Long ago I became acquainted with Leroy Red Burgundies. Lalou Bize Leroy was a negociant who purchased wine and bottled and sold them under her label. They were purchased from small producers who were mostly unknown at that time. Frederick Esmonin was one of the producers who sold wine to Lalou. And it did not take long for people to recognize the quality of the Leroy wines. The wines were always great and priced accordingly. I wrote about the wines in the Underground Wineletter and made regular visits to Burgundy to taste the new wines.

When Frederick started bottling his own wine many years ago I was impressed with the wines. And for many years I have written about the great Red Burgundies from this small domaine. Nonetheless, year after year Frederick Esmonin makes great wines that are also great values but still seem to be under the radar.  Now the 2020s are here and just as I predicted in my article on the great 2019s (to read that article click here ) the wines are again great in 2020. And with another short crop, I believe that the 2021s which will arrive next year will also be equally great. So if you love Red Burgundy you really need to buy the Esmonin wines.  And, as an added bonus, in today’s Red Burgundy market where prices continue to climb, the Esmonin wines still represent really good value and are some of the very best wines at the best prices. That’s a WIN/WIN folks! So again, if you love Red Burgundy as I do and have not yet tasted or bought the Esmonin wines, what are you waiting for? If you snooze, you lose!

THE WINES OF FREDERICK ESMONIN ARE IMPORTED BY ATHERTON WINE IMPORTS SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA   

http://www.awiwine.com/

2020 BOURGOGNE  HAUTS COTES DE BEAUNE   
With a dark color this wine has a lovely exotic tinged floral perfume with hints of black cherry. On the palate it is lush rounded and supple with a myriad of black fruits and is beautifully balanced with a nice finish. All in all this is a really lovely Burgundy at a bargain price. In short a win/win – Outstanding Plus.     $26      Best Buy

2020 COTE DE  NUITS VILLAGE LA BELLE VUE
This wine has a deep color with lovely exotic tinged floral perfume and lovely black cherry fruit on the palate a floral nuance.  With very pure fruit the wine is balanced with lovely flavor and a lasting finish – Outstanding.    $33

2020 NUITS SAINT GEORGES LES HAUTS PRULIERS
With a deep color this wine has a lovely floral raspberry perfume with an exotic tinge and on the palate it is supple and refined with lovely raspberry cherry fruit with a floral tinge and is beautifully balanced. All in all a lovely wine with charm, balance, flavor, and a long finish –  Outstanding Plus.    $50 

2020 PERNAND-VERGELESSES  LES BOUTIERES
Talk about under the radar! And you can add great value to that!! This is a really stunning wine. It has a dark color and gorgeous floral plum perfume with exotic spice nuances. On the palate the wine has layers of plum, berry, and cherry fruit with floral spice tinges and is flavorful and has impressive balance and flavor. This may very well be the best Under the Radar Red Burgundy that I have ever tasted and it is a really great value – Extraordinary.     $33

2020 GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN
This is a gorgeous wine by any standard and an absolutely great village wine. It has a dark color and a lovely raspberry/cherry perfume with an underlying exotic floral spice. On the palate the wine has layers of raspberry/cherry fruit with hints of exotic floral spice and a long finish with a nice underlying crispness – Outstanding Plus.    $39

2020 GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN CLOS PRIEUR
Dark in color this wine has a gorgeous perfume showing mulberry and black cherry with exotic floral spice undertones. On the palate the wine shows a myriad of red and black fruit flavors with mulberry and black cherry predominant and shows intensity, complexity, and balance with a long lasting finish – Extraordinary.       $50         

2020 GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN VIEILLES VIGNES LES JOUISES
Dark in color this wine has a lovely perfume of plum and black cherry with a floral tinge. It is very flavorful with layers of fruit and is balanced and shows great intensity with a long lasting finish – Extraordinary.      $54                                                                                                                                                                      

2020 GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN LAVAUX ST-JACQUES
Dark in color this wine has a gorgeous perfume of cassis and plum with a kiss of spice. On the palate it has great fruit and is lush and rounded with marvelous intensity, balance, and a long lasting finish – Outstanding Plus.  $78

2020 GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN LES CHAMPONNETS
This wine is dark in color with a gorgeous perfume of plum and black cherry showing a floral spice nuance. It is beautifully balanced and is lush and flavorful with lots of fruit and great charm with a long lasting finish – Outstanding Plus.   $72

2020 GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN 1er Cru ESTOURNELLES ST-JACQUES
Dark in color this wine has a great floral cherry perfume with a floral spice undertone. On the palate it has layers of cherry tinged fruit with tinges spice and is very flavorful, beautifully balanced, and has a long lasting finish – Outstanding Plus.   $78

 

2020 MAZY CHAMBERTIN
This is an absolutely stunning wine that flirts with perfection. Dark in color the wine has a gorgeous plum and black cherry perfume with exotic floral undertones. On the palate it has great intense fruit with layers of flavor showing plum and cherry with exotic floral tinges, superb balance, and a long lingering finish. This is is plain and simple an absolutely great Red Burgundy that is really delicious now but with a long life ahead – Extraordinary Plus.    $200                                                 

2020 RUCHOTTES CHAMBERTIN
Wow! This too is an absolutely stunning wine that flirts with perfection. Dark in color black cherry and plum perfume is interlaced with an exotic floral tinge a hint of spice. With great intensity, cherry and plum fruit and flavor showing complexity and balance the wine is simply delicious and great to drink now with the promise of a long life ahead which will reveal even more complexity – Extraordinary Plus.    $200