Help us with some French Burgundies please

[dananne]

Welcome to the board!

Burgundy can be a lot of fun to explore, but also maddening for several reasons. First of all, there is often a real (as opposed to imagined) price/quality ratio, so the better Burgs tend to soar quite higher than $20. Second, it really can be hit-or-miss with quality. It helps to narrow the search a bit by tasting before buying (find a reputable wine shop that offers tastings, if possible, to explore that way -- it is cheaper than random, blind purchases). Also, with Burgundy, vintages really do mean something. Another thing is that they sometimes show best after a bit of bottle age, which would differ a bit from those domestic producers you mentioned, most of which show well on release. Finally, there is a myriad of label stuff that you have to get to know, particularly geographic information, that will help you narrow your tastes as you explore.

As for specific recs, at that price range you may be best off exploring some basic Bourgogne wines -- for example, Joseph Drouhin makes one called Vero. The '02 sells for about $20. Not sure about availability, buy you could try a Santenay from Jadot for a comparison. It'll run about $24.

Another member such as Wondersofwine may chime in with some additional specific recommendations.

Enjoy your exploring!