Last night I was very happy to host a fellow wine blogger (Torsten from Winerambler) and my old chum ‘The Kid’ Peter for a Riesling and Pinot Noir-themed tasting. We drank copiously and terribly well. The wines were served blind which heightened our critical faculties. Even the English wine was good (immensely unbelievable as that sounds).

Classic Cuvee 2003, Nyetimber
Wow, this smells like proper fizz and it is English, I’m staggered. It has pronounced mushroomy and toasty characters. Wow, its not immediately horrible and vapid. There is plenty of ripe fruit on the nose, which edges toward being very slightly over-mature, but that is 2003 for you, even in Blighty it seems. There is a reasonable degree of class to this; it may not be the most riotously complex of sparkling wine noses but there is more than enough to keep the fizz-lover interested. And it is an English wine that doesn’t smell thin and insipid, my mind is spinning! The mousse seems reasonably refined and there is some tasty fruit on the palate. I like its acidity, pretty well balanced and certainly keeping this fresh. The finish is remarkably long, with a pleasing array of vibrant fruit characters persisting. This is properly good sparkler. Hell’s bells, I just said the extraordinarily improbable statement that an English wine is properly good; are there no certainties left in the world?

Riesling Spatlese Piesporter Goldtropfchen 2003, Reinhold Haart
A tits-out nose of gloriously sun-ripened fruit; this is distinctly exotic but still unmistakably Mosel Riesling. Its pineapple/grapefruit characters could suggest this is a Scheurebe, but it seems more like very ripe Riesling. Not over-ripe, but attractively voluptuous. The palate is a little short on acidity, but it has completely lovely fruit and an appealing sweetness. There is some prominent minerality showing here as well, and it is quite stylish, this was grown in a top vineyard. This is one of the best examples of 2003 German Riesling I’ve had, it is pretty balanced, has well-defined fruit and a quite grown-up vineyard character. Good stuff, thanks Torsten.

Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg ‘D’ Vendanges Tardives 2005, Albert Boxler
This nose has real VT character, candied fruit and manifest power. It is also incredibly mineral but this character shows itself with a lot of finesse. It is almost surprising that a wine this big can display such elegant and beautiful minerality. It is a wonderful nose that would tweak the lewd bits of any lover of fine things. The palate also has late harvest power, but as it commits frankly debauched acts in your mouth the balance is never less than faultless. Its acidity is searing and stomach slashing (ouch, ouch, ooooowwww… I’ll need the Gaviscon soon enough), there are dumper-truck loads of candied citrus fruit and the minerality is spell-binding. It is not the scale or power that make me love this wine, and I love it oh so much, it is the harmony and panache which so many Alsace VTs just don’t seem to manage. My last bottle of this tremendously fine wine, alas.

Auxey-Duresses Premier Cru 2006, Comte Armand
Now this smells like proper Burgundy, it has inviting dark fruit and a powerful earthiness. There is some power to this nose, but it is not in any way overblown or overly focussed on muscle. This is the nose of Pinot from the correct place, alright; there is charm, class and complexity on show. The palate also has power and a rather rigorous tannic structure, it is a tad on the tough side but has more than enough dark, ripe fruit to keep the balance satisfactory. This makes me think that the clout this wine has is quite finely honed and I think it would be a good wine to age. When trying this blind I thought this was a good Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru, which shows it has some pretentions to style and quality. I should have got this right. I love Comte Armand wines and have tried far too many so I feel I could recognise the winemakers finger-prints all over it. It is a sad day when I cannot spot Comte Armand wines, when the label was revealed I felt a smidgen of exasperation at my failure.

Vosne-Romanee Premier Cru les Suchots 2006, Domaine Confuron-Cotetidot
This smells breathtakingly beautiful. Its pure expression of complex, exotic fruit really warps my mind to its way of thinking, and this nose thinks it wants to mesmerise and captivate. Sure there is a good mineral character, but that enthralling fruit is what does it for me, an enchanting expression of Vosne. Oh bums, after that nose I feel a tad disappointed by the palate. The tannins have more than a suggestion of being significantly daunting and together with its far from reserved acidity they make the palate seem somewhat stiff and demanding. There is a lot of fruit there as well, and it is charm-tastic, lovely-licious fruit, but it is not quite in balance with the brutalist tannic structure. Its powerful earthiness is very convincing and really persists on what is a very long and multifaceted finish. There are many things to like about this wine, but ultimately it just falls a bit short of the mark.

Pinot Noir ‘Sangreal’ 2006, By Farr
There is more than a suggestion of stemminess on this nose, along with serious earthy power and plenty of really scrumptious fruit. Authentic complexity is present and I am rather compelled; if this was not one of my offerings I’d say after smelling this it was a genuinely good offering from the Cote de Nuits. The palate bursts with lots more of that scrumptious fruit which sits in appetizing harmony with a finely-wrought tannic structure and succulent acidity. That stemmy character is also present on the palate and I feel this, along with its intense earthiness, really add to the complexity. This is the best Australian Pinot Noir I’ve had since the brilliant and refined Mac Forbes wines. Top stuff, Mr Farr.

Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr 1997, Fritz Haag
By all that is evil and malevolent this nose is stunning. It has definite traces of maturity, but the fruit is pulsing with excitement and vivacity. Super citrus action which you know is going to taste luminously lively. The powerful slate character is also persuades me that this is a wine of stylish class and refined sophistication. Yeah, this is a penetratingly compelling nose and no messing around. It tastes staggeringly acidic, but lovely, animated, energetic acidity which just makes makes my drool flow and draws me in to drink more and more. The slate minerality shows multifarious levels of captivating character which meld intricately with the acidity and enchanting, exquisite fruit to produce an utterly brilliant, breathtaking buccal experience. The enthralling harmony of this salaciously complex and indecently elegant wine blows my mind in an outlandish maelstrom of aesthetic ecstasy. We are lucky when we get to drink wines this good; I feel lucky. But then I also feel absolutely deserving and unreservedly worthy of such delights. Hooray for Riesling, Pinot Noir and all who love them!

Last night we popped around the neighbour’s place with a couple of bottles of wine; they couldn’t have been more different.

Morey Saint-Denis 2002, Domaine Dujac
Oh what a ravishing nose, I am instantly smitten by its compelling beauty and charming refinement. There is perfectly ripe fruit which, whilst not lacking intensity, is exquisitely lovely and is enhanced by a subtle jasmine character which tickles my fancy no end. There is certainly earthy complexity here, but I prefer the complexity of the fruit; it is scrummy. On the palate there is a silky tannic structure which has shades of rigour to it, this wine is still bursting with life. The complex, ripe fruit on the palate adds to the impression of this being a svelte little number. The acidity is perfectly balanced and keeps the wine fresh, quaffable and vivacious. This is almost as far from being a huge blockbuster as it is possible to get, it is an elegant little wine of sculpted attractiveness. I’d much rather drink a little beauty like this than a huge alcohol and fruit bomb; you could drink this all day whereas some wines you don’t want to finish off a glass.

Cotes du Roussillon Villages ‘Cuvee Coume Marie’ 2007, Preceptorie de Centernach
I think I opened a bottle of organic solvent rather than wine, the hot burn that boils off this stuff goes beyond heroic. Indeed, it is distinctly loopy, but sadly loopy in an unattractive way. I don’t like my wines to be inhalation anaesthetics. There is a lot of fruit on the nose, but it is the stewed, jammy fruit of Grenache that has been given a really serious baking in a crazy climate. I’ve only sniffed this ludicrous monstrosity and I already actively dislike it and find it draining. I’ll taste it, though. By the danglers of donkey’s that was a real mistake. This is some harsh, aggressive, contrived facsimile of  wine; I find it hard to believe it was made of grapes. The tannins are violently coarse and bitter, giving the impression that my mouth has been given a vigorous roughing up with a Brillo pad. There is severe acidity here as well, quite unforgiving in its ruthlessness. There is also some of that unattractive jammy fruit here as well, but to suggest that this discordant, abrasive palate has any form of balance would be so bonkers it would instantly make one worthy of being sectioned in the local nut-house. This is over-blown filth of the most unremittingly horrendous style; I couldn’t even finish my glass.

Last night I organised a little blind tasting for some friends. I thought nothing could charm them more than some red Burgundy. I served them in a flight of two then a flight of three, with the order of the wines in each flight randomised. Some of the wines were notably better than others. The sweet wine I was presented with as a blind tasting challenge at the end of the evening made my stomach churn with revulsion.

Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru La Richemone 2005, Domaine Alain Michelot
This has a lot of ripe fruit but also a slightly green, leafy smell. There is an earthy set of aromas which make this reasonably complex and give it some real interest. I think this nose is really rather Nuits in character and should provide good blind tasting fodder. This has a really rather tannic palate, it is a bit butch. That being said, I think there is enough fruit to match this and it strikes me that the interplay between the two provides plenty of pleasure. This is a very good example of Nuits which I think will age quite well.

Nuits-Saint-Georges Vieilles Vignes 2005, Domaine Alain Michelot
Despite the claim of old vines this is a bit weak on the nose. There is some dark fruit, hints of greenness and the suggestion of earth, but it is quite subdued and not all that complex. I want more from this nose and it is just not delivering. The palate has a bit more substance, with a good tannic structure and some pleasing ripe fruit, but this is quite a simple village wine. Not much point in keeping this, drink it now with some less demanding Pinotphiles.

Corton-Bressandes Grand Cru 2003, Domaine Chandon de Briailles
Cripes, this is so ripe it is almost Porty. There is one arse-load of super-ripe sweet fruit on this nose, so much so that it is not terribly Burgundian. I can see how one might be attracted to this fleshy voluptuous character, but I prefer a little more restraint and beauty. Any earthy, complex aromas one might have hoped for have been baked right out of the wine; as far as the nose goes it is simply a fruit bomb. The palate is round and buxom, charged with huge amounts of that Porty fruit. It is so ripe and corpulent. I never thought I would taste a Corton so chubby and plump that lacks any form of rigour or austerity. I suppose there are some tannins to it but practically the only character this palate has is its outsized fruit. If this is the kind of thing you like then you will like this, but it just leaves me feeling let down, exhausted and generally shagged out.

Pernand-Vergelesses Premier Cru Ile des Vergelesses 2005, Domaine Chandon de Briailles
This is really rather pale in colour, but so what? Experience tells us colour is no indicator of the quality of Pinot. Now that is a drop-dead beautiful nose. It is small-scale, but there is incredible harmony, well-judged restraint and serious complexity present. I’m totally compelled by this nose, it is beguiling in its exquisiteness and charming in its extreme attractiveness. The palate is also small-scale, but is a work of sculpted refinement. The silky tannins, sophisticated minerality and stylish fruit are all in complete harmony and as they dance across my palate they charge me with a sense of aesthetic fulfilment and positively lewd contentment. I am a big fan of beautiful little Burgundies like this; when they are good they lack for nothing in terms of intricacy and flair but their lightness means you can drink them all day and night. What a brilliant wine, and it was a real bargain too.

Corton-Bressandes Grand Cru 2005, Domaine Chandon de Briailles
This nose has plenty of ripe, surprisingly powerful strawberry and raspberry fruit and a very intense mineral tang; it is like a scaled-up version of the previous wine. I loved the previous wine, though, in multiplying this nose the precise beauty has been lost and replaced with slightly unfocussed muscle. The palate also has enhanced clout and strength, with a tougher, almost austere tannic structure and a lot more fruit. It is certainly mineral and appropriately complex, but again I find myself thinking it is just a little vague and ill-defined. Its finish is impressively long, with its vigorous minerality and potent fruit flavours lasting for a considerable period of time. This is a genuinely serious bottle of Burgundy which will age really well and there is indubitably plenty of pleasure to it. However, as far as chortles per pound go the polished form and classy style of the Ile des Vergelesses have thoroughly delighted me. I feel happy to recommend the less pricey wine on this occasion.

Oak Aged Vidal Icewine 2006, Inniskillen
This is deep orange; I usually feel a tinge of concern when I see a wine of this colour. The nose has lots of rot, but unfortunately it is not the noble kind. Indeed it makes me think of someone leaving a fur rug to go mouldy after giving it a good rub down with some overpoweringly decaying apricots that had been left to mature in a compost heap. I’m revolted. The palate has some acidity, is quite sweet, but its hideously confected fruit coupled with more of that unbearably filthy fungal character just make me want to stop drinking this instantly. So I will.

I opened a bottle of this for some lunch guests just after Christmas. Sadly I was so ill only the smallest of tastes passed my lips. Good job I had another bottle as it is terribly good.

Gevrey-Chambertin ‘Mes Favorites’ Vieilles Vignes 2003, Alain Burguet
One sniff and I am already compelled; the fresh, ripe cherry and raspberry fruit is really attractive and it is backed up by a complex earthiness. For a wine from this vintage this is amazingly far from being over-blown, indeed I think this shows a classy degree of restraint. This is the nose of a serious but lovely wine, it is totally succeeding in charming me and filling my evening with love. The palate is medium-bodied and has a real old vines depth of fruit, but again it is ripe rather than cooked; it is really sophisticated for a village wine, and amazingly so for a 2003. Again that restraint shows itself and I’m finding that character to be quite stimulating. It has a silky tannic structure and, whilst it is not incredibly acidic, the harmony is just the ballerina’s bits. The fruit and sleek earthiness persist on its impressively long finish, and that tickles my fancy as well. There is a lot to think about with this wine, but it is also an exquisite, delightful drink. This is one of the best village level wines I’ve had and it is quite mind-boggling that M. Burguet could produce a wine of such captivating refinement and exquisite sex-value in the bonkers 2003 vintage.

We were supposed to be having a little vertical of Annie’s Lane Clare Valley Shiraz at Hawksmoor tonight. Somehow, our hosts managed to forget them when heading from horrible, horrible Woolwich to the City. Consequently, I popped into Uncorked and scored these two. One was quite delicious, the other just a woeful example of over-blown tedium.

Auxey-Duresses Premier Cru 2006, Comte Armand
Quite a pale colour. A lovely nose of fresh, ripe fruit. The fruit character is quite complex by itself, but together with its earthy richness and extremely subtle oak treatment this is a properly pleasing nose. Perhaps not as ripe and powerful as the 2005 flavour of this wine that I’ve had a couple of times recently, but sometimes we appreciate refinement rather than power. Now that is an attractive palate. Its rigorous tannic structure is backed up with lovely, attractive fruit and a fine backbone of acidity. Again, not as powerful, nor as tough, as the 2005, but this great drinking stuff. I really like the fruit/tannin interplay, plenty to keep you interested here. There is length and complexity to the palate as well, with fruity, earthy flavours persisting for a long time after you’ve swallowed. Whereas the 05 was really asking for a bit more time in the cellar, you can extract a lot of pleasure from this right now. And we did. For £25 this this high-quality bargain Burgundy, well worth every penny.

