INSIDER'S PICK: 2018 DOMAINE LAURENT & ROMAIN PILLOT BOURGOGNE ROUGE $22.75

Burgundy is a wine region shrouded in lore, mystery, magic, and ever escalating prices. With such small parcels of production for most wines and an international demand for it that pushes prices ever higher, it get extremely difficult to find and enjoy as an everyday wine or for the novice to dip their toes into (figuratively) to learn about the hype. Fortunately the 2018 looks to be a rare vintage where both the quality AND quantity of the harvest seems to be high. While that doesn't suddenly give everyone easy access to loads of Grand Crus at rock bottom prices, it does make for a lot more worthwhile and very satisfying basic Bourgognes. Most of them are not being built for long term cellaring and taking that long, circuitous path of evolution the top wines need to take, so they will have plenty to give in their first 5-7 years of life without worry.  This 5th and 6th generation father & son producer farm exclusively from family plots in the Mercurey region of the Cotes Chalonnaise, which sits in-between the Macon and Cotes d'Or. Historically this area has a reputation for lighter, leaner styled wines that can be underwhelming to some in comparison to the bigger named sites, but wines like this point to a LOT of value coming our way from here in 2018.

A deep youthful crimson in the glass, the aromas pop fairly quickly with tart cherry and almost citrusy fruit, with background notes of dark tea and spice that emerge slowly as it opens up. Tank aged but with a little bit of stem inclusion, this shows off very fresh and natural for immediate gratification, with the stem inclusion knocking the sweeter fruits down a bit and pumping up the tea and spice. The palate is clean, full and vibrant with lots of cherry skin and fresh berry, almost refreshing feeling on the finish with a lingering red citrus finish and no ponderous oak tannins. This is a Pinot Noir that isn't trying to be anything else than what it is; a pleasure to drink at a very fair price.

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