Wine of the Week

Alex Gambal, an American living in Burgundy, buys grapes and grape must there, and either makes or finishes the wine in his cellars in Beaune. He’s a new sort of negociant , one who works in an artisanal way with small lots of wine.

His 1999 Bourgogne Chardonnay is satiny and delicate, with the mineral quality that characterizes white Burgundies. It bears the appellation Bourgogne because it comes not just from one village or area but from several terroirs in the Maconais district of Burgundy--St. Veran, Macon and Macon Clesse. Understated as Bach on the clavichord, it shows beautifully with food--at a very affordable price.

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About $18. Available at Larchmont Village Wine & Cheese in Los Angeles, (323) 856-8699; Woodland Hills Wine Co. in Woodland Hills, (818) 222-1111; and Wine Exchange in Orange, (714) 974-1454. If you can’t find this wine, have your local wine store call the distributor, Garber & Co., (310) 455-1287.