Clare Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ‘Blocks Road’ 2006, Kilikanoon
By arse, what an over-blown nose: heavy with dense, stewed, over-ripe fruit and a powerful alcohol burn. This smells like all that is dull and tedious about the Australian wine idiom: just because they want to harvest grapes that are ripe doesn’t mean they need to roast on the vines until they’ve been stewed to jamminess. I don’t really want to taste this, it just smells like it’ll over-whelm my delicate aesthetic sensibilities and leave me tired, shagged-out and generally bored. However, since I dropped eighteen fun tokens on this piece of over-rated rubbish I suppose some had better pass my lips. Yes, this is Cabernet soup mixed with slightly burnt jam. The tannins are over-ripe, there is no acidity to speak of and that fruit has just been cooked to buggery. I really feel offended by this wine. As Peter’s comments on another recent post suggest, this kind of Australian wine is perilously short of redeeming features: you just feel drinking it is far too much like hard work for little reward on the pleasure-front. Does anybody really enjoy these souped-up monsters? We are finding it really hard to finish this bottle even though we are heroes of the booze world who would normally require far more than two bottles of red to drink with our steaks. Clearly sub-interest; it is quite scandalous that people can sell dull, crap, monotonous wine like this for so much money. Dreadful filth. Many apologies to our hosts for supplying this bottle of tedious filth; next time remember to bring the wines you had planned!

In 2001 d’Angerville lost up to 70% of the production in some vineyards due to hail and subsequent sorting to weed out the damaged grapes. His net yields averaged less than 25hl/ha, which is seriously low. How did M. d’Angerville sum up the 2001 experience? “It was a difficult year.” Quite.

Volnay Premier Cru Champans 2001, Marquis d’Angerville
A pure nose of focussed fruit, very strawberry. It is a bit light and lacking depth, sadly, more anaemic than elegant. I’d hope for a few more aromatic jollies on the nose from a d’Angerville but clearly this is asking too much from this difficult vintage. The palate has plenty of that strawberry fruit, but hints of a dried-out, raisin character which is not terribly attractive. The acidity also seems a bit spiky, so the basic message we are getting is that this is not the most refined, balanced of palates. Bit of a pity, really, even the mighty d’Angerville sometimes does not reach stellar heights. That being said, this wine is not sub-interest; it speaks just enough about its place of origin, and much about the vintage, to engage the engrossed drinker of Burgundy. Drink as soon as possible before it loses its remaining charm.

I picked this up at a bargain price in the January sales (all gone now, sorry); its normal £30-40 price range would be too much for this wine. The partner tells me he views the recently popped Mac Forbes Pinot as better wine at a better price. Much as I hate to be down on a d’Angerville, he is probably right.

The heraldic device on the d’Angerville labels is most fun:

I’ve been reading a new wine forum, Wine Berserkers, it is quite a fun place. People there seem generally enthusiastic and knowledgeable about wine, and they are a friendly lot too. One of threads I followed was a request for recommendations for sub-$50 Burgundy that is very Burgundian. The fellow posting had little experience of Burgundy and wanted to compare them with the wines he normally drank. Several people said that Burgundy can be quite expensive and that there are lots of different styles made, but we ended up recommending an excellent and well-priced example. You can read the thread if you want to know more.

This discussion reminded me of one of the polls I posted on here: which French wine region produces the best value wines? There were a couple of votes for Burgundy, which I thought was a bit enthusiastic. However, recently I’ve tried some really good Burgundies which have been bargain-tastic. Many people may disagree with this, but I feel that if you can get serious quality for less than £30 (which is about the $50 limit requested on the Wine Berserker thread), then that is a bargain in my book. So here are my suggestions for red Burgundies that provide a lot of of pleasure for not so much money.

Wine of the moment is certainly the Pernand-Vergelesses Premier Cru Ile des Vergelesses 2005 from Domaine Chandon de Briailles. I loved its beauty, refinement and poise. You can buy this attractive wine for £24.95 (or £23.50 if you order 12 bottles, which can be mixed) from Lea and Sandeman. Note: five days after posting this recommendation (and two days before I could afford more) this wine has sold out. Bums.

If you like your Burgundies to be slightly more heroic then you cannot go far wrong with Comte Armand’s Auxey Duresses Premier Cru 2005. A bold wine with lots of ripe fruit and a serious tannic structure. I feel it will age well for such a minor appellation. Also from Lea and Sandeman this costs £23.50 (case discounted to £21.50).

Some of you might be thinking that these villages are unheard of and so you might desire a more well-known village of origin; Nuits-Saint-Georges is a good place to go. The Premier Cru Richemone 2005 from Alain Michelot is very good, very Nuits-y expression of Nuits and a steal at £28.93 from Lay and Wheeler. Too expensive? Then how about Alain Michelot’s Nuits-Saint-Georges Vieilles Vignes 2005, an affordable taste of quality Nuits for £18.93 also from Lay and Wheeler. Just five pence under my price limit is the 2006 Nuits St Georges Aux St. Juliens from de Montille, a named vineyard at the village quality level. Like all de Montille wines this is elegant and refined, but this one is quite accessible and with very attractive fruit. £29.95 (or less if you buy a case) from Berry Bros.

If you know where to look you can find wines from highly regarded producers at a good price. I love Domaine Dujac wines and their ‘Fils et Pere’ range gives you a good taste of their style without breaking the bank. I think the Morey-Saint-Denis Fils et Pere 2006 is a damned-good wine, proper Morey of class and refinement for £28.50 (with a discount for unmixed cases) from Berry Bros.

Comte Armand are another flash producer, and they produce this well-priced wine from a more famous appellations than Auxey Duresses. The 2006 Volnay is a structured example of this village and again I feel it will age well. £25 (minus an unmixed case discount) from Berry Bros is a good price for a characterful Volnay.

Owning Dominique Lafon wines is normally a very pricey business. However, you can get his charming and fruity, if not stunningly profound, 2006 Monthelie Premier Cru Les Duresses Rouge for a surprisingly affordable £29 a bottle. This is a Burgundy that you can happily drink and enjoy on any occasion.

Berry Bros also sell the excellent wines from David Clark; he has minor appellations but he is focussed on producing the best wines he can from these vineyards, so treats them with more love and attention than most Burgundians treat their very finest Grand Crus. His 2007 Bourgogne Rouge is £18.35 (with a discount for unmixed cases), you’d be hard pressed to find a more compelling Bourgogne for less money than this.

Another beautiful Bourgogne Rouge is the 2007 from de Montille. It really is a baby de Montille wine, with all the elegance and harmony one would hope for from that producer. Berry’s sell it for a quite reasonable £20.40 per bottle (again there is a discount for cases).

Whilst we are on the subject of Bourgogne Rouge, Alain Burguet’s 2005 ‘Pince-Vin’ is a good performer at this quality level, and 2005 is a top vintage which should be quite mature and ready to drink by now. £20 a bottle from the Wine Society. The wine you really want from M. Burguet is his Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes ‘Mes Favorites’, this is one of the best village wines you can buy. When I popped a bottle of 2003 just after Christmas our lunch guests were compelled and charmed. It wasn’t in the slightest bit over-blown which can be a problem with some 2003s. At £29 a bottle from the Wine Society this falls a mere pound under my price limit, but it is worth every penny.

There we have it: an array of twelve different red Burgundies all of which are very reasonably priced for the quality they deliver. I suppose some might think my £30 upper limit is too high for these to be real bargains, but I’m afraid if you do you are wrong. Sadly wines of real quality are expensive these days, not only because of the limited production and high demand, but also the British peso weak pound has made all of our purchases from France at least 30% more expensive. These wines are as good as they get for as little as they get.

If either of my readers can suggest anymore bargain Burgundies then please leave a comment.

The first three bottles of Alsace Grand Cru Riesling were showing terribly well. Then we had a blind tasting challenge courteousy of the that excellent chap Captain ‘The Kid’ Peter, before we finished up the evening with a quite obscenely brilliant bottle of (again) Alsace Riesling. I present the blind-tasting challenge in the form of an a podcast, because I thought it would be fun to hear me being humiliated when guessing in real time; I wasn’t too embarrassed by my performance, if I may be smug for a moment, I was pretty close but thought the wine was slightly grander than its actual appellation and vintage would suggest.

Riesling Grand Cru Brand 2001, Domaine Albert Boxler
This has a really voluptuous nose of ripe fruit and spicy minerality. It is really buxom and charming. This stunning minerality and concentrated fruit character compel me totally, it is a  livid, lively entity of total desirability. I last had a bottle of this in September 2007 and thought it was time to drink. Judging by the expressive beauty and complex charm displayed by this nose I was wrong; it is full of giving, exciting life and will be for years to come. The palate is utterly beguiling. It has lots of powerful fruit, an incredibly pure and focussed earthiness and quite staggering amounts of acidity. There is so much to this palate, it has real size and scale, but it is totally, wildly, amazingly harmonious. The interplay between the intense fruit, searing minerality and dazzling, spectacular acidity just leaves me astounded. It is lewdly long and colourfully complex. Rarely do we get to drink wines this good, and we should treasure those moments when we are enjoying them, especially when we get to drink them with those who are important to us.

Riesling Grand Cru Brand 2001, Domaine Zind-Humbrecht
This has an even more voluptuous and exotic nose, it really has the extreme ripeness and power one expects from a Z-H wine certainly in terms of its rich, fruity profile. ‘The Kid’ and I suggest that, after the Boxler, this is lacking a touch of vineyard expression, but we could not deny the completely compelling nature of its myriad aromas. The partner thinks this is more expressive of the hot, roasted fruit character he wants from the Brand Grand Cru*. One thing we could clearly agree on after merely sniffing this was that this wine is going to be out where the big dogs eat, most definitely. Tits out for the boys, OK? Then we get to taste it. Wow, what a mouthful. The alcohol level might distract the ultimate Riesling purist, but if you try something so powerfully fruity and driven by passion you can forgive a bit of warmth. The minerality is certainly very exciting as is the acidity, even if, compared to the Boxler, they are not at the lewd end of experience. It is a commanding presence in the glass and on one’s palate. Great length, astounding complexity and really fun to drink. ‘The Kid’ and I preferred the Boxler because of its incredible harmony, the partner preferred this because of its opulent, exotic and complex character. Certainly these two are amongst the finest Rieslings I’ve had in… oh… a period of time.

Riesling Grand Cru Rangen Clos St. Urbain 2001, Domaine Zind-Humbrecht
Olivier Humbrecht was rather chuffed with this wine when the Oxford crew visited many years ago and tasted his range; I suppose I must have been impressed too otherwise I wouldn’t have scored myself a bottle. It has a really gorgeous nose of ripe, but not overblown, fruit. It has the minerality to make it properly interesting as well. Not as extreme in terms of intensity as the two Brand wines, but quite indulgent none the less. This is a lovely, really totally honestly, a lovely nose. Ah, I have a tiny bit of a problem with the palate now I’ve tasted it, there is the smallest suggestion of dirtiness to it and I don’t want that in my Alsace Rieslings. Sure, the fruit is lovely, the minerality compelling and the acidity quite well balanced, but I am a bit distracted by this vague hint of dirtiness. I’ll taste it again in ten minutes. [tick, tock…] And now I don’t get that dirtiness at all, that lovely ripe fruit and interesting minerality stand out much more. This is a seriously impressive Alsace Grand Cru, and whilst all three of us agree that this is not as stratospherically radiant as the two Brand Rieslings, it is a damned good wine.

After we had tried and re-tried all three of these Rieslings over a period of time we were sure that they were all some of the most wonderful examples of Alsace Grand Cru Rieslings we could wish to taste and drink. I was worried that 2001 Alsace Rieslings, especially the Z-H’s, might be over the hill (I have had a lot of prematurely oxidised Alsace Riesling of late): not a bit of it! Indeed, we all thought they were all quite youthful, fresh and lively. This was especially true of the Boxler, which seemed to be in a state of arrested development. No rush to drink these wines, boys and girls. I would go as far as saying that with the two Brand wines I felt that there was so little development showing in them one would probably get most pleasure drinking them on purchase. I’d like to do the experiment and keep them for ten years longer and see what happens, but I’ve only got one bottle of one of them left. Ah well, easy come easy go.

These three amazing, brilliant wines were followed by Peter’s blind tasting challenge. When he told me that he was bringing a bottle of Pinot Noir he said I’d get it right in one guess; I’m pleased someone has confidence in my blind tasting ability. To hear me rave about this wine and make my guess as to what it was click here.

For those who don’t feel the need to listen to my hideous Oxbridge drawl I shall reveal all. My guess was Domaine Dujac Morey-Saint Denis Premier Cru 2002, it was Domaine Dujac Morey-Saint-Denis villages 2004. Quite one of the most ravishing and charm-tastic 2004s I’ve had, really excessively pleasing. I was so moved by the allure of it I felt the need to give Peter and the partner a big hug for being part of the experience of this lovely wine. It has been a while since I popped an 04 red Burgundy and it is clear the the Dujac boys and girls delivered the goods in this not entirely easy vintage. Then we moved on to the final wine of the evening.

Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg ‘D’ Vendanges Tardives 2005, Domaine Albert Boxler
This has a nose bursting with real late harvest character; a bit like candied fruit but fresher and more livid. It has real concentration but is not short on finesse and class. It is a totally gripping and unreservedly engaging nose. If you were poured a glass of this and didn’t love it the moment its aromatic molecules drifted up your nose then you can only be some form of really unhappy person who doesn’t really want to have a good time. I’m having a great time just smelling this, but I suppose I should get around to drinking some before the boys neck it all. Yes, oh yes, what a palate. For sure it is very ripe, with sweet, candied fruit present in spades, but as so often happens with Boxler wines it is the harmony which wins me over. The acidity would be terrifying in any wine less boldly structured than this, and the refined Sommerberg minerality adds to this expression of complete poise and equilibrium. It is a big, intense, indulgent mouthful, but not only don’t you get tired drinking it, you feel a burning desire to have more and more. I don’t have any left. Bugger.

*The story of the Brand Grand Cru: We are told that in the middle ages, Turkheim’s local dragon had a battle with the sun. The dragon lost and was banished to a cave under the hill behind Turkheim, specifically under the Brand Grand Cru. Since then the dragon’s fiery breath has kept the vineyard warm and this leads to the roasted, hot character of wines from the Brand.

I’m normally happy to pop a bottle of Morey-Saint-Denis wine, but this is far from one of the most pleasing examples I’ve had.

