Affordable Burgundy Wines with Dim Sum

Where can we find good affordable Burgundy wine in Singapore, the most expensive city in the world? With the general high wine prices in Singapore and our alcohol tax regime, what is “affordable” is a matter of debate. The top ranking labels are out of reach of ordinary patrons. We look for less glamorous ones that hopefully offer good value for money. There was a sale at Vinum in Shaw Centre a couple of months ago and we picked up these white Burgundy wines which cost less than $100 each. Where else better to try them out than with dim sum and Chinese food at our favourite Chinese restaurant in Singapore.

Affordable Burgundy Wine #1 Pouilly-Fuissé

Our first wine was a Château Fuissé Pouilly-Fuissé “Le Clos” 2013. The high price of Burgundy wines is the first obstacle we had to overcome. The next obstacle is the hard-to-pronounce names. This name on this label looks complicated but it actually sounds cute. We are no expert of French pronunciation but, like everything these days, there are websites and videos on French wine pronunciation, for example this pronunciation guide at wines.com.

Pouilly-Fuissé wine is from the southern part of Burgundy. We had it with a mixed selection of dim sum, but mainly fried items. The Pouilly Fuisse has a soft taste on the palate. It went well with everything. We like it a lot. Not being wine tasters, we think it is best to quote a description from the experts (although I am not sure about the river rocks part) : “… 13 Pouilly-Fuissé Le Clos uncoils in the glass to show notes of juicy citrus and orchard fruit, crushed white wildflowers, and wet river rocks.”

At the price of $55 before GST, we thought this Chateau Fuisse Pouilly Fuisse le Clos 2013 certainly was a bottle of good affordable Burgundy wine. We wish we had bought more bottles, particularly now that Vinum has moved out of their Shaw Centre premises. They are now located in Pacific Tech Centre (near Bukit Merah).

Affordable Burgundy Wine #2 Domaine Leflaive

Decanter Magazine has this to say about the Domaine Leflaive, Bourgogne Blanc 2015: “One of the very best Bourgogne blancs of the vintage (and priced accordingly), this wine reveals a very Puligny-like bouquet of yellow citrus, orange zest, apples and crème pâtissière. The intense, focussed palate shows a lovely core of fruit and acidity.”

Domaine Leflaive is well-known for their white Burgundy. The Bourgogne blancs are entry-level ones. Both the wines are made from chardonnay grape but this tasted different from the Pouilly Fuisse. This was very dry and acidic. At this lunch, the dishes at our lunch was more varied. In addition to the usual dim sum dishes, we had porridge and some steamed seafood dishes. The Leflaive was good with the oily deep-fried items, but not so good with porridge. It felt too “hard”.

We bought the Leflaive at $80 per bottle (before GST). That just about qualifies it as an affordable Burgundy wine in Singapore. It is a good white Burgundy but not as well-rounded as the Pouilly Fuisse. The latter is the safer bet to bring to a Chinese meal which has all kinds of different flavours.