I am not quite going to say the Domaine Des Croix Savigny Les Beaune Premier Cru Les Peuillets delivered a “magical wine experience,” but it sure hinted at it, which for an $85 bottle of wine is excellent value. It didn’t take me on an emotional journey, but it did tug at my emotions, a very nice preview of what comes with higher end Burgundies.
I was pleasantly surprised by notes and aromas of wild berries both red and black, along with that essential Burgundian minerality integrated with the fruit. It was a heavier wine than I thought it would be, more medium bodied than light. And the nose, as expected, was heavenly, swirling and changing, and dancing, and evolving.
This is definitely a great introduction to Burgundy for heavier Cab drinkers- it has some heft to it while maintaining the subtleties and nuances that define Burgundy. It’s not a hypnotic wine like the very high end Burgundies, and it didn’t take me on an emotional journey, but it was an exceptionally enjoyable wine to drink sitting out in the backyard and watching the sun set on the second to last day in January in Texas.
I’m not hating on California Pinot Noir- and I am a big fan of Oregon Pinots- but if I was going to spend $85 to $100 on a bottle to introduce me to a great region, I’d spend it on the Domaine Des Croix Savigny Les Beaune Premier Cru Les Peuillets, and get far better value than anything from California.
This wine is just a tiny glimpse into the seductive wines of Burgundy, and like any good seduction, they’ll eventually get you to open your wallet and be happy you did. Burgundy is where you find fine wines not just in the $1,000 per bottle range, but in the $5,000 per bottle range, the $10,000 per bottle range, and even $25,000 per bottle, and people are willing to pay for them.
The average wine snot stuck at $20 Meiomi will snarkily proclaim they could never drink wine for that price, and they are correct- that’s why they never have magical wine experiences, just the same boring buzz and sugar high all the time. But if you are into truly peak life experiences, the Premier Cru and Grand Cru Burgundies are wines to save your pennies for- they can give you once in a lifetime experiences few human beings will ever have.
The wine world is divided into two types of people- us affable wine snobs who drink fine wine for the emotional journeys it takes us on, and wine snots who loudly proclaim they could never spend “that much” on a bottle of wine when a $15 bottle of wine will do. Us wine snobs strive for experience, wine snots let the world pass them by without ever knowing what an experience is.
You want to ease into Burgundy, so start with a great introduction in the $100 or so range like the Domaine Des Croix Savigny Les Beaune Premier Cru Les Peuillets, and work your way up. If you start in with, say, a bottle of Domain Romanee Conti La Tache for $5,000.00 a bottle, you don’t really have any place else to go.
Here are a few wallet busters to aspire to. As an old girlfriend of mine once said, “expensive, but worth it.” We agreed on the first part, not the second. But when it comes to the Premier Cru and Grand Cru Red Burgundies, both parts of that statement apply:
Domaine Armand Rousseau Pere et Fils Clos Saint-Jacques, Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru, France
Domaine de la Romanee-Conti La Tache Grand Cru Monopole
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