Morey-Saint-Denis Premier Cru Faconnieres 2005, Virgile Lignier
The nose has a lot of very ripe fruit, which you’d hope would be quite attractive, but I am just finding it a tiny bit clumsy and poorly-focussed. I don’t think the oak has been handled with with much sophistication. Whilst there are no specific winemaking faults on the nose, it doesn’t really speak to me as a good Morey charmer. The palate has plenty of fruit and vigorous tannins, but where is the complexity? Where is the love? Again there are no obvious flaws, but it seems perilously lacking dimension, style and interest. If you are pleased by simple fruit and tannin concoctions you’d probably get on well with it. However, if you are a lover of beautiful, harmonious and classy Morey-Saint-Denis you should avoid this wall-papery entity of monotony, pop down Rue de la Bussiere and see if those lovely people at Domaine Dujac will sell you some proper wine. Alternatively, cross the Route Nationale and pay a visit to my chum Cyprien Arlaud. He makes proper Morey Premier Crus of real character and does not charge the earth for them. I’m a bit vexed that, considering the distinctly high price I paid for this, it is just seems to lack any significant degree of personality. I love good Morey, and this should have been good, so it pains me to taste it and realise I’ll have to rate it as sub-interest. I threw my money away.

The partner says I am being too hard on this wine. Given that it has clean fruit and no obvious faults he rightly points out this is better than an awfully large proportion of the wine made in Burgundy. However, just because something is better than unspeakable filth doesn’t make it worth buying. If I were feeling charitable (rather than perturbed that I purchased so poorly) I’d say this is indifferent at best, and I want to drink better wines than ‘indifferent’.

Unless I have been misinformed, the Virgile Lignier labelled wines are the negociant arm of Lignier-Michelot (please correct me if I am mistaken). I had the same premier cru labelled Lignier-Michelot last summer. Whilst I felt it was lacking a bit of complexity and clearly aimed to be a tits-out wine rather than an ethereal entity of beauty, there was more interest and charm to it than this distinctly tiresome expression of vinous tedium.

The initial idea of tonight’s little tasting was to expand our knowledge of Gevrey-Chambertin villages-level wines. One of the two was so utterly horrible I felt it insulted our guest, so a better wine was popped.

Gevrey-Chambertin 2001, Domaine Maume
Very pale in colour. A reasonably attractive nose of strawberry fruit, but not that much else is there. Some people rave about this producer so I was hoping for a bit more on the aromatic fireworks front. The palate is utterly disgusting. There is bugger all fruit and no charm. The tannins are harsh and bitter, and there are quite mind-buggering amounts of acidity present. There is no harmony to this palate, it just revolts the sensibilities of the lover of proper Burgundy. Thin, acrid and horrible. The nice-ish fruit on the nose is this wine’s only positive feature, the palate is just filth. We gave this a serious swirl in the decanter in the hope it would become less tough, but the balance was never there. Avoid, and have strong words with Mr Maume if you should be unfortunate enough to meet him.

Gevrey-Chambertin ‘Mes Favourites’ 2001, Alain Burguet
Now this smells like proper Burgundy: bold and fruity with a great depth of character. There is clearly quite a lot of concentration present on this nose, a real old vines personality here. The palate has a very pleasing tannic structure: for sure it is quite tannic, but those tannins are rather ripe and silky. There is plenty of fruit here to keep you smiling and, whilst it is concentrated and powerful, it doesn’t lack elegance. This is a really serious village level wine which dishes out a lot of pleasure. Yum.

Chambolle-Musigny 2007, G. Roumier
This nose throbs with charm and loveliness. The fruit is just sex-tastic and there is a pronounced minerality to it. It is still bursting with youthful attractiveness. Yeah, this is another damned-good village wine. The palate is silky and svelte with really refined tannins, perfectly balanced acidity and tits-out fruit. For a village wine there is plenty of complexity and real style. All of those lovely, harmonious flavours persist on the finish for a long time and when they finally fade you just want to drink more. This is clearly a very good vintage for Roumier Chambolle and we are really enjoying it. Not necessarily better than the Burguet, it is a different wine, but it does provide a minging load of enjoyment.

I was at the Howard Ripley 2008 Burgundy tasting last night. It was most interesting, many thanks to Sebastian Thomas for squeezing me in at the last minute.

Generally, the vintage seems quite successful. The best wines have a pronounced sense of place, with nice fruit, pleasing acidity and good structure. These are perhaps not wines for forgetting in your cellar for decades, but in the medium term they will develop well. The very best wines will age well.

Shock of the tasting was a Jean Grivot wine that actually had charm as well as tannin. I was surprised, and even more surprised that it was a Clos de Vougeot which are normally on the tough side. It had real Grand Cru presence and lots of class. If you ever want to buy a flash Grivot that won’t leave you thinking “Why oh why did I buy that?” now might be your chance.

The other Clos de Vougeot on show was from Hudelot-Noellat. This was was even more charming with a real nervous energy to match its power. Good value for the quality. I thought. There was a Vosne-Romanee 1er cru les Suchots from them on show as well and this impressed me no end. It is also keenly priced for a Vosne 1er, snap this and his Beaumonts up.

I enjoyed the Fourrier wines I tried. The basic Gevrey-Chambertin seemed like it has some future ahead of it and it was quite serious for a village wine. Chambolle-Musigny 1er cru les Gruenchers was a tiny bit on the tannic side for a Chambolle but I liked its acid/fruit/tannin interplay enough to order three magnums. I think it’ll charm more after a bit of age. Gevrey-Chambertin 1er cru Clos Saint Jacques was quite delicious; structured and fruity with great length.

The final two wines from the tasting which really stood out came from Comte Armand. The Auxey-Duresses 1er cru was impressively complex and engaging considering its lowly status and bargain price. I’m buying some. More expensive, but clearly one of the best wines of the tasting, was Pommard 1er Cru Clos des Epeneaux. This was really expressive with a great Pommard character. The fruit was perfectly integrated with its impressive, but not harsh, tannic structure.

Of course, I would also recommend the 2008s from the producers I visited last summer. These were: Domaine Dujac, Domaine Arlaud, Mugnier and Roumier. Eagle-eyed readers will note I tasted at Domaine des Lambrays when I was in Burgundy. The cask sample of 2008 I had there was a bit difficult to judge, as were the samples at the Howard Ripley tasting, so I find it hard to recommend outright. Moreover, much as I’ve loved many of their wines I’ve had in the past (I own a reasonable amount), I feel they are getting a bit pricy.

There are some impressive and lovely red Burgundies from 2008 which are well-worth buying. Don’t let the promise of flasher 2009s put you off from buying some 08s; you will enjoy them.

Book review: Liquid Memory – why wine matters by Jonathan Nossiter

We were given this book as a christmas present. Written by the director of the film Mondovino, it promised to have an opinionated look at the world of wine. Whilst we largely agreed with what he had to say, it is an extremely irritating and pretentious book.

His main thesis is a well-rehearsed one: wine styles across the world are becoming homogenised thanks to the efforts of wine critics and consultant oenologists. He abhors international-style wines and praises those who make locality-specific wines, calling these more ‘authentic’. We pretty much agree with that, although we don’t subscribe to his somewhat narcissistic view that it is this authenticity that matters even if the winemaking (and ultimately the wine) is awful.

The whacked-out theory as to why wines are developing in this style blames Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher as well as the more usual suspects like Robert Parker and Michel Rolland. Even Tony Blair and Nicolas Sarkozy get ticked off. There is a lot of this woolly-headed political tripe: for example, Rudy Giuliani gets a thorough roasting for all the hideous things he has supposedly done to New York City. Most of this political stuff is unsophisticated, petty and extremely resentful.

He develops other themes. There is much waffling about how dreadful ‘wine speak’ is but he is perfectly happy to drop into it when describing wines he likes. When he approves of descriptions of wine his pretentiousness is nauseating: a descriptor such as ‘smells of lemons’ would make him look down his nose, but he is delighted to use the word sauvage (the italics are apparently important).

The constant name-dropping is vastly annoying. It does not seem to be the wines he wants to talk about when reminiscing about a meal or drinking experience, more to make sure he establishes that everyone knows he is such an important person that he is always dining with influential academics, famous actors/actresses or other terribly thrusting film people. By name dropping all of the time he seems like a snivelling social-climber.

Since Nossiter is a film director he could be forgiven for making references to his main job. However, he has lists of obscure art-house directors from novelty countries so frequently that it just becomes dull and you realise, much as with the name-dropping, that he is just trying to show off and stoke his own ego. He clearly feels totally confident in pronouncing on literally any subject, which he is unqualified to do.

There is a chapter of petulance about how Mondovino was received by the wine world. I think he probably was somewhat unfairly savaged, as it was a mild, loosely-structured film which did not really go for its targets’ throats with that much venom. One critic of it characterised Nossiter as part of the ‘wine Gestapo’, he is not that. I think he should have been more pleased that his film provoked a reaction from the international-style wine crowd, rather than having this whining chapter about how dreadfully he has been treated.

Not sounding so good so far, is it? However, there are some good bits. When he goes to Burgundy to visit Roulot, Lafon and Roumier there are plenty of insightful comments from these winemakers. Indeed there should be; these are serious, thoughtful producers. They talk about their wines, winemaking and terroir in enlightened terms, demonstrating that their thoughts on these subjects are much more refined, and worth reading, than Nossiter’s.

The book is much like the film: self-indulgent, poorly-structured, with an incoherency about its main message. This is a bit of a pity as we think the message is a good one. If you feel that individualistic wines should be celebrated then you might get something out of this, but the staggering egomania and general pretentiousness are really large obstacles to this being an enjoyable book. At least he does not like Claret.

Edit: There are a couple of other reviews on t’interwebs of this book which caught my eye. The one on The Slate is rather funny, ruder than mine amazingly. The New York Times review almost managed to grasp the vastly irritating and self-centred character of it, but the reviewer seemed too swayed by the romance of wine to be sufficiently critical of what is not a great book. The Wine Economist’s review is pithy and points out Nossiter’s strange attitude to money. Finally, there is Reign of Terroir’s glowingly positive review, clearly being so seduced by the idea of terroir that even if someone makes an odious defence of it, like Nossiter, they’ll kiss their arses. They have an interview with the man himself on their site which is one of the least analytical and most generally fawning interviews I have ever read. It would pain me if people really thought that Liquid Memory was one of the best recent defences of proper wine. It is drivel.

We braved to cold today to go and visit our friends James and Katie. They have a three-week old baby (who is quite cute) so we thought they would need a drink. We took a Volnay and James had another good one to pop as well. It was lovely to see them, they seemed to be dealing with young-parenthood in a relaxed manner.

Volnay Premier Cru Clos des Chenes 1999, Michel Lafarge
This has an ultra-pure, really refined nose of lovely red fruit. Ripe strawberries, I feel. Beautiful, seductive and full of really downright loveliness. There is a very slight hint of grassiness as well, but this just adds to its complexity. This is what Volnay should be all about. The palate has a good backbone of acidity, and lots of bright, fresh fruit. It just dances across your palate, it is such a model of harmonious beauty. It is certainly long, concentrated, complex and all those things we want from flash Burgundy, but it is the lovely charm that does it for me. Bravo, M. Lafarge!

Volnay Premier Cru Champans 1999, Marquis d’Angerville
This seems marginally bigger and riper, with more cherry fruit rather than strawberries; we are told Champans is a quite giving Volnay Premier Cru. It seems very stylish and sophisticated, the result of enlightened wine-making and a top vintage. The palate has layer upon layer of highly attractive fruit, with nicely softening tannins and again a lively streak of acidity. The balance is just freaking-triple-A, as is the persistence of flavours on the finish. To sip a wine like this is to experience something special (special in a good way).

If I may add a general comment, these two producers make utterly beautiful Volnay. They are never hard or tough, but always bursting with the very best of Volnay refinement and love. These were truly great, beguiling, seductive wines which delivered so very much enjoyment.

This was a gift, I was told it had good fruit. I think this is what you want from 2000 red Burgundy.

Pommard Premier Cru Grands Epenots 2000, Pierre Morey
Quite a pale brick colour. The fruit on the nose shows some mature softness. It is quite ripe, in the style of Pinot which seems to head toward HP Sauce/Bovril aromas. This is not over-whelming so it doesn’t seem to be a problem. There is some spice to the nose as well, but it is doesn’t seem amazingly complex. The palate has soft fruit, with a reasonably bright and lively acid/tannin structure. Again, the palate isn’t so complex, but this seems like a fruity, perfectly acceptable bottle of Burgundy. Nice enough, but it is not going to set the world on fire. Time to drink.

After the awfulness of the wines we’ve popped so far tonight this is quite the treat. It really developed over time; decanting white Burgundy, especially young wines, is often a great idea.

Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Referts 2004, Louis Carillon
The nose of this has developed from being a bit closed and oaky to displaying quite an elegant, stylish set of aromas. This smells properly harmonious and charming, with enough mineral and fruit complexity to keep you very interested. All of these aromas seem pure and refined, there is real beauty here. I like this nose a lot. The palate is a model of balance, with lovely lemon fruit, brilliant acidity and, something I really like in good white Burgundy, an attractive savoury character. It is really tasty, a great drink that just begs you to drink more and enjoy its charms. There is a lot to love in this wine; its harmony, elegance and class mark it out as a properly good bottle of Puligny.

Last New Year we opened three bottles of Champagne, and they were all buggered. It seems a similar thing is happening a year later. OK, the Dancer wine was merely boring rather than faulty, but we didn’t want to drink boring wine so we popped a bottle of Paul Pernot Puligny Folatieres 2000. It was the most corked wine I have ever encountered; smelling utterly vile. So we’ve tried another vintage, the 2002, and on pouring it has an incredible collection of stinky, reductive, rotten egg aromas. Even after a good shake and much time in a decanter to try and get rid of this complete nastiness it is still more horrible than I feel capable of expressing. I am too disgusted by this to taste any, but Daniel has and says it is horrible.

When discussing the day’s wines via text messages I have been reminded that Vincent Dancer makes wines for enjoying sooner rather than later. I wonder if that is the problem with this.

Meursault Premier Cru Perrieres 2002, Vincent Dancer
The nose is very buttery and fat, with an oaky character which I find rather unsophisticated. There is some nice fruit and minerality underneath this, but basically this nose unbalanced and crass. The palate is hot and fat, and its elements don’t seem terribly harmonious. It doesn’t seem to have any obvious faults, but there is something really flat and dull about this. Where is the balance and beauty of this great vineyard? Not in this bottle, that is for sure.

In our quest to elucidate more about the Cote de Nuits villages we can move up a level to the Premier Crus. This time the poll question is: Which Cote de Nuits village has the most consistently high-quality Premier Crus? Not just one or two good ones, but tits quality across the range. If you feel you have more to add than a simple vote then please feel free to add a comment.

