Need advice on wine gift for a wine nerd

Caymus Special Selection Cabernet is always stellar & top rated. But may be above you price target, is a very serious wine & spectacular.

 

Being French, the fact that one of them brought a bottle of white burgundy would usually indicates some connoisseur, and makes a choice more difficult, as Burgundy is divided in many very small parcels, rending knowledge of the wines very difficult.

I suppose Washington would be fairly well stocked, so why not try a white burgundy and a red?

For a white, I would look for a Meursault for instance, such as:
- Olivier Leflaive Meursault 1er Cru « Perrières » 2006
- Louis Latour Meursault 1er Cru « Goutte d’Or » 2009
- Louis Latour Meursault 1er Cru « Charmes » 2010
- Bouchard Père et Fils Meursault 1er Cru « Les Gouttes d’Or » Domaine 2008

Or - Louis Latour Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru “les Folatières” 1999

All these bottles are between 60 and 80 dollars here, so probably about 100 ( ??) in the US.


Burgundy also produces extraordinary reds, but do not expect these to be cheap; staying in the price range you gave, we have for instance:
- Bouchard Père et Fils: Pommard 1er Cru “Rugiens” Domaine 2003 (about 90 $ here)
- Domaine de Courcel : Pommard 1er Cru « Les Croix Noires » 2007 (same)
- Louis Latour Clos Vougeot Grand Cru 2000 (about 150 $ here)
- Louis Latour Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru 2006 (same)
- Bouchard Père et Fils Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru 2009 (same)

Rgds

 

I'd also reach out to user Steelton Keith; between he & nerofer you have F- chat's finest minds when it comes to wine. I learn a lot from their posts...T

 

Hey! So did I (wife's Mom name Solange Bergeron and family also has Darracq and Menier surnames).
I would follow Nerofer's advice...they have shown an affinity for white Burgundy so I would go in that direction. There are a couple of great wine shops in D.C. and pricing is competitive. The only issue to ask your wine purveyor about is "pre-mox"...white burgundies have been subject to premature oxidation. It is difficult to keep up with all of the red and white burgundy producers and that region has a fair amount of vintage variation. I like the 05 and 09 but do not get too wrapped up in vintage chasing. Great winemakers can make extraordinary wines in any year. Bad winemakers can turn a spectacular vintage into plonk. One way to take some of the guesswork out of French Wine buying is to take a good look at the importer (back label). The following firms have outstanding reputations...let them take the selection guesswork out of it for you: Neil Solomon; N. Rosenthal; Kermit Lynch; Robert Kacher; Becky Wasserman. There are others. The Chassagne and Puligny Montrachets are favorites of mine as are the Pommard. Wine lovers do like to receive bottles with a little age so it is always nice to find something that-if properly strored- gives your friends the pleasure of having a mature wine ready to consume. The only other thing I would say is do not rule out a great bottle of vintage Champagne.

 

ND Flack... You have now drank (drunk?!?) from the F-chat font of wine knowledge. Let us know how it turns out...T

 

Great. Oh, and btw, best of luck in the new job...T

 

Absolutely true, so much in fact that there is even a saying in french for this, worth remembering as it is a serious advice:
"il vaut mieux un grand vin dans une petite année qu'un petit vin dans une grande année"
("a great wine in a small vintage is always to be prefered to a small wine in a great vintage")

Rgds

 

Oui, Cest vrais!

 

My reccomendation:

Louis Jadot Corton Charlemagne - about $145 - $160 depending.
Domaine de Rodeon Givry Chambertin

 

I would recommend Adobe wines. It's local wine from Napa Ca. Winery is own by Kevin Buckler of The Racers Group. I have it in my cellar.

 

Outstanding recommendation - even their "table" wine is fantastic.

Viticcio Chianti Classico Riserva is another excellent choice if they like red. Cheap too.

 

I'd take them. Grand Cru Chablis is a very often overlooked wine, but a very good one! and a considerable bargin.

Beycheville - good 2nd growth... they should be happy with both. The Chablis will bring out the wine nerd - snob in them.... if not, they aint into wine as much as they say!