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2007 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet Les Folatières, $150
From the greatest of all Puligny producers, the kind of wine that should be delivered by Grace Kelly. Very vibrant and intense, with a honeysuckle nose, a silky texture and a heart of stone.

2007 Carillon Puligny-Montrachet Les Combettes, $119
A stunning wine, with piercing high notes that reminded me why Daniel Johnnes compares great Puligny to a violin concerto.

Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet Clos des Mouchère, $100
From a privileged site in the premier-cru Perrières vineyard, this is a very rich, fleshy Puligny with a powerful underlying structure.

2007 Louis Jadot Puligny-Montrachet, $45
A very well balanced, crisp, classic Puligny with a touch of green apple, citrus and stone.

2007 Ramonet Puligny-Montrachet Les Ensegnières, $42
A medium-bodied, complex Puligny from the great maker of Chassagne Montrachet, more elegant and mineral than his wines from the rival commune.

2008 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Puligny-Montrachet Le Trezin, $50
A really intense village wine from high up on the slope the hill where the soil is thin and the vines struggle. Really fine, vibrant






Ms. Kelly brought Montrachet and a meal from the '21' club to Jimmy Stewart in 'Rear Window.'


The first time I remember drinking white Burgundy was in 1985, shortly after I returned to Manhattan after a sojourn at graduate school. The bottle in question was a birthday present from my second wife, a 1982 Carillon Puligny-Montrachet. I'm not entirely sure whether it was a premier cru, from one of the vineyards on the middle slope of the gentle rising hillside adjacent to the famous grand-cru Montrachet vineyard, or a simple village wine from the lowland vineyards, but I was blown away when I tasted the wine and Puligny-Montrachet immediately became my favorite special-occasion white.

Over the years I've learned to love Meursault, Chassagne Montrachet and even select New World Chardonnays, but I've always maintained a soft spot for the wines of Puligny, a small village on the lower slope of the famous hillside known as the Côtes d'Or. Puligny-Montrachet is located in the southernmost part of the region, the Côtes de Beaune, home of the best white Burgundies, made exclusively from the Chardonnay grape. In 1879 the tiny village of Puligny, in an effort to boost its own profile and the price of its wine, attached its own name to that of its most famous vineyard. Le Montrachet had long been hailed as the world's greatest dry white wine; Claude Arnoux, writing in 1728 could find no words in either French or Latin to describe its splendors (an example that wine critics should sometimes ponder) and Thomas Jefferson was a big fan; after tasting the 1782 vintage he ordered an entire 130-gallon cask, according to John Hallman's "Thomas Jefferson on Wine." Must have been some party. More recently, Montrachet was the wine that Grace Kelly brought over to wheelchair-bound Jimmy Stewart's apartment in "Rear Window," along with a meal from the '21' club. I think I'd willingly break my own leg for that kind of delivery.

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Why do you never suggest a French Wine? Because no one pours one for me; however, I will suggest a good basic French Table wine and great cooking wine.

French Wine

The Best Wine Region Since the Dark Ages

France. The most famous place in the world for wine. Why? In a word, history. French wines have their roots in the Roman Empire, whose legions and followers planted vineyards as they crossed the continent. And before the French, the Greeks. The religious orders in France took care to protect the French grape vines during the Dark Ages. The records they kept have helped the French continue to make wine perfected over centuries. France is still the leader for all the world's best known red and white wines, though different countries and regions around the world interpret them differently. Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc are just a few examples of wines that have spread across the world.

Why Knowing French Wine Law is Key to Finding Good French Wine

In France, there are four legal "ranks" or ratings of French wine, which serves as a good indicator of how relatively cheap or expensive the wine is. The rank usually appears on the label, and indicates (from highest to lowest) the general status of the wine. "Appellation Contrôlée" (AOC or AC) ratings are the highest grade. "Vins Délimités de Qualité Supérieure (VDQA) ratings translate to "demarcated wine of superior quality." "Vins de Pays" ratings essentially mean "country wines", and is usually followed on the label with the name of the area the grapes are from. And lastly, "Vins de Table," French table wines that have no region, vintage or grape variety indicated on the label.

Where the Name of the Wine is Where it's From

Whether red or white, most French wines are named after the regions they originate from. This works primarily because each region specializes in the production of different types of wines and flavors. The major wine areas in France include: Burgundy (Pinot Noir, Gamay and Chardonnay), Bordeaux (Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot) the Loire Valley and Alsace (Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris), the Rhone Valley (Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Muscat), and Champagne (Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay).

A recent Wine Pocket  List search showed that - in general - the wines with higher ratings tended also to be those with higher prices. But, we found that more than one A- wine (white and red) was represented in the "bargain" category of under $10. And while not many of these highly rated wines are widely available (over 20,000 cases imported), when you do find them they are worth the effort.

L'Epayrie Red Table Wine

L'Epayrie. I don't know if it's the least expensive, but it's definitely one of the least expensive French wines


Pronounced "L'Perrier" - but if I were you, I'd write it on a piece of paper and show it to the clerk because no one here knows how to pronounce it.

A friend told me about it (she's been using this brand for years). I am a good cook, but the flavor of my cooking was vastly improved when I began using this brand. They also make a white wine which I use just as frequently.

You certainly can drink it, but the flavor when used in cooking is quite different from the flavor as a beverage.