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If you want to have a look at some maps of the Burgundy villages to help you decide you can go to the bottom of this page where there is a good list of Burgundy maps provided by Louis Jadot.

It has been ten days since I posted my poll about which Cote de Nuits village makes the best village-level wines. You can see the results here. It seems that Chambolle has won with exactly half the votes. I’m not entirely surprised.

The best Chambolle-villages from Roumier and Mugnier are truly fine wines which smash beyond the humble village quality level. Both are amazing expressions of place and beauty. Barthod is good and I’ve had slightly idiosyncratic but undoubtedly good Confuron-Cotedidot Chambolle. Dujac Fils et Pere Chambolle is one of the best purchases we make each year; a bargain for the quality. Village wines like this are easy to love, and I can totally see why half of us went for them.

In second place was Gevrey. This is probably a really good option, there is variety and class in Gevrey. I don’t drink Gevrey terribly often, but a bottle of Alain Burguet Mes Favourites 2003 I popped last night was an amazing, if moving toward large-scale, expression of confident beauty. I didn’t actually drink any because I have an appalling stomach bug, but my sniffs and tiny sips were greatly rewarding.

Morey next, which we have discussed endlessly, then Nuits with a single vote. Nuits would probably be my last choice, but I admit that is because I usually drink 1er cru Nuits and rarely village wines.

I was slightly surprised that no one voted for Vosne, but then I remembered the prices of the stuff… Remember when you could get Rene Engel Vosne for less then twenty quid at Berry’s? Wow, those were the days.

Many thanks for voting. I’ll be thinking of a Premier Cru related poll and post one in a few days.

It has been a mixed day for wine. Oxidised Sorg and Weinbach (bloody Inedit 2000 of all things, I was vexed) started things off. This was followed by winemaker of the moment (Cedric Bouchard's) Inflorescence fizz. It was brilliant, especially considering it is a hilarious bargain, but painfully acidic. Then the amazing Roulot, and his wines really are amazing; I'd sell my mother, to an understanding buyer, to keep my Roulot allocation. She is aware of the pursuit of pleasure and the delight of beauty so I'm sure she'd understand that entirely (possibly). So where could we go from there? Grand Cru, of course! However, as I have followed the development of this BBM, from what is a well-regarded producer, it just seems a bit weird, simple and painfully less good than the Roulot.

Bienvenues-Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru 2002, Paul Pernot
The nose has shown some development as I have decanted and swirled, hoping it might get a bit less one-dimensional. It started off with pure but very simple lemon fruit. After a while in the decanter it had the most typical Pinot Gris nose, which was a bit odd. Now after about an hour the lemon fruit has come back and there are shades of matchbox wood. None of these things seem like really impressive aromas for flash Burgundy; quite mundane, indeed. When I first had a taste of this it had such a pronounced astringency it was perilously close to being tannic; again, this was more than a bit odd. After an hour it is a bit less austere, but it still seems like hard work. There is none of the explosive excitement and compelling complexity I want from Grand Cru white Burgundy, this is merely ordinary Chardonnay at best and totally fails to live up to the names on the label. I feel let down and disappointed. The Roulot Tessons, only a village wine, whips the arse of this; I'm so pleased to have a glass of it left to savour.

This may only be a village wine but it is out where the big dogs eat. I love the finesse of Roulot's wines.

Meursault les Tessons Clos de Mon Plaisir 2002, Domaine Roulot
This has hints of buttery fat on the nose, but is supremely sculpted and totally beautiful. The creamy minerality is highly attractive. Indeed, everything about this nose is highly attractive. Seriously complex too. This is racy and exciting, in the full flow of charming life. The palate is fizzing with fine acidity, with a good Chardonnay weight. There is plenty of that complexity on the palate, with amazing harmony and quite crazy length. Yeah, power up! This is what we like. Well done M. Roulot, please never stop selling me wine.

OK, not quite christmas day yet but with a bottle of Burgundy to hand every day feels a bit like a holiday. This was an absolute bargain.

Auxey-Duresses Premier Cru 2005, Comte Armand
This has a tightly-wound nose of brooding intensity. There is really quite a lot to it, but it is clearly going through a bit of a closed phase. But that fruit, yeah! This is the nose of proper Burgundy and manifestly has more to give in the future. The tannins are a touch on the austere side, but there is so much fruit, lovely, ripe fruit, that the balance is there. I suppose one should really be expecting big tannins from this village and this producer but, honestly, it is really well balanced. This in not at its most flattering phase of development; I think it would have given one hell of a lot of pleasure when it was fresh (although it must have been quite intense) and will again in… oh… seven more years time. Given its bargain price this has a really long and pleasure-giving life ahead of it. If you pop a bottle now give it a good shake in a decanter and eat with slabs of lovely meat.

It is wines like this that back up J-Dog’s suggestion that Burgundy is a bargain region for good wines.

When I was at Oxford I could not resist buying Ramonet wines, I bloody loved them. I was always a bit surprised that none of my chums really found the wines to be as exciting as I did. I think this is quite exciting.

Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru les Ruchottes 2001, Domaine Ramonet
It doesn’t smell oxidised, hooray! It has the correct Chassagne flat Champagne aroma, but also lots of nuts, butter and lemony fruit. Its creamy minerality is really compelling. There are hints of oak, but it is really sophisticated and integrated. This is a stylish nose which is really doing it for me. The palate has quite a lot of density and weight, but there is a lot of good acidity here and a really powerful mineral tang so this doesn’t seem over-blown. It has a really pleasing texture and the concentrated lemon fruit and minerality persist for a long time on the finish. It is hellishly complex. I always like the acid/fruit balance in Ramonet wines, even when they are big and bold this harmony keeps them vibrant and enjoyable. This is Chassagne-Montrachet 1er cru of ‘limpid pool of radiance’-quality which you should be drinking now. Pop a bottle with your Christmas goose.

My last poll about Burgundy was a pretty poor effort. It has been pointed out to me, and I agree, that we need more in-depth analysis to determine exactly what constitutes the best Burgundy. Burgundy is such a rich, multi-faceted font of loveliness that it is just so hard to say this one village, vineyard, vintage or whatever is the best. So, to refine our thoughts let us focus on the bottom rung of the ladder to start with. The question is: Which Cote de Nuits village makes your favourite village-level wines? I am asking in a general sense rather than about individual producers. What I mean by this is that there is more than one producer of, for example, Morey villages, and if if you are only really thinking of that one producer perhaps you should be voting for another village.

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My poll question is as simple as that, pick your favourite Cote de Nuits wine village. Simple question, bloody hard to answer. I have had lovely, sexy, thrilling wines from every village, how can I just choose one?

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I popped this bottle before my dinner guest arrives to check if it needed decanting: I feel it does.

Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Chaignots 2005, Alain Michelot
There is a lot of ripe fruit on the nose, cherries and blackberries I’d say. There is also a mild hint of something a bit reduced and stinky about this; I’ll give it a good swirl in the decanter. Very earthy in that almost slightly green way which I associate with Nuits. Cripes, now that is a serious tannic structure, on the right side of drying though. There is plenty of the good fruit and earthiness from the nose present on the palate as well. Certainly this is a bit of a young, tannic beast, but it is clearly well-made from good ingredients, the balance is there.

I’ve got one bottle of this left which I was planning to put into my mass Nuits Premier Cru 2005 tasting off in the distant future. For the price paid I feel one bottle is not enough. I’ll score some more.

We met ‘The Kid’ Peter at the Greenwich Union for a couple of pints then came back to horrible, horrible Woolwich for a spot of dinner. We drank extraordinarily well for a random occasion.

Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg L31DII 2002, Domaine Albert Boxler
Wow, a nose with the purity and freshness of mountain air. There is a lot of fruit here but the great, lively character just keeps it seeming fresh and vivid. The minerality on this nose, and there is a lot, is totally focussed – focussed on giving me a good time it seems. This is a vibrant, exciting nose in the full flow of pleasure-giving life. The palate: Wow. The fruit is beguilingly fresh and the minerality is so piercing. Like the nose it is just throbbing with life. Yes, it is very ripe and has a hint of sweetness, but with the delicacy and finesse this wine has you won’t need to drink it with foie gras. It is really, really lovely, and not falling apart in the slightest. This is the kind of Alsace Riesling we all hope to drink regularly.

Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 1999, Domaine Arlaud
This is a nose of dark Pinot fruit, ripe with hints of meatiness and spice. But above and beyond that it has a very pure and beguiling expression of charming, fresh fruit. This nose is up for displaying its life and clearly it has a long life ahead of it. Really, really attractive. So is the palate. A good, solid tannic structure which is on the right side of rigor and has loads of really lovely fruit. Yeah, this is a proper bottle of Burgundy alright. It has the beauty, love and raw tits sex action we want from decent Burgundy. There is multi-layered pleasure here and I am enjoying this no end. Yeah. Cyprien Arlaud has serious talent when it comes to making the good stuff and we should all try and buy as much as possible.

‘The Kid’ Peter came around yesterday afternoon and we popped a few bottles. It is really lovely to be drinking Burgundy. Burgundy is best, you know?

Morey-Saint-Denis 2002, Domaine Dujac
This has Captain Peter groaning and sighing with pleasure, he insists most Grand Cru Burgundy is not as good as this. In the broadest sense he is probably right. Lovely charming fruit on the nose with a hint of flowers. It is quite ripe and a bit buxom as well, but that is why we have vintages like 2002. This is very attractive. The palate has a fantastic interplay between fruit, acid and tannin, it is a lovely structure. The nose is quite feminine whereas the mouthfeel leans a few degrees toward masculine. This is a properly interesting wine, I derived one hell of a lot of pleasure from it.

Clos Vougeot 1996, Rene Engel
Rene Engel’s Vosne 1er Brulees 1996 was delicious and when I was drinking these wines young I thought Engel made one of the very best Clos Vougeot: I have high hopes for this. There is a fruity, earthy power to this nose, definite depths of complexity here to be probed. The fruit smells properly mature but I’m not sure there is much rush. The palate: oh dear, 1996 syndrome strikes. Yeah the acidity is a bit high. Daniel says this is quite bothersome but The Kid and I think it is more fresh than painful. The fruit power and earthy complexity are certainly there, tastes fascinating. I swirled and left this in my glass for a while before I get back to tasting. The nose has really grown in size and extra layers of complexity and lovely, lovely fruit are there. This has improved a lot with air. Yes, the palate has too, it seems more giving and charming. The acidity is still an issue, but this ultimately wasn’t such a bad wine.

Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Le Richemone 2005, Alain Michelot
I am being told I am being lead by not doing this blind, but I feel this nose has super-Nuits character. Let me try to explain. Even in ripe vintages like 2005 I often find Nuits wines have a hint of (bell) peppery greenness on the nose. I even find it is tits out producers like Chevillon. I must buy more Chevillon. Of course, there are other clues like the tannic structure, but if you find yourself thinking “Ripe Burgundy, but with shades of greenness?” think whether you might be tasting Nuits. Back to Alain’s wine. The nose is nicely fruity with a correct degree of earthiness. Smells pretty nice, if you ask me. We find layers of ripe blackberry fruit on the palate intertwined with a solid tannic structure. It is very harmonious, and I find myself being quite excited tasting this. I think that lovely chap Jeremy said that Michelot was Nuits for people who like it Nuits-y, and I see what he means. This is a real bargain and I feel more from the same producer would be a good move.

I purchased this on the off-chance, it has delivered.

Pommard Premier Cru Rugiens 2003, de Montille
There is a an obvious degree of heroism to this nose. It says, “Wehay! Let’s wade into the battle wielding our big choppers, boys and girls!” However, it also says, “I’m terribly beautiful, you know?” Having put this wine to my nose I know it is terribly, terribly beautiful. It is not terribly typical Pommard, but by arse does this tickle my fancy. The palate is svelte and hyper attractive, with ripe and sexy fruit, a good structure and a totally pleasing finish. Yum, this is the kind of big Pinot you want to drink from time to time. This is good. It is clearly a 2003, but it is still very, very good. You’ve got to love it as much for its life and balance as much as for its 2003 fruit power.

Our great chum Gernot was visiting from Austria, to celebrate this we decided to hold a Burgundy tasting with the theme above. Sometimes, as I am sure you are aware, you taste a wine and think, “Wow, I am really lucky to try such a wonderful thing”. I experienced this feeling many times tonight; we tried many wonderful things.

Hard to draw general conclusions from three whites, but we all remarked on the ripeness of them. We felt all but the Pernot had plenty of time left. The C-M re-affirmed my lust for good white Grand Cru Burgundy.

The 1999 reds were all charged with a vibrant life which we felt would keep them fresh for years. Considering the ripeness of some of these reds you’ve got to be slightly surprised by the good acid levels.

Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Clos de la Mouchere 2002, Jean Boillot
The nose has a strong oak character, it is so present it edges toward the clumsy. No, not quite that far. The fruit is very ripe here and there is a good richness to the minerality. The savoury, slightly vomity character of this nose makes me think “Damned good Puligny”. Beyond the oak there is one hell of a lot of interest to this nose. Ripe fruit is the predominant character of this palate. Pleasingly there is a lot of minerality, and quite a serious amount of acidity to keep this finely balanced. We all agree the fruit is very sweet and ripe. This is a stylishly complex and attractive palate. Dig (or is it ‘Digg’ for the interweb generation these days?) that finish. This is ripe but type 1er Puligny which, let us be honest, is showing us its well-titted-out best.

Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Folatieres 2002, Paul Pernot
There is something a bit whiffy about this nose; dirty in a reductive kind of way, I feel. If you sniff around a bit there is an incredibly powerful minerality to it, and some good, ripe lemon fruit. But those lemons are the kind that when you are offered them you say, “Great! Slightly shrivelled lemons! What else have you got?” There is a lot to like in this nose, but there is that character which says “I’m a tiny hint of a wine-making fault” to me. Anyway, we are allowed to taste it as well. Cripes, what an elegant, refined palate of total beauty. Very ripe fruit once again, and also the weighty minerality. The palate is so much better nick than the nose. Let us go for it, it’s a kick-buttock palate. Very refined despite its ripeness. Very much up for drinking in a way the previous wine was not, but there is sex on the palate.

Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru 2002, Chateau de Puligny-Montrachet
Now this is how Grand Cru white Burgundy smells! There is one hell of a lot of power combined with a nervous energy that just keeps this charged with life. Real excitement here, vivid, complex aromas burst from the glass. The minerality here is truly amazing, so beguilingly complex. There is so much going on here: I’ve smelled passing hints of Bovril, nuts, vomit and many others, all totally nice despite what it sounds like, as this grows in my glass. Yes, it smells like a large-scale wine, but it is in no way overblown. Like, wow, man. Now that is a palate of total harmony and beauty: amazingly compelling. There is a lot of lemony fruit, powerful minerality and fine acidity, it is quite big. Big it may be but it is screamingly well balanced and utterly refined, its thrillingly gorgeous components are just in such hilarious equilibrium. Chardonnay does not get much better than this, I’m really moved. Will keep another five years or more, but why? Why would you want to? This is slap my bitch up bonkers super brilliant wine. If you’ve got some it will be one of the best purchases you have ever made.

