Michel Picard Givry 1er Cru 2005

This excellent wine was obtained in Calais, France by a friend of mine as part of a 6 bottle mixed case of red Burgundies that he chose himself. It turned out to be a rather good choice I think.

Givry is a village in the Côte Chalonnaise subregion of Burgundy. The Côte Chalonnaise is regarded as a good source of low-priced, quality Burgundies and if this is anything to go by I can see why.

Burgundy labelling can be a bit confusing, but I think I can decipher this one. The winemaker is Michel Picard, and he obtained the grapes for this wine from Domaine Voarick. This is indicated on the label (apparently this is unusual). They were taken from the vineyard "La Grande Berge", and this is also on the label because this is a Premier Cru vineyard. It's also from the 2005 vintage, which was one of the best in recent years.

The wine itself is lovely. If this is as good as Burgundy gets, I would be happy. It isn't, but I can't afford to drink fine Burgundy all the time. Every time I have a wine like this, I think of all the rubbish new world Pinot Noirs I've tried and feel vindicated for not liking them. There seem to be a lot of Pinot Noir fans around, and I suspect some of them are Sideways-influenced (you know it happens), and I wonder how many of them drink Burgundy. If they don't they should.

This wine was apparently only 16 euros, but I suspect it would be over £20 here in the UK.

As well as Givry, Mercurey is also a good source of budget-priced red Burgundy from the Côte Chalonnaise.

Michel Picard
Givry 1er Cru "La Grande Berge" 2005
Givry, Côte Chalonnaise, Burgundy, France
(purchased) Somewhere in Calais
16€
4/5