The meteoric rise of white Burgundy over the last decades is an understandable one; from the northern outpost of Chablis with its verve, racy minerality and ballerina-like poise to Chassagne-Montrachet on the southern tip of the Côte-d'Or where the wines are more sumptuous, bold and seem almost laced with browned butter and toasted hazelnuts. For novices and professionals alike, white Burgundy offers elegance and nuance - a thousand different tastes and guises. And unlike the powerhouses of Bordeaux, the domaines of Burgundy are still owned, run and farmed by the farmers themselves. The sense of connection to the land and the environment is real.
However, extreme weather spikes (that used to be an occurrence of once in a decade) have become an almost annual phenomenon - soaring spring heats that force premature budburst and are followed by frosts that devastate the infant buds. It is not uncommon to hear of vignerons losing their entire yearly crop. As such, the perfect storm of demand grossly outrunning a dwindling supply has witnessed skyrocketing prices. Much like the UK housing market, these prices aren’t going to drop any time soon.
As is often discussed - in times of strife and hardship, creativity is born. So instead of lamenting the increasingly limited access to white Burgundy, I propose that we get creative with our wine choices and look to other exciting regions of France that will offer up similar electricity in your glass.
Within France, you don’t even need to cast your eyes too far: the Jura mountain range - an hour in the car from Beaune - boasts the same geological makeup and discussions of its terroir and enigma of its wines are almost as feverish as that in Burgundy. Whilst the region has also been rocked by freakish weather, the wines are yet to hit the mainstream and there are some serious stunning bargains to be had. Just a few hours south of Burgundy lies the little-known region of Auvergne. Known by most as a (somewhat uninteresting) chunk of central French farmland, there are a handful of vignerons who are whipping up some cracking Chardonnay. The area is home to a series of volcanoes that rocked into the landscape about 35 million years ago. What remains is the ancient flows of molten lava that have turned to black basalt. Wines from such soils are the hot topic du jour and are much feted for their delectable acidity, moreish savoury touch and minerality.
We would be amiss if we didn’t mention the burgeoning Chardonnay scene that is happening right here on our doorstep. The south coast of England - from the tip of Cornwall to the beaches of Essex - is fast becoming a darling of the wine world. A mixture of increasing temperatures and soils rich in chalk and limestone (key players in the terroir of Burgundy and Champagne) would appear to be a recipe for success. If the land grab that is currently taking place from some of the biggest players in the wine world is anything to go by, English wine is definitely one to watch...