Volnay Premier Cru Clos des Ducs 1999, Marquis d’Angerville
Oh beauteous beauty, this nose is hyper attractive. Very elegant, very pretty too. The vigour here is also really impressive. The interplay between the ripe fruit and minerality is frankly stunning and as you smell this you really find yourself thinking this is a nose of screaming quality. I’m stunned. Ah, it is tasty too! Again the fruit/minerality balance on the palate is lewdly attractive and heighted by the great acidity. I think this is pretty Cote de Beaune-y, but at the ludicrously high-quality end of those offerings. Ripe and attractive for sure, but so much more than that: there is one hell of a lot going on in this wine. This is one of the most engrossing, spell-binding and downright delicious Volnays I’ve had in a while.

Pommard Premier Cru Clos des Epeneaux 1999, Comte Armand/Domaine des Epeneaux
This is another Cote de Beaune-y nose, good pure fruit here. I find a hint of alcoholic warmth on the nose, but basically this has a reasonable amount of interest. Again I like the energy here, it is full of life. This is clearly a wine where they spent a lot of money on oak. Not that it is screamingly oaky, just that it is oaky in a sophisticated manner. Now that is a very suave and sleek palate. It is tannic, but the tannins seem polished, as does the entire palate. Lovely fruit with fruity acidity which persists on the classy, (slightly warm,) long finish. This is a very urbane bottle of Pommard which delivers a lot of pleasure. It has a long life ahead of it, which is handy as I have a jero lined up to drink for a significant birthday in many years time.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru les Gruenchers Vieille Vigne 1999, Domaine Fourrier
Ah Chambolle, it is so lovely. Smell a good glass of Chambolle, and this is good Chambolle, and a smile will just spread across your face. Good, ripe fruit, cherries I feel, and there seems to be some old vine concentration to it. There is a lot of charm here. The palate has a lot of lovely fruit, finely balanced acid and some soft, ripe tannins. This seems really attractive to drink now, still young and lively but very, very giving. Certainly some good length to it and I feel there is plenty of complexity and style to this wine. OK, not as good as the Dujac Gruenchers 1999 we had back in August, but this is a lovely wine.

Vosne-Romanee Premier Cru aux Malconsorts 1999, Sylvain Cathiard
Smell this and you get the feeling that it is a sculpted little beauty of a wine. There is a lot of fruit here and rich minerality. However, I feel that this nose lacks a bit of exotic flair for a flash Vosne Premier Cru. It smells like a good bottle of Burgundy, but not very Vosne-y, it is attractive but there could be so much more to it. The palate also has the feel of an elegant, poised wine, it seems very carefully composed. It does feel a very tiny bit anaemic, I want more love from a wine like this, more flesh. Pretty complex, though, and some good length to it. I like it, but I do feel slightly let down.

Clos Saint Denis Grand Cru 1999, Domaine Arlaud
A very intense nose of stone with an incredible, slightly floral perfume to it. This is crazy in its overt display of love for all who sniff it. This is intense, profound essence of Morey and that is a wonderful thing to be. It smells of so many things! All lovely, attractive things, luckily. I’ve just tasted this and been totally blown away by the depth of character, it may be a fruity, floral, elegant and svelte character, but it just goes on and on. There is so much here and every facet of its character is all about charm. It is charged with a lively equilibrium, though, this is vivacious: active it how it wants to display its love for you. You could keep this for a while yet, but if you’ve got a bit you could try some, it is so pleasing.

Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru 1999, Domaine G. Roumier
My god, it is full of stars. The explosive, electric life on this nose it matched only by its easy charm and sophistication. Rarely, boys and girls, do we get to smell a wine with so much going on in it which is also downright lovely. I’m actually feeling a bit at a loss for words here, this wine speaks to me about so much, but the meaning of its words is so deep I think I am inadequate to relate them. I’ll try: Smells lovely, don’t you know? And it tastes, oooohhhh… it tastes… of rather a lot actually. The fruit and soft charm is ravishing, but its power and energy get the sparks flying in your pleasure centres. Structurally this palate is approaching perfection (Ha! The limits of pleasure are yet to be defined or reached), it is an intense, living entity of stunning complexity. I recognise it is rather late in the evening, so I may be a tad enthusiastic (enthusiastic as a newt) but this is one of the most lovely, stunning, charming and lewdly giving wines I’ve had in a while. What a long and happy future this wine has, and if you have some you’ll have a happy future too.

Pommard Premier Cru Grands Epenots 1997, de Montille
The fruit of 1997, the class of a top vineyard and the refined beauty of de Montille: works for me.

OK, you want the serious track on these wines written as I fight back sleep with only the warm glow of booze to keep me going? There were three truly brilliant bottles necked tonight which would honour any dinner table and grace any cellar with their presence. The others were embarrassingly, tear-jerkingly, pant-wettingly good also-rans, but these three… Wow… I mean… what can you say? Anyone could try them and say they would be amongst the best wines they’ve ever tried. They are the Chevalier-Montrachet, Clos des Ducs and Bonnes-Mares. You will not find much better wine than these three. If you find any better wine then post some bottles to me.

Many thanks to James and Katie for hosting. Sorry we were all so dull, Katie, I’ll think of some non-wine things to say next Monday. Thanks to everyone for the wine. Lovely to see you Gernot.

The question is, how much better village Burgundy can you get? None, none more better.

Morey-Saint-Denis 2002, Domaine Dujac
This nose is alive with ripe, charming fruit. Once again I find myself getting a hint of something floral on the nose. It has a powerful mineral streak running down it. This is a really expressive, compelling nose of real character. Ah, the fruit on the palate tickles my fancy quite a bit; it is nice and ripe but with fresh acidity to balance it. This is a model of harmony; even with its definitely present tannins this doesn’t seem unbalanced. It seems lovely. A real charmer, but with style and proper class. Ah the more I smell and taste this wine the more I love it. What is there not to love? There is fruit, earthiness, power, elegance, refinement, buxom and bold-style beauty, and many of the other good things we like.

Sorry. It is nearly half-one in the morning.

Right, hot tips from the bargain village of the Cote de Nuits (the whole area is named after this village, surely it cannot be so bad?): what should you be getting?

The producer every lover of truly excellent wine needs to buy is Robert Chevillon. Buy any vintage you can find, they are consistent performers. Consistently excellent performers. The 1999 Les Saint Georges and Vaucrains I put in a little tasting were totally lovely, wonderful wines of charm, personality and class. I have vivid memories of 2002s from many Premier Crus burning with life, power and elan. You need to own some Chevillon Nuits Premier Crus.

I mentioned an Alain Michelot Premier Cru Richemone and it was good enough to recommend. If you go here then look at he embarrassment of riches on offer for not too much cash you should be able to find something to suit your budget. Clearly the 2006 Nuits VV is a bargain but that 2005 Richemone will be a superb example of a Nuits Premier Cru. Please save some for me to buy.

The current wine joke is that the best Nuits-Saint-Georges producer is in Chambolle, or Vosne, or Volnay… There is some truth to this. Mugnier make excellent Nuits Premier Cru Clos de la Marachale, with its charming beauty and brilliant harmony, in Chambolle. This is a very individual take on a Nuits Premier Cru, it is priced quite reasonably and is another reliable performer.

In Vosne there is Premier Cru Murgers from Sylvain Cathiard which is clearly a fine wine. It was the first wine I reported on on Elitist Review. Two of my favourite Nuits Premier Crus come from Primeaux, in the form of Clos des Forets and Clos de l’Arlot from Domaine l’Arlot. M. de Smet’s at l’Arlot wines have been constant drinking buddies with me since I first understood that Burgundy is best. Never let him give you a lift, though, his driving style is terrifying.

Volnay may sound strange source of Nuits but de Montille have acquired some Premier Cru aux Thorey, and by all accounts it is good stuff. The partner picked some up whilst in France. There is also the one vintage only best Nuits Premier Cru made out of Nuits, again aux Thorey but this time from Dujac. Made only in 2005 it is a compelling interpretation of Nuits and a bold and characterful wine for an only attempt.

Finally, of course, there is Gouges. Some of the truly memorable wines of my life have been Gouges. When talking of the consistency of a producer like Gouges you talk over decades rather than a few vintages. They are great wines which, in many vintages, will live forever in your cellar. But then, if you want what is best (and that’s what we care about on Elitist Review), you should be buying more Robert Chevillon.

If I’ve missed anyone out (and obviously no one should be thinking of Grivot here) please add a comment.

From me to me obviously. Cavon de Bacchus is a great place to go shopping when you are in Nuits. The hot tip from Burgundy is to buy Nuits as it is the bargain village of the important Cote, but we are on the other Cote tonight. I think the “lack of Grand Crus which would drag the price up”-effect that plagues Nuits to some extent is true with Pommard and Volnay. However, Pommard and Volnay are names which slip off the English tongue more easily than the odd ‘Nuits’, so might be purchased more readily. I’ve got a lot of Pommard (and also a lot of Nuits*) that I have considered screaming bargains.

With everything I’ve got in the flat at the moment I found myself selecting this as one of my least grand wines for popping at half-midnight. I’ll be drinking well over the next year.

Volnay 2005, Domaine Michel Lafarge
This is a nose of livid (positively incensed) cherry fruit. There is the very slightest hint of grassiness blended in with the fruit, like a raspberry leaf with raspberries, which reminds me a lot of other vintages of this wine I’ve tried. There is a degree of scale to the nose. Refined scale, for sure, but definite scale. There is a lively edge to the acidity on the palate, more raspberry leaf. The tannins are a tad on the severe side. Bums, I was hoping for something a tiny bit more lewd, but this is a very correct Volnay. Lafarge claims his role is to conduct the symphony of the vintage and harness than in his wine; there could be more soul in this symphony.

*I had a damned good bottle of Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Richemone from Alain Michelot at Restaurant La Cabotte in Nuits last week, lovely meal, lovely wine**.

**OK, my thoughts on Nuits to buy will be the next post.

I have been introduced to many fine wines via the offices of Paul Day. He also let me know about this wine, which in previous vintages was the best Beaujolais I have ever tried. You would have thought a 2007 Beaujolais would have been a terribly flattering vintage for this style of wine, but if you ask me this is just dull.

Fleurie ‘Clos de ls Roilette’ 2007, Coudert
There is some bubblegum fruit to the nose, but also a strangely meaty character. And that, lads and lassies, is pretty much it. It is a dull as dishwater, there is just nothing here to tickle your fancy. The palate is flat, boring and even more tedious than I am capable of articulating. Boring, boring, boring. I suppose at least it is not actively unpleasant, but I am fucked if I am saying anything even vaguely positive about a wine I find so boring. BORING. Get the message. I think this is a fundamental problem with Beaujolais, buggered if it grown on limestone or not, or if they don’t use carbonic maceration, it is just a broken pencil style of wine: pointless. Yeah, let us not hold back, it is crap. I’m unhappy that I have spent my money on this tossy pile of boring shite. Piss, that is what it is.

OK, I have had good Beaujolais, including the 2005 from Coudert, but I am really not sure this is a terribly interesting style of wine. Sometimes you feel the need to drink something like this, much as sometimes you need a bottle of Bandol rosé, but when you want to open something compelling for an early Saturday night's drink for your friends you can do so, so much better than this. My chums D&J with their huge quantities of Tim Adams drink better and more cheaply than Clos de la Roilette 2007.

Dujac Fils et Pere wines are a great way of getting a taste of a hilariously serious producer for less money than their grander stuff. There is definitely a place for such, dare I say it, more minor wines in the pantheon of brilliant loveliness and they are well-worth every penny. The more I try Dujac 2006s the more I love them, and I loved them quite a lot to start with.

Chambolle-Musigny 2006, Dujac Fils et Pere
This has a pure nose of refined fruit and lovely earthiness. Highly attractive for a village wine, love that slightly floral character. Hmmm… I often get something a bit floral from Dujac wines. There is a degree of complexity to this as well, which we like. The palate has a silky texture with smooth tannins and plenty of fruit. Good length. This is a pretty, attractive and accessible wine which should charm. OK, it may not set the world on fire, but you’d have to be pretty jaded not to smile when you smell and taste this. A keenly-priced treat.

We are trying these wines blind and then coming back to drink them (if they are fit to be drank, that is). These notes are written as we try the wines for the first time.

Chassagne-Montrachet 2007, Vincent Dancer
A nice, refreshing nose of lemony fruit and play-dough minerality. This smells reasonably charming, but is nothing flashy. I do like the restraint of it, which is not something I would normally expect from Dancer. The palate has good fruit and lovely acidity, it is bright and fresh. There is some length to it as well. This is a fun and accessible wine that is providing more than enough pleasure now. Drink, don’t keep.

Hermitage ‘Monier de la Sizeranne’ 1990, M. Chapoutier
I’d hope that an impeccably well-stored 1990 Hermitage would be in better condition than this, even from the unspeakable swine Chapoutier*, but this is just totally knackered. Past it. Gone. Pushing up the daisies. Just dusty, dry and beyond decrepit. There is nothing here to even rant about, it is just a dead wine. Bit of a shame really as I really fancied letting rip with a torrent of invective about how Chapoutier make over-priced, atypical wines that are often faulty but never have any harmony, beauty or charm. A dead Hermitage (Hermitage of all things!) from the great 1990 vintage says it all about there perhaps being issues in the vineyards and winery.

Morey-Saint-Denis Premier Cru Millandes 2001, Domaine Pierre Amiot et Files
The fruit on the nose is really quite attractive, this is a lovely example of Morey.** It has a good earthy character and there is a reasonable amount of complexity there. I do like this, quite a lot, in fact. The fruit is good on the palate too, with a good backbone of acidity and a soft and charming tannic structure. A good, and very enjoyable bottle of Burgundy. Drinking well now, but no real rush; chose an occasion when you need a loveliness injection more than anything else. My chum Peter raised the question of price and it turns out that this sells for about the same price as Morey villages from Dujac. Good, really quite good, as this wine is I’d buy the Dujac in a picosecond every time.

*’Poo’ being the operative syllable.

**Peter asks me to expand on what I think is the character of Morey-Saint-Denis, so here goes: I think Morey fruit has the charm of Chambolle but the darker power of Gevrey. I admit it is a bit of a cop-out to describe it relatively; relativism is absolutely false, after all. When I smell good Morey I expect a harmonious blend of charm and power, loveliness and boldness. A really good Morey it is like finding someone devastatingly attractive and after doing the business you find out that they are a witty, fascinating and charming conversationalist as well.

