Getting serious wine buffs to agree on which is the greater red wine style, Bordeaux or Burgundy, is akin to getting a roomful of economists to agree on anything. Bordeaux is the classic blend involving cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc and, to a lesser extent, petit verdot and malbec.
It can be all of the above, sometimes with a dash of carmenere, or it can be a combination of just a few such as St Emilion wines, which often rely on merlot and cabernet franc. Burgundy, by contrast, is a single varietal: pinot noir.
Bordeaux aficcionados will extol the virtues of complexity, gravitas and history, claiming that Bordeaux is perceived as the preference for kings and nobility ... anything else is a pretender to the throne.
"Outrageous," cry the Burgundy lovers, pointing to the fact that Bordeaux relies on a partnership of grapes whereas their revered pinot has the grace, style and sheer class to stand alone.
A few years ago in Beaune, the small town at the heart of Burgundy, I foolishly asked for a bottle of Bordeaux, completely oblivious to this major faux pas.
