The 100 Burgundy: Exceptional Wines to Build a Dream Cellar - Assouline Coffee Table Book

This is a big, and expensive book (at US$75). With the negative aspects out of the way, we can start with the positive aspects with the most obvious at first glance – the book looks classy and is very well produced. The paper, paintings, photographs, and maps are of exceptionally fine quality; probably worth every cent of the price. For the neophyte, pages 11 to 39 explains the history of Burgundy, the nature of Burgundy wine, and how to start a cellar. 28 pages of gem. There are bound to be connoisseurs and ordinary wine drinkers who may quarrel over the inclusion of some estates and the exclusion of others – personally, I have no quarrel with any of the choices. All my favourite burgundy wines are here. Choo Lee has the gift of a clear and concise writing style and she packs almost all the information one might need to know about each wine in just a couple of pages. Some, like Domaine Anne Gros has only one page of text. Domaine de la Romanée-Conti has seven pages, but as Cho Lee writes in the first line of that section, ‘Domaine de la Romanée-Conti has no equal’. The wines are listed in alphabetical order. Every Burgundy lover is likely to find his or her own favourite featured. I am tickled to know that one of my favourites, Domaine Claude Dugat, has a cult following in America. The special window of essential information for each domaine includes the address and the name of the contact person, as well as the philosophy of the domaine – for example, some adopt organic principles, others, traditional; and whether herbicides are used. There are several fun quotations sprinkled across the book, one of them is by Isak Dinesan: ‘There are may ways to the recognition of truth, and Burgundy is one of them’.

This recent rendition on the fine wines of burgundy has been exemplarily written and designed. The interpolating illustrations, drawings and photos are added delights. Yes, the usual suspects are there: DRC, Leroy, Leflaive, Rousseau, etc., but there are also included many new gems. Yet, there are some downsides: some recommendations are really difficult to find (one barrel in a good year?!) and truly expensive. Glad to know that the author points out poignantly the super high price of most of her choices, which are not a result of comments from any wine critic but market-led instead. But then, some of the bottles in the book can be summarised in three words (or phrases): "Impossible-to-find", "Breaking-bank", and "Don't-even-think-about-it". All in all, this book is a very good read and must appeal to lovers of fine burgundy wines. Only that to really collect or taste these bottles, if one is not a super affluent (or better still, the next generation of a super-affluent) or not particularly related to the wine trade (such as a buyer for super premium wines for a noted importer), it rather seems like some mission impossible.

This is a great book to simply take your time and read through. Many of these bottles are impossible to buy, I get it. However, the prose, photos and passion that comes off the page is so rare in wine writing. It is simply a massively enjoyable read and you learn a great deal along the way.