I have a bit of a thing for Lafon’s red wines; they may be bigger and more generally voluptuous than type-Volnay but they are quite lovely: I’d go with ‘callipygian’ as a stylistic descriptor. This is probably the biggest Volnay of the vintage. For those who don’t know, Volnay-Santenots-du-Milieu may be classified as a Volnay Premier Cru, but the vineyard itself is over the Meursault-side of the border.

Volnay-Santenots-du-Milieu 1997, Domaines des Comtes Lafon
There is one hell of a lot of fresh, ripe strawberry fruit to the nose; very Cote de Beaune-y. This smells really rather fresh for a 12 year old wine. It is bigger and rounder than a standard Volnay nose, and even by the fruit-driven standards of 1997 Burgundy this is berry-tastic. Very ripe and attractive but not short of complexity thanks to its stony, mineral edge. I’m really enjoying having a good smell of this, it is quite delicious; I bet I’ll love tasting it too. I do! Now that tastes really sexy. Ripe, round, sweet strawberry fruit is there in abundance and it fills your palate with a complex, svelte collection of flavours. Oh yeah. It may be rather ‘tits out for the boys’ but they are a beautiful, sculpted set of bouncers that you just want to cuddle up to and enjoy for as long as you are allowed access. This is providing as much pleasure as it ever will, so if you have some just dive on in and have a good feel of that round loveliness.

2005 was clearly a very ripe vintage in Burgundy; this example is certainly chock-full of fleshy fruit. Given my unabashed love of Morey I find myself liking this quite a lot.

Morey-Saint-Denis Premier Cru les Faconnieres 2005, Lignier-Michelot
A dense, ripe nose with layers of fleshy fruit. Indeed, the fruit is like some ultra-concentrated liqueur so intense is it on the nose. Not pretty or light, but voluptuous, buxom and charming. And there is a lot of charm to this wine. The palate has more of that fleshy fruit and a pleasingly ripe tannic structure. There is also a reasonable degree of acidity keeping it fresh. The balance on the palate is really quite good, and even if this is not a super-complex premier cru it is undoubtedly a fun, frolicsome mouthful. Burgundy is all about having fun, isn’t it? Showing most attractively now but there is enough to this to merit it probably deserving more time in the cellar.

My first taste of this Morey-Saint-Denis producer. I like Morey a lot, and this will do just fine as a basic offering.

Morey-Saint-Denis ‘En La Rue De Vergy’ 2007, Domaine Lignier-Michelot
The nose has some good pure fruit, with an edge of that 2007 fleshiness. It smells attractive, and quite Morey in character, but it is not amazingly complex. We approve of it being Morey-ish, though. There is nice fruit on the palate but the acidity is a little high. Again, it is not the most complex wine I’ve ever tasted. This has enough character to keep it interesting and reasonably charming as a village-level wine, but it is not really anything special. To be drank when it is in this lovely stage of slightly fleshy fruitiness, I feel, but then I like young Burgundy. Go on, enjoy that Morey loveliness!

The partner and I were invited to a dinner party last night. We had some really good food and a few nice bottles of wine, one of which I feel the need to write about here. Cyprien Arlaud makes really beautiful Morey and 2005 was a great vintage. I’d love to own more of his Grand Crus; I’ve asked to buy a magnum of Clos Saint Denis 2008 next year. Go on, Cyprien, say yes!

Morey-Saint-Denis Premier Cru aux Cheseaux 2005, Domaine Arlaud
The nose is really scented and fragrant. Complex, lovely fruit: berries I feel. There is a wonderful floral character to it. It is really pretty ripe, but what you have to love about this nose is that it is incredibly fresh; all of those heady aromas and yet it is totally lively. This nose is ultra-pure essence of Morey. I love Morey. The palate is also really fresh, with wonderful fruit and a sophisticated tannic structure. Yes, I do love Morey. Morey also loves me, our relationship is very healthy. What a finish! Really alive and very long. This is really open and giving, a treat.

Many thanks to Mark Locke for dinner, we enjoyed it greatly.

The lovely Audrey hosted us for this tasting. As ever, these were incredible wines.

Chambolle-Musigny 2008
Really sexy and seductive nose. Really silky palate. It is quite delicious even though it is a bit reduced.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru les Fuees 2008
Seriously beautiful nose. Love that fruit. Love that style, too. Super elegant. Yeah!

Bonnes-Mares 2008
Really, really classy and stylish on the nose. Wehay! The palate is utterly, utterly beautiful. Totally charming. Oh, oh yes!

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru les Amoureuses 2008
Now this is really lovely. The nose… ah… the nose. I’m in love. The perfumed, silky character to the palate is utterly delicious. Great elegance. Hehehehehehehehehehe!

Musigny Grand Cru 2008
Malo not yet finished but it is still extravagantly fruity. The finish is incredible, wonderfully long. This us utterly ravishing and totally compelling.

Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Clos de la Marechale 2008
This is Nuits de chez Chambolle on the nose. The palate has really voluptuous fruit. It is really attractive, but still Nuits. The tannins are the clue here. The fruit is quite lovely, though.

Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Clos de la Marechale Blanc 2007
Toffee apple nose. Nice acidity and fruit on the palate. Pretty mineral, too. Yeah, good.

Chambolle-Musigny 2007
Properly attractive nose. Highly attractive palate, too. This is forward and fun, for drinking over the next few years.

Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Clos de la Marechale 2007
The fruit is really intense on the nose. A good mineral tang, too. Nuits tannins on the palate, but the fruit is just lovely. Nuits doesn’t get that much better.

Musigny Grand Cru 2007
An explosively exotic nose of fresh, complex fruit. There are few words to describe how wonderful this is, but I’ll try abso-tmesis-lutely freaking quadruple-A. The complexity! The class! The style! Wow!

Poor old Christophe had bust his foot whilst on his bike, so was hobbling around on crutches. I say ‘hobbling’, but he seemed to be moving around faster than me.

This was an amazing selection of wines; the 2008s are studded with a sparkling intensity which will charge these wines with pleasure throughout their lives. I did taste obscenely well on this trip.

Chambolle-Musigny 2008
Lovely, lovely fruit on the nose, and that fruit continues on the palate. Quite lovely. Yum.

Morey-Saint-Denis Premier Cru Clos de la Bussiere 2008
Bit reduced but again the fruit seems very nice. Its got that Morey fruit/tannin tension. Good acidity and good concentration too.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru les Cras 2008
Expressive nose of beautiful fruit. The palate has real elegance and refinement with lovely fruit and great balance. Love that finish, man.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru les Amoureuses 2008
The nose is a bit quaquaversal, but the palate has super elegance and is really silky. Great length and purity. Oh yeah, this will be special. Special in a good way.

Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru 2008
There is a hint of liquorice on the nose, which I rather like. Lots of cherry and generally ripe red fruit there. All the power of a Grand Cru but fresh and delicate. Super lovely.

Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru 2008
It is a bit subdued on the nose, but you can tell its profound beauty. Super attractive triple plus. Indeed, the palate is so beautiful and harmonious I feel somewhat lost for words. I’m grinning a lot.

Chambolle-Musigny 2007
Really quite ripe. Incredible fruit. I defy you to find even two more delicious village wines.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru les Amoureuses 2007
Ripe again but as sculpted and beautiful as a Sarah-Jane Selwood reconstruction. Silky and smooth tannins, but with bright, fresh acidity. This is sex-tastic.

That lovely fellow Cyprien Arlaud continues to improve every year with his winemaking; we like it when good stuff is made by lovely people. What is always fun here is tasting a range of Morey Premier Crus which display the real differences in terrior across the village. Of course, we like the Grand Crus as well! These are fascinating, properly beautiful and charming Burgundies. Buy some, I tell you, buy!

Some of these cask samples were reduced and needed racking, so I hope you will forgive me if my notes about them are brief. I like to think I am pretty good at tasting cask samples, but so often the wines can be unforthcoming. Don’t get me wrong, this was a great tasting and we all loved his wines. I’ve got an 07 Premier Cru in the wine cupboard to drink sometime. It’ll be soon. You cannot go wrong with Cyprien’s wines.

Chambolle-Musigny 2008
Lovely fruit, quite charming, nice elegance.

Morey-Saint-Denis 2008
Good Morey fruit on the nose. Good tannins. Properly charming. This is a very pleasurable villages.

Morey-Saint-Denis Premier Cru Millands 2008
Proper complexity. Love the fruit, it compels. A beautiful palate which is really Morey.

Morey-Saint-Denis Premier Cru aux Chezeaux 2008
Bit reduced, but there is a lot of concentration here and the fruit/acid balance seems good.

Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru aux Combottes 2008
Refined complexity on the nose, good, beautiful fruit is there. Some white pepper, maybe? Good concentration. Top bunny. This is a great Premier Cru (it is sandwiched between two Grand Crus) and Cyprien makes a type example.

Morey-Saint-Denis Premier Cru les Ruchots 2008
Super Morey action here. Wow does this have a real sense of place. Fruit++. Great elegance and refinement. I really like this. Not many Morey Premier Crus are better than this.

Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2008
Profound nose, but again it is a bit reduced. You can smell the concentration of fruit aromas. When this emerges it will be extra good.

Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 2008
Charming beauty. A really svelte and totally lovely texture, the palate just wants you to have a good time. This is even better than the Clos de la Roche. Yeah, baby!

Clos Saint Denis Grand Cru 2008
Ah ha ha ha! This is perfumed and totally attractive. More of those lovely, beautifully sculpted, but big, tits. Wow, this is complex. Soft, concentrated and super lovely. I’m smitten.

Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru 2008
A bit oaky (ah I am told this is from a new barrel), but you’ve got to love its commanding presence in your glass, nose and mind. The fruit is piercingly vibrant. Totally lovely, but I prefer the Clos Saint Denis.

Hautes Cotes de Nuits Blanc ‘Chardonnay’ 2008
Primary fruit: bananas. Good freshness. Nice enough.

I’ll take a brief hiatus from the tasting notes to report on a brilliant little shop that has opened in Morey. Some of the producers have banded together and are selling their wines at the Caveau des Vignerons on the church square in Morey. They have most of the producers you’d hope for (but no Dujac as yet but we are told they are keen to support the shop) and the wines are sold at cellar-door prices. If you just want to pick up the odd bottle of Lambrays or Arlaud this is the place to stop. It is probably one of the very few places where Ponsot wines are affordable.

I picked up some Morey from producers I don’t know so well: Jean-Louis et Didier Amiot, Magnien and Lignier-Michelot (whose labels I love, see the one below).

They may not be Dujac, but they are another good producer in Morey. They have had a run of very satisfying vintages and are really worth scoring a few bottles should you see them on sale. The wines are very Morey in style and we all love Morey wines. Even though these wines were quite different from each other there certainly seemed to be a common thread of Clos des Lambrays character running through them.

Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru 2008
This was a cask sample. A bit reduced. Great fruit, though. Lovely, concentrated fruit on the palate. Very attractive.

Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru 2007
Lush, perfumed nose that explodes with fruit. A good earthy streak too. Super lovely. The palate has a wonderful texture and the finish is just incredible. Top drawer.

Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru 2006
Dark fruit and richly earthy on the nose. This smells seriously fine. Lovely fruit on the palate with great refinement. It is concentrated as well, which some real density. I love its finesse most of all.

Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru 2005
Super, ripe, rich fruit on the nose. There is liquorice there, too. Power is certainly present. The texture is super sexy and svelte, so attractive. Yeah, oh yeah, you’ve got to love this. I do.

As well as this wine we had a Groffier Amoureuses 1999 on our trip which was similarly crap. I expect far more from these vineyards from a producer who is generally well thought of.

Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru 2000, Robert Groffier
This is quite medicinal. Ripe certainly, but not remotely attractive. Where is the pleasure in this nose? I am neither charmed nor impressed. The palate has a lot of nice fruit, but it just dies. No complexity either. This is distinctly third-rate Bonnes-Mares, give me Dujac, Roumier or Mugnier any day. Sure, this is a quite fruity bottle of Burgundy, but there is no Bonnes-Mares in this.

As we tasted these wines my grin just got wider and wider. Jeremy and the team are very pleased with their 2007s and 2008s and they have every right to be, they are serious kit. Some of these are quite mind-bogglingly good and if you are a lover of fine things you should be going out of your way to score some. This is Bourgogne de chez Bourgogne.

Morey-Saint-Denis Blanc 2007
Very fresh and fruity with a nice roundness to it. Not only pretty but a good drink too.

Morey-Saint-Denis Premier Cru Monts Luissants Blanc 2007
Richer with a pure, refined lemon fruit. The oak treatment is very sophisticated. I really like it.

Morey-Saint-Denis 2007
Super fruity and fun. Bursting with life. It really charms for a village wine with super fruit and integrated acidity. Lovely.

Morey-Saint-Denis Premier Cru 2007
Great, complex, ripe fruit on the nose. Really Morey. I love the tannic structure on the palate. Really quite lovely.

Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru aux Combottes 2007
Deep fruit of a dark, seductive nature. Really refined on the palate, silky and super lovely. This will charm for year after year.

Vosne-Romanee Premier Cru Beauxmonts 2007
Exotic and complex. The fruit is incredibly stylish. Let us be honest, the nose is ravishingly beautiful. The palate oozes finesse and the tannic structure is super svelte. Top stuff, to be enjoyed with much chortling.

Vosne-Romanee Premier Cru Malconsorts 2007
Wow, an explosive, exciting array of aromas on the nose. Just great. Great. The palate is really svelte and smooth, with wonderful, soft, ripe tannins and such length. Freaking triple A.

Echezeaux Grand Cru 2007
Again, the nose is out where the big dogs eat! Amazingly stylish and quite exotic. Spicy and exotic on the palate. OK, I really, really love this, but the Malconsorts is a shade better.

Clos Saint Denis Grand Cru 2007
Oh, I love Clos Saint Denis. Scented, soft, sensual nose. This tweaks my nipples (in a nice way, obviously). A soft and beautiful palate. The tannins are lovely. This is Clos Saint Denis++, Dujac++ and freaking quadruple A.

Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2007
Deep and compelling on the nose. Smelling this is a heady, hedonistic experience. Tastes lovely! The CSD might be a personal favourite wine, but I see lovely, compelling beauty in this wine. As I type this up I can still remember how it tasted and I am chortling and rubbing my belly with mirth.

Clos Saint Denis Grand Cru 2001
Lovely, scented character to the nose. The palate is really soft, fruity and charming. Stylish structure. I like this super much.

Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2001
Wow, a powerful, profound but totally beautiful nose. This smells super, super top hole. A really classy, sex-tastic palate. This is a great 2001. I loved these 2001s when I first tried them from cask and they have certainly delivered on that initial promise.

The following wines were all cask samples so not all were easy to taste. Some were amazing, though.

Morey-Saint-Denis 2008
Not showing at its best but seems nice with good concentration.

Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru Combottes 2008
Still a bit alive with malo bacteria, quite reduced too. Very quaquaversal. The fruit seemed very nice to me, though.

Vosne-Romanee Premier Cru Malconsorts 2008
Lovely, lovely fruit. Super concentrated. This wine will blow your socks off once it is ready.

Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2008
This is clearly at an awkward stage. The concentration of fruit and earthiness seem good signs, though.

Chambertin Grand Cru 2008
The fruit seems very perfumed and very Gevrey. Again this is at an awkward stage but I was really impressed with its texture.

Romanee-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru 2008
Super exotic. Super complex. Wow! Shit-freaking-hot, man. Big, bouncing tits and permissions to mash them. This will be a stratospherically good wine.

I find Corton to be the least satisfying Grand Cru in Burgundy.

Corton Clos du Roi Grand Cru 2004, Prince Florent de Merode
It is quite pale. No matter what else I say about it, I cannot deny there is some nice strawberry and cherry fruit on the nose. There is a hint of greenness, too. It is quite stony, but just a bit uptight and correct. Where is the love, man? There is some greenness on the palate as well, but a reasonable amount of fruit and some concentration. It is a reasonable wine, but burgundy should be lovelier than this. If I want to be really rude about it the most damning thing I feel I can say is ‘It is rather Corton-y’.

This is an audio tasting note, recorded in the heat of battle. Click on the bottle to play the podcast.

Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru les Pucelles 2005, Domaine Henri Boillot

There will be another audio tasting note tomorrow.

Deuxieme Cru or village level, call it what you will as long as you call it totally delicious.

Meursault ‘Tessons Clos de Mon Plaisir’ 2004, Domaine Roulot
Oh what a beautiful nose! Honey and nuts, serious mineral complexity and super-classy style. This tickles my fancy in a completely pleasurable and slightly lewd manner. Oh yeah, this is what we like, alright. The palate is totally elegant and refined, with lovely fruit, quite buttock-clenchingly wonderful minerality and brilliant, vibrant acidity. The harmony is superb and the finish is very long. It has complexity in spades. I couldn’t really ask for much more from a bottle of supposedly village-level white Burgundy. I bloody love it. You would too if you tried it. Up for drinking but a long, happy future lies ahead.

Yesterday we were at Lord’s having a whale of a time watching England thrash the West Indies by ten wickets. Ha! We drank some good wine. We started off with a bottle of Gosset Grande Reserve which was totally lovely: weighty, dense and stylish. It had deposited more tartarate crystals than any bottle of fizz I had ever seen. I don’t mind this in the slightest, shows the wine hasn’t been mucked around with.

After lunch we popped a bottle of Morey Saint Denis 2004 from Domaine Dujac. My long-time reader may recall this was one of my candidates for the best village level Burgundy in my poll. I didn’t vote for it at the time, but after trying the 04 I feel I should have done; it was bloody marvellous. Great fruit, silky tannins, perfectly balanced acidity. A really serious village-level wine that delivered an incredible amount of pleasure. We both kept saying how much we were enjoying it. Peter, you were absolutely right, Dujac Morey provides so much happiness. It has done in the past and will continue to do so in the future. Well done the boys and girls at Dujac!

I really loved the Dujac Morey 05 I had last night, it was quite delicious and this got me thinking about 'premium' village level Burgundy. There are a few producers who give their basic offerings real stuffing and they are proper wines by any definition of the word. I've plucked a few of my favourite out of the air and if you can think of others feel free to add them.

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This is a great pleasure to drink.

Morey-Saint-Denis 2005, Domaine Dujac
This smells just lovely. Ripe fruit and a scented, floral character; a lovely rose garden! Clean as a whistle. It may only be a village wine but it is quite charming. The palate has smooth, clean, ripe fruit which is deeply lovely. Wines like this commune with the mind of the lover of fine things. Ultimately, it won't set the world on fire, but the great, great pleasure you have whilst you drink it is the kind of feeling you want to be having.

You may recall that I admitted to being foolish and buying Jean Grivot wines. Exactly how awful was one of them? Read on and find out.

Chambolle-Musigny Combe d'Orveau 2003, Jean Grivot
Does this even smell of Pinot? The nose is all over the place with poorly defined, excessive fruit, a big smack of alcohol and not much else. Where is the harmony of Chambolle? Where is the beauty? They are not on the palate, that is for sure. It is quaquaversal in its horribleness - weird, tough, unconvincing flavours assault your senses and leave you wishing there was a spittoon. The tannins in this wine are bloody awful, so hard and tough with nothing redeeming about them, there isn't even that much fruit on the palate to balance things out; it is all just bitter tannin and raw acidity. This is one of the most shamefully awful Burgundies I've tried in... oh... a period of time. It has been demonstrated that I am a fool for buying this and if you'll all form a queue outside my flat you can start throwing the rocks at me now.

Its true. I've purchased a couple of Jean Grivot wines. Now I know that is awful and I deserve mocking, but let me explain. I've got a bottle of Chambolle-Musigny Combe D'Orveau 2003 which I am going to open at an up-coming dinner party and I think that is a vintage that would suit his style. I've also got a bottle of Nuits Saint Georges Premier Cru Pruliers 2005. Now this was when he was totally post Accad-method. Obviously I'll have to age it forever, but I still think his wines will have quite a lot of Accad-emic (This joke is copyright Jeremy Seysess 2009) interest. We tasted his 05s in his cellar just after Rovani had been so he'd got the lot open and we lapped them up. Whilst we all agreed that they were not our taste, we were all irritated to admit they were good wines. A few were truly impressive. But, I prefer to be charmed than impressed.

If you'd like to try some Grivot like some the Wine Society have a few on their lists at the moment. The Vosne Suchots 2003 might be a candidate for interesting old bones.

As Jeremy pointed out in his article on Champagne, it is very irritating when you have your prejudices dis-proved. It happened to me with an Egly-Ouriet Blanc de Noirs I'd given some age. I was so livid that I liked it.

This was a christmas present, but I already own a bottle so I thought I would open it to have with our 5kg, organic, free-range chicken. I love Ramonet wines

Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru 2000, Ramonet
A dense, expressive stoniness to the nose. This smells very intense. There is a lovely apple pie fruit to it. It is ultimately classy, deep and racy but so refined. Yeah, I like this a lot. The palate has real weight but there is such a lively stoniness and bright acidity that it slips down a treat. Really complex and stylish fruit with brilliant complexity. It is incredibly long. I am really pleased I am decanting this because I feel it will blossom with air. Obviously a long and glorious future ahead of it, but it is rather a treat now.

It is my birthday, so I am quickly writing up the two wines I am decanting now to drink tonight at the mass piss-up with wall-to-wall vomiting dinner. This is completely lovely.

Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru 1999, Domaine des Lambays en magnum
Ripe, fleshy, gorgious fruit on the nose; completely lovely and highly attractive. There is a real mineral complexity to it which is just great. This in on the border of maturity, it smells like it will improve over the next several years. The palate is also ripe and fleshy, with deeply pleasing soiliness and layers of charming class. This is a really serious mag of Burgundy, really great to drink now and will improve. Sadly this is my last bottle. Bums.

I've just scored a bottle of Pommard Premier Cru Rugiens 2002 from de Montille. I also have Pommard Premier Cru Clos des Epeneaux 2002 from Comte Armand, and both Premier Cru Rugiens and Premier Cru Grand Clos des Epenots both de Courcel from 2002.

Now, I find myself feeling pretty smug about having such quality Pommard that promises to provide a lot of pleasure at some future event. I do wonder, however, if there is any other 2002 Premier Cru Pommard I am missing out on*. I think not, but I'd be willing to entertain any suggestions that other people might have. And Pommard can be lovely, Jeremy, so a bottle of Cotes de Nuits red would not be an appropriate suggestion**.

*I also have Pommard Premier Cru Jarollieres 2002 from Pousse d'Or, but I doubt this will deliver the olfactory fireworks as the wines mentioned above.

**I already have a more than suitable ringer for the mass Pommard-tasting: Sancerre Rouge.

I am a big fan of de Courcel wines, even though Yves Confuron, the wine maker, is a bit of a curmudgeon. This is particularly fine.

Pommard Premier Cru Grand Clos des Epenots 2002, Domaine de Courcel
Ah how pleasing; there are layers and layers of complex fruit and stylish minerality to the nose. It is positively oozing with class, profound aromas of completely loveliness. Yummy, scrummy. The palate is really svelte, silky and refined, with lovely ripe tannins and truly gorgeous fruit. This is really class action, utterly ravishing and completely desirable. No shortage of complexity and plenty of pleasure here. This is really pleasing now, but it has a long and glorious future ahead of it. There is a big grin slapped across my face, not only because I am loving this wine now, but also because I own a couple of magnums of this wine. Ho ho ho, I'll drink them with my friends and even Jeremy, that master of Cote de Nuits wines who claims not to like Pommard, will freaking think they are tits++.

This wine is not only a delight when young, but I've had ten-year old bottles that have provided a lot of pleasure. If I like this bottle, I'll do the experiment again.

Pouilly-Fuisse "Vieilles Vignes" 2005, Chateau Fuisse
A nose of proper Burgundy: play-dough and baby vomit. Plenty of creamy minerality and lovely lemon fruit. There is proper complexity on the nose and a real concentration of aromas. The palate has a deeply pleasing texture, with great fruit, perfectly integrated acidity and layers of concentrated flavour. There is a lot of charm about this wine, I am enjoying it greatly. It clearly has a very rewarding future ahead of it; I'll get another bottle and do the experiment.

Lafarge makes wonderful Volnay, and Volnay can be terribly beautiful. Some journalists have commented that Lafarge makes inconsistent wines, but I feel they make these comments because they don't understand the ageing profile of Burgundy. It is not always time to drink Burgundy, sometimes you need to wait. This was another remarkable bargain from Bryne's in Clitheroe.

Volnay "Vendanges Selectionees" 2002, Domaine Michel Lafarge
A charming, scented nose of strawberry and cherry fruit; this smells highly attractive. The fruit is very pure and there is a subtle earthiness to it which adds to its complexity. The palate is soft and fruity, with a reasonable amount of acidity to it which makes the fruit bright and the wine lively. For a village wine this has a lot of class, style and beauty. It is drinking very well now, but has a good future ahead of it is you can be arsed to cellar it for 5-or-so years. Lovely Volnay.

Picking the best bottle I own is more problematic than deciding that Mambourg from Deiss is horrible; what constitutes the best?

Heroic formats can be compelling. I have a jeroboam of Pommard Premier Cru Clos des Epeneaux 1999 which is just a hilarious thing to own. It will provide a lot of pleasure on a dim and distant birthday celebration.

Rarity may also lead one to cherish a bottle. I have a magnum of Nuits Saint Georges Premier Cru aux Thorey 2005 from Domaine Dujac. This was the only vintage of this wine Dujac made, so it is as rare as hen's teeth. Having it in a magnum is particularly pleasing.

The most compelling reason to choose a favourite wine is probably sheer quality. I have a bit of a thing for 2001 red Burgundy and have some shit-hot bottles from this vintage. Domaine Dujac Clos Saint Denis and Bonnes Mares are two of the best Dujac wines I've been lucky enough to try. I tell you, man, they are buttock-bitingly good. My only bottle of Domaine de la Romanee Conti wine, La Tache, comes from this vintage. I am yet to taste it, so whilst I am convinced it will be top bunny, I cannot really call it my favourite wine.

Which brings me to Musigny 2001 from Freddie Mugnier. I've had some mind-bendingly good Musigny from M. Mugnier, the 1999 and 2005 were utterly, utterly beautiful and charged with charm and complexity. However the 2001 had an extra dimension of unadulterated loveliness, which left me deeply moved. I've only got one bottle of this wine which will cause much thought about when to crack it open, but it is, as far as I am concerned, the best wine I own.

An excellent bottle from the much-missed Philippe Engel. He made extremely good wines and didn't charge the earth for them.

Echezeaux Grand Cru 1999, Domaine Rene Engel
By arse this has a very perfumed nose; it smells a lot. Really stylish exotic fruit, spice and a rich earthiness. This has serious class and serious complexity on the nose, and it is very attractive too. This is a serious bottle of wine, alright. The palate is very refined, with ripe tannins, lovely, lovely exotic fruit and a rich minerality. You cannot help but be compelled by the style and charm this has in abundance. This is drinking very well now, but will easily last another decade. A really top bottle that delivers in so many ways.

This may not be the most grand of the Dujac wines I've been lucky enough to try over the past 15 or so years, but by arse we are finding one hell of a lot pleasure in this. This is a tits offering at a basic level; Alec Seysess' recommendation was spot on.

Chambolle-Musigny 2005, Dujac Fils et Pere
What a lovely nose, plenty of charming fruit and a quite attractive aroma of oak. I suppose this has not seen that much new oak, but that which it has seen has improved it greatly. I think the fruit and style are very Chambolle. I try to avoid buying Burgundy in the UK, but my mood would be lifted if I saw this on a winemerchant's shelf.

Lawks, it has been a while since I last popped a bottle and wrote it up. I hope you forgive the hiatus.

Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru les Caillerets 2006, Marc Colin et Fils
The nose has a strong Chassagne flat-Champagne character which is most pleasing. There is some oak on the nose, but it is by no means over-whelming. Nice lemony fruit here as well. It smells really quite satisfying; a fresh, fruity, fun concoction. The palate has a nice depth of flavour, with plenty of lemony fruit and creamy minerality. The acidity is nicely balanced and lively. This is showing really well for such a young wine. OK, I admit it may be lacking a hint of complexity, but it is quite typical and for general drinking you cannot go far wrong with this.

I  am drinking this with Peter Palmer, another ex-captain of the Oxford blind tasting team, and what a good time we are having drinking it.

Gevrey-Chambertin  Premier Cru Combe aux Moines "Vieille Vigne" 1999, Domaine Fourrier
Where to start? The fruit, perhaps, which is utterly charming and bursting with character. There is a great earthy richness and a real spark of style to the outfit. As Peter said, "My god, what a nose!", which god is obviously left for us to imagine. The palate is svelte, silky and smooth, with loads of that lovely fruit and a real twist of complexity on the finish. This is at least a freaking double-A wine. I am really enjoying it now, bursting with life and dissolute pleasure.

Excellent wines from Cyprien, a serious address in Morey.

