Burgundy is one of the wine world’s most challenging subjects for a writer or author. Few wine-stained scribes have mastered the complexities of the Burgundy classification system, intricate mosaic of vineyard ownership, or the exceedingly intricate diversity of the finished wines. Over the years, the most comprehensive books on the subject have been written by British writers such as H. W. Yoxall, Christopher Fielden, Anthony Hanson and, more recently, Clive Cotes, MW.
My Favorite Burgundies, Cotes’ latest offering on the wines of Burgundy, supplements his two previous books on Burgundy: Côte d’Or and The Wines of Burgundy. These three books are 
training manuals for the novice and serious Burgundy drinker and collector and an arm-chair reference for all those who wish to tackle the often frustrating complexities of Burgundy wine. “My Favorites” is more on Coates’ favorite subject, but it is a more personal look at what he believes to be the best of today’s producers.
It’s a hefty tome, with 500 pages, divided into four parts. In Part One, Cotes profiles 13 vineyards that he believes make up the heart of the Côte d’Or, each with a nicely drawn black and white map detailing the size and owner-breakout of each vineyard; Clos de Vougeot has over 80 proprietors and 120 different parcels, ranging in size from two miniscule 0.17 hectare parcels belonging to Bertrand Ambroise and Capitain-Gagnerot, to the relatively huge 5.48 hectares, owned by Chateau de la Tour.
In Part Two, Coates gets more specific with a scant selection of profiles of his 27 favorite domaines. He selects the usual suspects (Clos de Tart, Domaine Dujac, Domaines de la Romanee-Conti), but also gives a nod to others who may not be that familiar, like Domaine Fourrier, in Gevrey-Chambertin: “…[S]ince 2004, even greater quality than before…there are very lovely wines at the Fourier domaine today.”
Part Three addresses “Vintage Assessments,” including a short section titled “About the Assessments,” a sort of explanatory preface to two novel tastings: “The Three-Year-On Tasting” and “The- Ten-Year-On Tasting.” Cotes also includes an informative section on Chablis, the white wine region that is a part of the Burgundy region but is not contiguous with the Cote d’Or, the heart of Burgundy wine. Rounding out Part Three is “When to Drink Your Burgundy,” a simple chart, based on a “very good year” that goes one up on the traditional vintage chart. For example, “Premier Crus, Côte de Beaune: start six years after the vintage. Drink over the next ten years.” And he adds: “For a great year, multiply by 25 percent. For a lesser year, take off 25 percent.”
Part Four is a collection of “Observations” wherein the author writes about “Premature Oxidation of White Burgundy,” a thought-provoking piece that attempts to lay the blame for “prem-ox” of white Burgundy with a variety of possibilities: Faulty corks, the soaking liquid used to soften corks prior to bottling, the application of sulfur, the practice of lees stirring, bad storage and excessive high temperatures during shipping—plus an account of what oxidation actually is. At which of these possibilities does Coates point his finger? Well, you’ll have to read the essay.
In “Biodynamism,” Coates is unequivocal: “Biodynamism works…the wines are better and more representative of their origins.” He mildly chides those who scoff and call the practice black magic. Since I first talked with Anne-Claude Leflaive (Domaine Leflaive) about her passion for biodynamics many years ago, the idea and practice of biodynamics has made a lot of sense to me. Coates’ essay on the subject is one of the best and easiest to understand that I have read, and I’ve read a lot about biodynamics.
The shortest of the four essays in Part Four is titled, “So You Think Today’s Burgundies Are Brilliant?” Coates maintains that there has not been a bad vintage in Burgundy since 1984; that’s right, 30 years. And he credits growers for their “dedication and individualism, their refusal to submit to uniformity and indulge in petty jealousies, and their reasonableness with prices.” When was the last time you read a wine writer talk so fondly about grape growers? Add advancements in viticulture and winemaking and the sub-title to this essay might have been, “If you like these Burgundies, wait until you taste what is coming up.”
The book closes (oddly, there is no Index) with a timely mini-essay titled, “What Are Winemakers Doing about Global Warming?” Coates does not take sides on who or what is responsible for global warming, he just thinks that the timing is a bit ironic. “Just as, to put it in a nutshell, humans have finally mastered the art and science of winemaking — nature should be skulking round the corner ready to bludgeon us with a blunt instrument called climate change.” He believes that worldwide grape growing and winemaking is fighting against nature and that the resulting wines will not be much different from today’s wines, they will just be from different places. “Where the threat really lies is at the Great Wine end,” claims Coates. With that proclamation as his thesis, Coates goes on to explain why the recognition and appreciation of terroir is more important today than ever. He thinks the ”bigger” wines today are not food friendly and that global warming is not helping winemakers produce food-friendly wines. Then, he closes this essay with: “What I say is give the customer not what they think they like, but what they should like.” That should get a few readers to exclaim, “Said what?”
Coates is the preeminent authority on Burgundy writing in the English language. If you are already hooked on the wines of Burgundy or are just discovering the pleasures of white and red Burgundy, the writings of Clive Coates, MW will help you fill in the holes and lead you on to more treasures.
“My Favorite Burgundies,” Clive Coates, MW, University of California Press, hardcover, $60, ISBN: 9780520276628.
Gerald Boyd, Columnist Emeritus for Wine Review Online, contributes book reviews periodically in this space from his so-called “retirement.”