Wine: 1999 St. Romain

Producer: Étienne Sauzet (Puligny-Montrachet)

Comment: The wines of St. Romain deserve to be better known, especially for its whites as they can provide exceptionally good value for wine lovers who admire elegance, delicacy, minerality and racy acidity. This particular St. Romain initially seems a bit simple with its elegance and pure aromas of straw and fresh white-flower fruit and racy, intense but light weight flavors underpinned by excellent cut, detail and good if not exceptional persistence on the backend. However, with 30 minutes of air, the aromatic profile begins to expand. The flavors begin to display both more weight and more fat to buffer the solid acidity. Perhaps more important though, there is a balance and harmony that few Chardonnay-based wines can match at anywhere near this price point. No, you won't mistake it for Corton-Charlemagne, but I've seen very few wines that deliver this level of quality for $10 a bottle, which is what I paid. 87/2004-7

U.S. Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, Ala.

Suggested Price: $18 (you can expect to pay around $10 to $14)

Important Note: Burghound.com has no financial relationship of any kind with Étienne Sauzet or Vineyard Brands.

Each week we feature a different Burgundy. While there will be a mix of vintages, most wines featured will be those that can normally be found at a variety of fine wine retailers. Each wine will be described and rated with a suggested window of peak drinkability indicated after the numerical score. Prices shown are estimated retail in the U.S., but prices do of course vary widely depending on the retailer.