Wine: 1999 Rully "Clos La Folie"

Producer: Domaine de la Folie (Xavier Noël-Bouton - Chagny en Bourgogne)

Comment: Good as they are, it's rare for the whites of Rully to challenge the quality of a top premier cru from the Côte de Beaune but this is one of those wines. (For those readers who may not know, Rully is in the Côte Chalonnaise and is essentially the first important area south of the Côte d'Or; it produces both red and white Burgundies though the whites are its strength.) The 99 Clos la Folie combines generous, floral-edged fruit with unusually fine, mineral-laden flavors that offer excellent detail and a particularly pure acid/fruit balance on the long finish. The style of this is cool and more reserved than most wines one sees from Rully and there is a finesse and sense of elegance here that I find most appealing. A very impressive effort and all the more so since this is not even a premier cru level vineyard in Rully! At less than $20 retail, this offers exceptional value and while this can be enjoyed now, it should improve with a year or two of bottle age. 89/2003-6

U.S. Importer: Michel-Schlumberger Wines LTD, Healdsburg, Calif.

Suggested Price: $19 (you can expect to pay around $16 to $19)

Important Note: Burghound.com has no financial relationship of any kind with Domaine de la Folie or with Michel-Schlumberger Wines.

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.