Allen Meadows - like wine critic Robert Parker, who rules Bordeaux - is garnering equivalent attention and respect for his Burgundy-centric publication Burghound.
Meadows, who used to work in the finance industry, decided in 1999 to retire and concentrate on a book project on the French wine region. This evolved into quarterly newsletters, and Burghound was born.
Burgundy is especially difficult for some to understand. Burgundy lovers have come to accept disappointment as they continue their quest to find the perfect wine. Meadows explains that making quality wine every year is a technical challenge due to historic conditions and the small sizes of some holdings. Moreover, Burgundy has only one red variety (pinot noir) and one white (chardonnay) to work with. There is little margin for error and the winemaker cannot blend away mistakes. This is in contrast to Bordeaux, where producers plant about four different red varieties, and blends can be adjusted.
"It is a sad fact that inexpensive, high-quality pinot noir is almost non-existent," says Meadows. If you want value-for-money Burgundy, look for wines from Savigny-lés-Beaune, Auxey-Duresses, Chassagne Montrachet (red), Santenay and Monthelie.
Meadows says collectors tend to buy vintages with longer cellaring potential. Burgundy lovers should consider 2005, 2008 and 2010 vintages. In the meantime, he recommends ones that mature earlier and can be enjoyed in the short- to medium-term, such as 2000, 2001, 2007 and 2011.