2005 Paul Pernot Beaune Clos du Dessus des Marconnets , $23, Fruit of the Vines Imports. The palate is a disaster - way too evolved, no definition, not flawed, but unpleasant. Paul Pernot Rhône Valley Eric Texier Closel Beaujolais Marcel Lapierre Savennières BurgundyThe results have not been terribly impressive so far.

It is commonly said that 2004 is the worst recent vintage for red wine in Burgundy. As Bill Nanson of Burgundy Report first wrote about , ladybugs were all over the vineyards in 2004. Here are the wines we drank, in the order that we drank them with our dinner: Jean-Marc Morey Beaune 1er Cru Grèves. bought some 2004 wines.

I had some of the fellas over the other night to have dinner and drink red wine from Savigny-lès-Beaune. Why Savigny-lès-Beaune? That's real money, but it's pretty cheap as far as Burgundy goes. Still, I learned a lot from this, particularly about the differences in terroir within Savigny-lès-Beaune. Flawed? Who knows.

don't have a definitive stance on the subject - I can make a case for both points of view. There are great Burgundy wines that cost $35, $50, and $100, but I don't believe that they are Bourgognes. What if you want to spend $25 or less, and drink red wine from Burgundy? So what are the best regional Burgundy wines at about $25?

And by the way, put this up against a lot of white Burgundy from the same year and this will come out ahead, as there is not even a hint of oxidation. 1996 Michel Lafarge Beaune 1er Cru Grèves - I had so much fun drinking this wine. The Fino was more assertive and more definitively structured, and a bit more pungent.

This is a blend of mostly Chardonnay and some Aligoté made in Savigny-lès-Beaune by a producer that makes only Crémant, highly unusual for a Burgundy producer. wish I had a definitive answer for you, but I do not. Anyway, this is perfectly decent wine from a producer that may or may not be the Perrier-Jouët of Burgundy.

We visited some of the very top producers in Burgundy - Mugnier, Roumier, Pierre Morey, Pacalet, L'Arlot, Le Moine, Rousseau, and Dujac. One of my favorites was our visit to the cellars of Philippe Pacalet in Beaune. 2007 Beaune 1er Cru Les Perrieres in bottles, waiting for labels. Philippe Pacalet, definitely a bit of a rascal.

Lunch was definitely in order, and so we went to La Toute Petite Auberge in Vosne-Romanée where I ate a wonderful entrecôte of Charolais beef. I've had Charolais maybe four times now, only in Burgundy, and I love how deeply beefy it is without feeling heavy. Burgundy Dilittantes - nothing to snub your nose at over here.

Burgundy, Jura, and Muscadet.nope. These are piercing wines of great definition, and they can seem like turtles, just their head visible underneath all of that shell. took a brief Burgundy excursion at this point and tasted through the Philippe Pacalet wines. The Italian wines - I didn't taste 'em. How thoughtful is that?

2005 in Burgundy is one of those vintages in which all wines can be great. Grapes were harvested without a lot of rot or other damage, even from plots that qualify only for the regional designation of Bourgogne, Côte de Beaune Villages, or Côte de Nuits Villages. Layers of cool dark fruits on the palate and a definite mineral streak.

What do you think of when you hear "Burgundy?" think of Chambolle-Musigny, Vosne-Romaneé, Gevrey-Chambertin, and the storied villages of the Côte de Nuits, and also of Puligny, Meursault, Volnay, and the other superstars of the Côte de Beaune. For many of us, these are not everyday wines. Is this even possible?

One thing I want to say right here and right now is that I think you can spend between $30-$60 per bottle and get a case of stupendous 2005 red Burgundy. Yup, I think you can spend about $500 and get a case of beautiful and age worthy Burgundy wine from "The Vintage of the Century." But the Cote de Beaune is the place to go.

A few wines of interest from the past few weeks that don't get their own post: Burgundy 2003 Marechal Savigny Les Beaune Vieille Vignes , $ unknown (restaurant purchase). If I'm not mistaken, it was this wine that won the NYTimes tasting panels' "Village Burgundy" blind tasting a little over a year ago. Wrong. just as good.

The '05s from Marechal are now available, and the Pommard, the Cote de Beaune village with the biggest muscles, the one that might require the longest time to reveal its charms, it was this young wine that impressed me as the most complex and immediately drinkable. Definitely a $15 beauty. hauled my butt into Manhattan (!) Just yummy.

We went there for lunch on our last day in Burgundy and although we had a very nice time, on this occasion Gourmet got it wrong. There were most definitely no vignerons - this is tourist group dining all the way. Tasting all of the wines was interesting though, and I gained some insight into recent Burgundy. asked Msr. I asked.

The Domaine Paul Pernot was the largest producer we visited, although Pernot is middle sized by Burgundy standards. Who knows.maybe I just needed more experience with Burgundy, or maybe 2003 Bourgogne is just not going to be that impressive in general. Reds: 2005 Beaune Clos de dessus les Marconnets. 2005 Puligny-Montrachet.