Burgundy is decidedly THE region of rarities when it comes to fine wine. The small size of its appellations and famous climats means – no surprises here! – that the quantities produced are small, too. Let’s get a closer look at the top performers over the first 6 months of 2020.

For both the ranking of top lots and of top bottles, we’ve kept just one wine per producer (the top-performing one) in order to show as much variety as possible.

Notable trends

In Burgundy, grands crus tend to reach such high prices – linked to their rarity – that bottles are usually sold individually. The notable exception to this rule is the famous assorted case from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti which, in its 2009 vintage this time, was sold for €46,910. It will shock nobody to hear that this sale is currently taking the top spot in the ranking of best-performing lots so far this year…

Out of the top 20 most expensive individual bottles, it is notable that 15 places are taken up by Côte de Nuits domains, with this area of the region thus holding its advantage over the Côte de Beaune, the latter known mainly for its irreplaceable Chardonnays. The top spot in this table is taken by a 2009 bottle of Romanée-Conti, which received a winning bid of €16,578.

The Pinot Noir variety is also in the majority throughout the list. There are only six bottles of white in the running, and the top one among them is a Montrachet from Domaine Leflaive that sold for €7,122 (2006 vintage).

Impressively, the little appellation of Musigny, which spans just 11 hectares in its production, takes up 5 places in this ranking, including Comte Georges de Vogüé’s unfindable Musigny Blanc, a 2017 magnum sold for €2,333. Among the rarest of the rare.

Whilst most of the ranking is made up of longstanding classics that have become iconic across the world, some of the region’s more recently established wine makers are clearly steaming ahead. Most notably we have Arnaud Ente, whose 2015 Meursault Les Petits Charrons was sold for €1,842, and the natural Domaine Bizot whose 2009 Vosne-Romanée Les Jachées went for €1,658 in its magnum format.

Top bottles

Top lots

Find our full selection of Burgundy wines here

Read the half-year reviews from other regions:

Alsace

Bordeaux

Rhône

Loire