Pump Up The Volume: 2019 Burgundy - Blind

BY NEAL MARTIN | DECEMBER 12, 2023

What price is a Burgundy label? To what extent does value derive from what is printed on the bottle's exterior?

Do you appreciate a sketch differently, knowing it is by Leonardo da Vinci, a song without knowing it was composed by Bach, sitting on a chair blissfully unaware that it’s an original Eames?

Do you feel that endorphin rush when noticing the eye-catching font of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti heading in your direction or the ornate artwork that preludes Rousseau’s Chambertin? Does your heart sink if it’s a grower or appellation less noble than one expected?

Taking a line-up of Burgundy bottles and steaming off the labels is tantamount to disrobing its identity, downgrading each wine to its core existence as an anonymous Chardonnay or Pinot Noir. The playing field is leveled. The imbiber can no longer be swayed one way or the other by Domaine, appellation or climat, history, reputation and arguably the most influential of all: market value. Its taste is unaltered. What has changed is perception.

That is essentially what the annual Burgfest tasting is. It’s not entirely blind since flights are pre-ordered per appellation, and there is a valid case that it would be a more interesting exercise to undertake if bottles were completely jumbled. Then again, it is a group tasting and certainly not mine to organize, notwithstanding it would preclude an equally valuable chance to juxtapose like-for-like. Burgfest is a tasting I treasure: a chance to assess Burgundy with minimal background noise. It is a humbling learning exercise that potentially vindicates and mercilessly ridicules extant reviews. No change this year. I see it as part of a never-ending learning process. Burgfest affirms that after 25 years, I know a bit about Burgundy, but now and then, it prods you in the chest and says that I’ve learned nothing. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Growing Season