Call it reverse psychology or call it self-delusion, but seeing the $25,000 price tag on a bottle of Leflaive Montrachet convinces those of us who love Burgundy that there’s a deal to be had somewhere. Finding one is never an easy task, but a little bit of research yields surprising opportunities. For all that is well-organized in Burgundy, with its strict cru classification system, there are occasional loopholes: vineyards that should have grand cru classification but were excluded based on some obscure bureaucracy; mysterious unnamed premier crus that are a blend from different vineyards. Then there are appellations that share borders (and soils) with more famous names, hosting talented winemakers. As it is with the commune of Saint-Aubin. 

Saint-Aubin, located in the southern Côte de Beaune, is tucked behind the villages of Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet. The Saint-Aubin appellation shares hills with its famous neighbors but faces out into a separate valley. The resulting difference in sun exposure, as well as the higher elevation and cooler temperatures, historically made the wines of Saint-Aubin less prized. But in the 1980s the appellation turned a corner, with the replanting of sites next to Puligny-Montrachet, which had otherwise been abandoned after phylloxera. The effort unlocked a veritable real estate gold mine, given how Saint-Aubin’s En Remilly vineyard was now rubbing shoulders with Puligny’s Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru.

Another significant change to Saint-Aubin—which it shares with many cooler regions—centers around climate change. Whereas the grapes on its higher slopes once struggled to ripen sufficiently, Saint-Aubin wines now consistently reach desirable levels of concentration, without sacrificing the freshness that’s become a signature of the appellation. Most conveniently, the region’s advancements have come at a time of growing preference for a more precise and mineral-driven style of white Burgundy, versus the more voluptuous Chassagne-Montrachets and Meursaults of the 20th century. Jancis Robinson summed it up in 2016: “Saint-Aubin, once regarded as definitively inferior to the most famous white-wine villages Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet, should now be regarded as virtually their equal.” 

So Saint-Aubin may no longer be a Burgundian wallflower hiding behind Montrachet, but the wines remain accessible for the region—for now. Prices start at just over $40 per bottle. Meanwhile, the cult Hubert Lamy estate can command about $100 per bottle for its La Princée cuvée, a blend of village-level grapes from the western side of the appellation, whereas for slightly less one could purchase a bottle of de Montille’s En Remilly, from the premier cru vineyard bordering Chevalier-Montrachet. This is because the traditional practice for producers working across the Côte de Beaune has been to price their St. Aubin premier crus at or below their village-level Chassagne-Montrachets.

The region’s rebirth wouldn’t have happened without those producers, and the others contributing to its current renaissance. Some have faithfully farmed Saint-Aubin’s vineyards for generations, long before the appellation caught the eye of foreign buyers; some arrived seeking opportunity back when the grapes and the land were cheap; some were eager to apply their winemaking skills honed in bigger appellations to more modest sites. Saint-Aubin is no longer an obscure region to discover, but those making its wines keep giving us more reasons to love it. When diving in, keep these winemakers uppermost in mind.

Four Saint-Aubin Producers to Know

Domaine Hubert Lamy

It’s hard to talk about Saint-Aubin without talking about Lamy. Arguably the top domaine headquartered within the village of Saint-Aubin itself, the wines have done much to put the appellation on the map, and fetch pricing that’s definitely, well, Burgundian. But beneath the prestige is a legacy of genuine winemaking curiosity and experimentation. Since taking over the family domaine from his father in the late 1990s, Olivier Lamy looked to the vineyards of Saint-Aubin as a laboratory for “high density” plantings, a practice which refers back to pre-phylloxera viticulture, before the ravaged vineyards were reconfigured to allow space for horse and tractor farming. The resulting grapes are smaller, with thicker skins, and yield less juice with greater concentration—a boon for an area where grapes once struggled to reach peak ripeness.

Lamy’s Derrière Chez Edouard Premier Cru “Haute Densité” is planted on a very steep slope on the opposite side of the appellation from the Puligny and Chassagne hills, and can only be harvested by hand; the hand-made product eventually reaches us at a price of over $1,000 per bottle. For a more reasonable way to enjoy Lamy, try the St. Aubin La Princée cuvée, which also shows the depth of the fruit the appellation is now capable of, for less than $100.

Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey

It’s hard to say how a Burgundy winemaker reacts to being dubbed a “rock star” in a headline. (Perhaps with a Gallic shrug as he slinks back into his vineyards?) But there are few Burgundy producers who have ascended as quickly as Pierre-Yves Colin since he created the Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey domaine in 2005, a name that makes reference to the wines of his wife Caroline Morey, who hails from Chassagne-Montrachet. The house started as a négociant, where Colin quickly established himself as a maverick in the cellar, pioneering a newer, more chiseled style of white Burgundy by eschewing lees stirring, using larger oak barrels, and opting for a long élevage at cooler temperatures.

But don’t let the domaine’s Chassagne-Montrachet address fool you: the family has deep roots in Saint-Aubin. Pierre-Yves is also the son of Marc Colin, a Saint-Aubin native who established his winery there in the 1970s, where Pierre-Yves got his initial training. While tasting at PYCM earlier this summer, I got a clear sense of how important the Saint-Aubin wines are to the family, and the pride they take in applying their winemaking innovation to a more modest appellation. The En Remilly Premier Cru “Nicholas et Mathis,” which can now cost around $200, is released to great excitement each year as it hails from the part of the En Remilly vineyard closest to Chevalier-Montrachet, bordering (quite literally) on grand cru greatness. But their Saint-Aubin village wine, which costs half as much, is more than worth a try as well, a testament to how great winemaking can elevate grapes from pockets of humbler terroir. 

Bachelet-Monnot

Brothers Marc and Alexandre Bachelet have quietly garnered a reputation for producing wines whose quality far exceed what you’d expect from their price tags since founding their domaine in 2005. While based out of the village of Maranges, another low-key appellation in the Côte de Beaune, the domaine handles some of Burgundy’s choicest terroir, including Puligny’s Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru. So it comes as no surprise that their Saint-Aubin En Remilly is particularly high caliber—easily drinking like a village-level Puligny-Montrachet and perhaps even a premier cru. The wine has typically been priced around $75 per bottle in the U.S. and could rightfully sell for over $100. If I could stockpile any Saint-Aubin before the prices catch up to the quality, it would be this.

Henri Prudhon et Fils

Domaine Henri Prudhon boasts serious Saint-Aubin cred: its namesake was born in the village in 1921 to a winemaking family. They sold grapes to négociants for decades, until they decided to bottle their own wines in the 1980s, to reap the benefits of the positive changes beginning to brew in Saint-Aubin at the time. They emerged as one of the appellation’s flagship estates when importers started sniffing around, and quickly signed on with Neal Rosenthal.

One of the great aspects of this Saint-Aubin-centric estate is that they have holdings all across the appellation, and make it possible to explore the nuances in its vineyards at relatively friendly prices. One can dive into the minerally finesse of their Murgers des Dents de Chien Premier Cru—which comes from a site adjacent to Puligny’s Champs Gains vineyard—for less than $60. And then, while staying in the same general price range, from there make your way down to the fruity richness of Les Castets, which is harvested near the southwestern limits of the village. Prudhon also holds onto Saint-Aubin’s history of growing Pinot Noir in the vineyards between its own village and the village of Gamay, and produces Saint-Aubin rouge that embodies the notion of “forest”: notes of earth, game, and wild berries.