Buisson Bourgogne Blanc & Bourgogne Rouge: Two Bottles of Burgundy to Stock Up On!
8/29/2024
We'll keep today's email brief, as many of you may be gearing up for travel or at least preparing to "disconnect" over the holiday weekend while connecting with friends and family. Henri & Gilles Buisson is an estate in Burgundy that we are big fans of. They are in Saint-Romain, not in the shadows but rather casting shadows on Meursault and Montrachet from above these prestigious Cote de Beaune vineyards. We got wind from our trusty Rosenthal rep Tobias that there were two bottles - a Bourgogne Blanc and Bourgogne Rouge - from the Buissons, that were priced attractively and that promised to deliver. Though that was technically enough for us, given our penchant for the Buisson wines and a look at the pricing, we did get samples of these two delicious bottles of wine, and we can officially vouch for them. We don't have to talk about the quality to price ratio, but trust us, it's heavily in your favor today! At $32 a bottle (before discount - more on that later) for wines that you just want to drink everyday through the rest of the year and into 2025, these bottles from the Buisson brothers are not to be missed!
Looking back at the wines we've previously stocked from the Buissons, it doesn't seem like we ever had any Bourgogne Rouge or Bourgogne Blanc at CSW, only Saint-Romains, so this may be a first at least for the American market. If so, 2022 is a great vintage for a debut! There are more detailed notes below, but the general gist is these are exquisite village-level Burgundies that are joyful, balanced, and ready to drink, both from organic and Biodynamic farming, and vinified with minimal intervention. The Bourgogne Blanc has freshness up front, giving way to a broad mid-palate with a touch of generosity that really impressed us for a village-level wine. The Bourgogne Rouge is very pretty, with bright red fruit, but not overly acidic or sharp, characteristic of the well-rounded 2022 vintage. I only tasted these shortly after opening, but it was clear that they would open up beautifully with 1-2 hours. We highly recommend stocking up, as these delicious wines help to remedy the feeling that we can't enjoy Burgundy on a daily basis!
-Eben Lillie
The 2022 Bourgogne Blanc comes from several sources: young vines in Saint-Romain from plantings on the valley’s northern side; high-altitude Bourgogne-designated Chardonnay from just outside the appellation; and purchased fruit from their friends at the esteemed Domaine Guillot-Broux in the Maconnais, who have practiced organic viticulture since 1954 and became certified in recent years. Aged for one year without racking in used 228-liter barrels. The bright acidity of the high-altitude Bourgogne nicely offsets the luscious generosity of the Maconnais-sourced fruit, and the young Saint-Romain provides a stony anchor. [Note: Because purchased fruit is included in the blend, the wine is labeled “Maison Henri & Gilles Buisson.”]
Bourgogne Rouge
Solely sourced from Pinot Noir planted just above Saint-Romain’s Sous Roche (one of the lynchpin crus of Buisson’s lineup), the 2022 Bourgogne Rouge offers a similar expertly rendered balance of seriousness and breeziness as the Blanc. Saint-Romain’s tendency to produce kinetic red wines of palpable minerality is on full display here, with bright cherry fruit given lift by tremendously vibrant acidity. Like the Bourgogne Blanc, it spent one full year in entirely used 228-liter barrels with minimal sulfur additions.
....And a bit of history from former colleague and CSW alumn, John McIlwain:
"When you drive south from Beaune, the famous red wine vineyards of Pommard and Volnay stretch out on the slope to your right, while to the left you’ll find famed white wine communes of Meursault, Chassagne-Montrachet, and Puligny-Montrachet -- it’s quite a tableau. But when you make the turn for Auxey-Duresses, things take on a more rural cast, with forests beyond the vines on both sides of the village. From here, one leaves the main road and heads to a wilder patch of Burgundy. Up a winding road in a somewhat narrow valley you will find the village of Saint Romain. Situated high above the Côte de Beaune vineyards, the commune produces quality Burgundy, though decidedly racier and somewhat humbler in profile.
One of the domains farming these cooler high altitude vineyards is Henri & Gilles Buisson. The Buisson family has been in the valley since the 12th century and began bottling their wines under their own name in 1947. Since the 1970s son Gilles has farmed the vines more or less organically, with grandsons Franck and Frédérick building on his work and gaining Ecocert certification in 2009.
As rigorous as the farming is, the wine-making is decidedly hands-off. After sorting the grapes twice, there is partial stem inclusion, and fermentations commence with native yeasts. Malolactic fermentation is natural and long, elevage takes place over ten months, and only a touch of new oak is employed – thus, the wines have precision and energy."
