Expensive wine 95: Maison Bertrand Ambroise Nuits-Saint-Georges Vieilles Vignes 2001

How does an entry-level red Burgundy like the Ambroise Nuits-Saint-Georges cost $50?

Want to know how much the wine world has changed since I started doing this? The wine person at the Washington, D.C. restaurant where where we drank the Ambroise Nuits-Saint-Georges said no, she didn’t get a chance to taste a lot of red Burgundy.

Sigh.

Here’s someone who is in charge of wine at a reasonably hip restaurant who doesn’t get a chance to drink red Burgundy. That never would have happened a decade ago. But these days, when even an entry-level red Burgundy like the Ambroise Nuits-Saint-Georges ($50, purchased, 12.5%) costs more than most people can afford, it’s a fact of life.

I was lucky enough to have the Ambroise Nuits-Saint-Georges because my pal and top-notch wine writer Lou Marmon brought it to dinner (DC has a fine corkage law). Lou bought the wine after it was released, paying about $25. That the current vintage has doubled in price since 2003 or so speaks to how silly wine prices have become for red Burgundy (pinot noir from the Burgundy region of France) and why the wine person doesn’t get a chance to taste them often.

The wine, of course, was delightful – earthy and foresty and spicy and everything one would expect from red Burgundy. But, as the Wine Advocate reviewer wrote 13 years ago, it was fruity and straightforward and relatively simple as red Burgundy goes. Except for the price, of course.

And yes, Lou and I insisted that the wine person and our waitress taste the wine, which they enjoyed. No sense in always letting us old white guys have all the fun.