. All of the wines are 1983s, except where noted.

Flight one: Corton Clos du Roi, Grand Cru, Remoissenet ($38); Hermitage, E. Guigal ($22); Gigondas, E. Guigal ($11); Cote-Rotie, E. Guigal ($22); Charmes-Chambertin, Grand Cru, Remoissenet ($38); BeauneGrfcves, Tete de Cuvee, Remoissenet ($28); Clos de Vougeot, Charles Vi6not ($19.95); Vosne-Romanee, Remoissenet ($24); Nuits-St.-Georges, Premier Cru, Georges Chevillon ($15.95); Vosne-Roman£e, Les Chaumes, Premier Cru, M6o-Camuzet ($16.95).

Flight two: Gevrey-Chambertin, Clos St. Jacques, Clair-Dau ($15.95); 1984 Calera Jensen Pinot Noir ($23); Pommard, Hospices de Beaune, Cuvee Billardet, bottled by Robert Sarrau ($16.95); Gevrey-Chambertin, Clos St. Jacques, Tete de Cuvee, Remoissenet ($48); Clos de Vougeot, Grand Cru, Remoissenet ($58); GevreyChambertin, Les Fontenys, Premier Cru, Joseph Roty ($19.99); Renommee Bourgogne, Remoissenet ($10.75); Chambertin, Pierre Damoy ($19.95); Nuits-St.-Georges, Les Chaignots, Henri Gouges ($14.95); CharmesChambertin, Dujac ($19.95).

Flight three: Schug Cellars CamerosNapa Valley Pinot Noir, Beckstoffer Vineyard ($12); Vougeot, Les Cras, Premier Cru, Mongeard-Mugneret ($19.95); Chapelle-Chambertin, ClairDaii ($19.95); Givry, Domaine du Baron Th6nard, Remoissenet ($11.25); Volnay, Hospices de Beaune, Cuv6e G6neral-Muteau, bottled by Robert Sarrau ($17.95); Echezeaux, Jayer-Gilles ($19.95); Chambolle-Musigny, G. Roumier ($19.95); Vosne-Romande, Les Suchots, Ren6 Mugneret ($13.95); 1984 Calera Reed Pinot Noir ($23); Nuits-St.-Georges, Les Bridges, Robert Amoux ($14.99).

Flight four: 1984 Calera Selleck Pinot Noir ($25); Corton, Grand Cru, Remoissenet ($16.95); Clos de Vougeot, Haegelen-Jayer ($19.95); Clos de la Roche, Dujac ($19.95); Chambertin, Clos de B&ze, Pierre Damoy ($15.95); GevreyChambertin, Petite Chapelle, Premier Cru, Louis Trapet ($15.95); Corton, Domaine du Clos Frantin ($14.95); BonnesMares, Drouhin-Laroze ($19.95); Corton Languettes, Louis Chapuis ($12.99); Nuits-St.-Georges, Aux Murgers, Premier Cru, Meo-Camuzet ($14.99).