Affordable Burgundy wine from small wineries

Good value for money in Burgundy? Burgundy or Nowhere's search for affordable Burgundy wineries starts outside the well-known areas in the northwest of this elongated wine region, namely the Grand Auxerrois. Take Coulanges-la-Vineuse or the hamlet of Chitry as an example. When you drive further into Burgundy from Chablis and head towards Beaune, you pass these villages, but few people take this road. This dares to flirt openly with a Meursault or Puligny-Montrachet, but know that this comes with a friendlier price tag than the wines from the Golden Triangle. Completely on the other south side of Burgundy are villages such as La-Roche-Vineuse and Solutré-Pouilly where rich Pouilly-Fuissé-like wines are secretly created. Is there such a thing as affordable white Burgundy wine from the Golden Triangle? Meursault or Chassagne-Montrachet, Puligny-Montrachet? Of course! Accessibly priced Burgundy wine by local vintners is what we aim to find. We like to push the boundaries within the established order of the Côte d'Or. At the top of our affordable Burgundy price range (15-35 euros), Denis Carré is currently surprising us. For connoisseurs of Meursault wines it should ring a bell... The vineyard "Sous la Velle" is 100% Meursault!... but that is not stated on the label. How is that possible? Well, if you look at the map, you will see that there are some other vineyards between "Sous la Velle" and the National D974... which are also called "Sous la Velle", but fall just outside the Meursault appellation. The same grapes, the same soil, but for half the price. Harvested from more than 40 year old vines on the limestone-rich Lieu-dit Sous la Velle in the lower part of Meursault, this is a Petit Meursault with both volume and structure. René Lequin-Colin also joins in and serves us with perhaps the most affordable Côte d'Or Bourgogne white wine experience of all. Apèro wine at its best accompanied by French cheese puffs (Gougères). But don't forget the neighboring villages such as Auxey-Duresses, which are unfairly overshadowed. They may be a little more subdued compared to Meursault, but in terms of value for money they are almost unrivaled and thanks to recent climate changes they are being pulled out of this shadow. The white wines are now aromatic, lively, sometimes slightly nutty and have the necessary mineral notes. The red wines from Auxey-Duresses can gradually compete with the best wines from elegant Volnay. Are there affordable alternatives to Meursault wine from other Burgundy wine regions? For me personally, one of the unique qualities of a good Meursault is its weightiness in the glass without feeling too heavy. In addition to the terroir, this is mainly due to the high flavor concentration by exerting relatively little pressure on the grapes during pressing, as is the case with generic non-village wines where more volume must be made. We find this powerful concentration in the Mâconnais at the Mâcon La Roche Vineuse, Vieilles Vignes of Domaine Normand. A sturdy oak-aged Burgundy Chardonnay with backbone! The grapes from these old vines give off a lot of flavor with southern creamy curves and the underlying mineral freshness of the steep limestone spur ensures that the wine does not feel too heavy. Just like a wine from Meursault.