Morey Saint Denis 2007
Lovely Morey fruit on the nose. A fresh, easy palate of nice fruit with good tannins.

Gevrey-Chambertin 2007
Nice refinement of fruit. Good elegance. Not bad at all but missing a touch of depth.

Chambolle-Musigny 2007
Lots of good cherry and strawberry fruit. Reasonably complex, too. Nice tannic structure.

Morey Saint Denis Premier Cru aux Cheseaux 2007
Very good fruit with a pleasing earthiness. Smells lovely. The palate has good fruit and nice tannins. Quite tasty.

Morey Saint Denis Premier Cru Millandes 2007
Brooding and dark on the nose, with lots of fruit and a creamy earthiness. The palate has a degree of power which is quite pleasing.

Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2007
This nose is talking to me and telling me how good a time I am going to have. Great complexity on the palate. Perhaps lacking a touch of body, but this is basically a very pleasing wine.

Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 2007
Ripe. floral, perfumed nose. It is really charming, as is the palate which has quite sexy tannins. Jolly good effort.

Clos Saint Denis Grand Cru 2007
A beautiful nose that is scented with fruit and flowers with a great earthy character. The palate is a relative fruit bomb with real style. This is a top Clos Saint Denis.

Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru 2007
A nice, dense, complex nose. The palate is... well... that is out where the big dogs eat! Wehay!

I had a bottle yesterday whilst in Andrew Edmunds with Peter Sidebotham of Hand Picked Burgundy. It is excellent to see such good wine priced so reasonably.

Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru 2002, Domaine des Lambrays
A lovely scented nose of ripe Pinot fruit, that welcomes you into the good times it has on offer. Some earthiness there as well, but this is largely expressing itself in terms of its ravishing fruit. The palate has a good tannic structure and loads more of that lovely fruit. It seems reasonably complex to me. I was enjoying this so much Peter asked if I had changed my mind about this being less good than the 2001, of which I am a big fan. Both are excellent wines, but I feel the 2001 has a shade more elegance and a smidgen more of a sense of place.

Domaine des Lambrays are finding it easier to sell all of their wine these days. Good for them, they make delicious wine. I must try and charm the winemaker, Thierry Brouin, into giving me an allocation.

Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru les Folatieres 2007
Lovely, lovely fruit and minerality. There is something floral about it, too. Real depth of flavour on the palate but it remains light and stylish.

Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Clos du Cailleret 2007
Large scale nose but it has a degree of elegance that really pleases. Dense and weighty but with lovely, lovely minerality. Class, old stick, class.

Morey Saint Denis 2007
A charm-ridden fruit bomb. Lovely tannins. Quite classy.

Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru 2007
This seems a bit closed, but there is a great depth to the nose. The palate has good balance between fruit, tannins and acidity. Very complex. Perhaps not a long life ahead of it but it will provide a lot of pleasure.

Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru 2006
Nice ripe fruit on the nose which really titillates. Lovely ripe tannins that frame the fruit very nicely. This is quite delicious.

Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru 1999
A very young, closed nose, but you can smell the lovely fruit and stunning complexity. The palate has fruit, spice and lovely tannin. Serious, serious kit.

Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru 1993
An earthy, meaty character to it. It has quite a lot of power. The palate is really powerful too, with good minerality there as well. This is really rather good.

My favourite producer in Morey Saint Denis; brilliant, stylish wines here that compel with their class. Jeremy Seysses (the winemaker) thinks his 2006s are better than his 2007s, but I enjoyed both.

Puligny-Montrachet 2007, Domaine Dujac Fils et Pere
Really fruity and expressive. Nice mineral palate with plenty of fruit. Most charming.

Morey Saint Denis Blanc 2007
Open for business, alright. Lovely fruit that is most attractive. Very pleasing.

Morey Saint Denis Blanc Premier Premier Cru Monts Luissants 2006
Pretty charming on the nose. Nice fruit and good mineral character. Plenty of pleasure on the palate. Very good.

Gevrey-Chambertin 2007, Domaine Dujac Fils et Pere
Nice fruit on the nose wtih a degree of spice. The fruit on the palate is lovely, too. Nice tannins. Good.

Morey Saint Denis 2007
A bit reduced on the nose, but with nice Morey fruit. The tannins don't seem so sophisticated, but it is a nice drink with good acidity and fine balance.

Morey Saint Denis Premier Cru 2007
A truly lovely nose of ripe fruit intertwined with a fine oak character. Real silkiness on the palate and some damned-good concentration. Good length and the finish is just fantastic.

Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru aux Combottes 2007
The svelte characters on the nose are delightful. The palate has good silkiness, to and quite a lot of charm. Yeah!

Vosne-Romanee Premier Cru les Beauxmonts 2007
Great complexity and ravishing exotic fruit on the nose. This has many stylish and classy elements that combine to create a deeply compelling whole.

Vosne-Romanee Premier Cru Malconsorts 2007
Exotic style here in spades. I love the depth of fruit on the nose. Good tannic structure that frames the fruit nicely. Top bunny.

Echezeaux Grand Cru 2007
There is an incredible depth of fruitcake fruit here. Really stylishly complex. On the palate there is truly lovely fruit and a great interplay between acidity and tannin. Class.

Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru 2007
This has a real depth of complexity and it thumps on your door to announce its style, class and pleasure. Tits.

Clos Saint Denis Grand Cru 2007
There is a lovely perfume of sweet, complex fruit on the nose. The palate seems very classy, but the flavours are not quite so harmonious. Don't get me wrong, this is really damned good, but the last two wines seemed to provide a tiny bit more pleasure.

Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2007
Real density of fruit on the nose with a great earthy character. This is 'limpid pool of radiance'-wine so compelling are the flavours. Top hole.

Morey Saint Denis Blanc 2006
Nice fruit that is reasonably personable. Pleasing fruit on the palate and some good acidity.

Chambolle-Musigny 2006, Domaine Dujac Fils et Pere
Good, pretty fruit. Nice ripe tannins. Plenty of charm. Nice length. A very pretty little number.

Morey Saint Denis 2006
Great Morey fruit on the nose, delicate and classy. A damned impressive tannic structure, but it is by no means short on pleasure.

Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru les Combottes 2006
This is completely classy on the nose and the palate doesn't fall short when it comes to tickling one's fun bits. Yeah, man, yeah!

Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 2006
A ripe, thrilling nose that bursts with excitement. This is a real charmer. Silky pleasure on the palate. Terribly good.

Vonse-Romanee Premier Cru Malconsorts 2006
An amazing nose of exotic fruit and classy, earthy complexity. This is simply extraordinary, oozing class from every pore. Truly great wine.

Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2006
A dense nose that has real multidimensionality. Spicy richness there with the fruit that just goes on and on. An amazing finish. You've got to love this wine.

Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 1997
Fruity and medicinal on the nose. It is very complex with lots of lovely, lovely ripe fruit. Very lively and bursting with fun. Very nice indeed, and up for drinking, too.

Stunning wines at Domaine Roulot, a style that emphasises lightness and elegance.

Bourgogne Blanc 2006
Reasonably ripe and buxom on the nose. Light, stylish palate with lots of fruit and a very vivacious character. Nice.

Meursault "les Tillets" 2006
Floral perfume, highly scented. Smells pretty complex to me. A really mineral palate with a buttery sophistication. Really damned good.

Meursault "Meix Chavaux" 2006
A lovely toffee apple character with a let of minerality. Despite its weight it gives an impression of lightness and elegance. Really beautiful.

Meursault "Tessons Clos de Mon Plaisir" 2006
A ravishingly beautiful nose of melon and lemon surrounded by a wonderfully integrated oakiness. The palate is super elegant. Really harmonious, tits delicious.

Meursault Premier Cru Perrieres 2006
Fresh, lively fruit on the nose with a delicate mineral creaminess. Super complex. The palate is totally beautiful, refined and oozing with classy style. Dig that minerality, man.

Top quality from Christophe Roumier. The general opinion is that his 2007s are a bit better than his 2006s, but both are quite lovely.

Chambolle-Musigny 2007
Lovely Chambolle fruit. Reasonably stylish. Nice soft palate with lovely fruit and soft ripe tannins. Quite tasty.

Morey Saint Denis Premier Cru Clos de la Bussiere 2007
This also smells quite stylish with good fruit and nice earthiness. Good tannic structure and nice complexity. I think this is really pretty and charming.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru les Combottes 2007
Truly lovely fruit which is very Chambolle. Real depth of character on the nose. The palate has fruit driven power and good complexity. Very good indeed.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru les Cras 2007
Now this has a deep, complex array of aromas on the nose. Same on the palate. It is very lively and packed with minerality. This is proper wine already.

Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 2007
Now this is tits out for the boys. Lovely, lovely perfume with flowers and charming fruit. The palate has some pronounced tannins, but they are ripe so are quite alright. Utterly delicious.

Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru 2007
A rich density of fruit that is very expressive. Malolactic fermentation not really started of the palate is a touch angular, but the raw materials are there to make a fine wine.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru les Amoureuses 2007
Now this has a really beautiful nose; great perfume and real style. There is a real concentration of flavours on the palate. Tits, man, and I do mean TITS.

Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru 2007
A profound nose of spice and ripe fruit. Again this is really expressive and the nose is extremely pleasing. The palate is multi-dimensional with layers of flavour that persist for a long time. Freaking triple-A.

Chambolle-Musigny 2006
Nice purity of fruit on the nose. Silky smooth palate that has a good degree of style.

Morey Saint Denis Premier Cru Clos de la Bussiere 2006
Bramble fruits on the nose. Quite Morey in style. Palate has some good earthiness and nice structure. One of the best Clos de la Bussiere I've had.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru les Combottes 2006
Fleshy nose with plenty of fruit. Nice Chambolle fruit on the palate. Reasonably vigorous tannins and acidty. Pretty good.

Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru 2006
Tobacco and spice on the nose. We are talking serious complexity here although I get the feeling this is going through a closed patch. Really sexy and stylish palate with fruit, spice and silky tannins. Real density and concentration too. Not as good as the 2007 but undoubtedly excellent.

Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru 2006
Rich, play-dough nose, very mineral. Good density and fat on the palate. Very mineral, very stylish. I like this a lot. Charming Corton, who'd have thought it?

But this is quite appealing.

Meursault Premier Cru les Poruzots 2002, Chateau de Puligny-Montrachet
Huge density of flavour on the nose; ripe lemons and stoniness. There is also a lovely floral perfume to the nose. The aromas are very well defined and work together to create a complex whole. The obvious weight combined with subtle complexity on the nose might lead one into thinking this is a Grand Cru white Burgundy, I don't think that'd be such a bad guess. Again there is weight and density on the palate, but the good acidity and soily richness keep this lively and very expressive. The sum of the flavours on the palate creates a sumptuous totality which is quite lovely. The finish is wonderfully charming and lively, with great acidity, plenty of fruit and a good mineral tang. This is damned good white Burgundy, especially if you like them bien loche.

Gone are the days when one could get a good Engel Grand Cru in Selfridge's for £34 a bottle. Luckily, we stocked up.

Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru 1999, Rene Engel
A lovely nose of dense, exotic, expressive fruit that really charms my tired nose. This smells superb. There is plenty of fruit, plenty of minerality and this is framed by the most subtle of oak treatments one could wish for. Serious complexity here. The palate is smooth and silky, with real Grand Cru definition of flavour and complexity. The fruit is utterly lovely. This is seriously stylish but, if I am honest, this is too young to be drinking this wine. There is clearly bucket loads more complexity to come from this wine over the next 10-15 years (if your cellar is up to the challenge). I've had plenty of evidence that Rene Engel wines are completely lovely, and this just adds weight to that case. It is a shame I never got to meet him I love his wines so; when I faxed to make an appointment I got a reply saying he had died brutally on his yacht in Tahiti. Seems a bit of a drastic step to avoid presenting one's wines to an enthusiastic audience...

Quite different to the marvellous 2003.

Pommard Premier Cru les Rugiens 2005, Domaine de Courcel
Quite pale in colour. A marvelous nose of fresh strawberry and cherry fruit, with a good mineral tang to it. It smells very refined and very Cote de Beaune. The pure fruit is framed beautifully by the subtlest of oak aromas. This is a great, detailed nose to delight and intrigue. The palate is reasonably tannic, but has masses of pure fruit, lovely acidity and a really most pleasing oak treatment. The finish is long and complex, This wine has all one could ask for from a bottle of Pommard Premier Cru, lovely fruit, nice structure and freaking nip loads of style. Will age for fifteen to twenty years and only get more beautiful. Perhaps put it away for five to seven years unless you drink it within the nest six months as these things, whilst forever being beautiful, can often go through an awkward, middle-aged period. But don't let this put you off, go out and buy some, man, this is obscenely good. Yves Confuron may be a miserable sod, but by arse the geezer makes tits++ wine; sometimes in a 'tits out for the boys'-sense as in 2003, sometimes in a direct and linear sense as in 2004 and when he makes them like this, hedonistic, sexy and yet elegant and beautiful, you've got to snap up all you can find. Five bottles left.

Christophe Roumier makes damned good wines. This is not pleasing me very much, though, perhaps it is still too young?

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru les Cras 1996, Domaine G. Roumier
A bit brick in colour. Some nice fruit on the nose, but it smells a bit direct and, dare I suggest it, there is a hint of greenness about this wine. Also a hint of HP Sauce which I find deeply unattractive (great as it is on bacon sandwiches). This smells reasonably complex, harmonious and balanced, but just not very nice. The palate is just a bit flat and one-dimensional too, it is just not so interesting. OK, the brightness of the fruit and the undoubted complexity of this wine lift it above 'sub-interest', but nowhere near far enough for my liking.

Burgundy for heroes!

Gevrey-Chambertin "Mes Favorites Vieilles Vignes" 2005, Domaine Alain Burguet
A lovely, expressive nose of ripe black cherry fruit, smells divine. No distracting wood, this is pure fruit and Gevrey class. The palate has big tannins, and quite high acidity, but lovely fruit and real style. It is very long. This is a glass of class, manly class for sure, but class.

The wine is delicious, though. My first taste of one of the Chavy son's wines after Gerard died a few years ago.

Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru les Pucelles 2005, Domaine Alain Chavy
A detailed, intense nose of stone and fruit. It smells a tad green. There is refreshingly little oak there, but what oak character there is is a tad smoky. This smells a precise wine, of distinct flavours and undoubted youth. The palate has density and real concentration of flavours with lovely ripe lemon fruit. It has great minerality which really persists on the finish which is pleasingly, but not incredibly, long. The one problem with this otherwise beautiful wine is that it is a bit acidic. This is not too much of a problem, though, as the overall impression of the wine is that it is most satisfying with enough of a personality to make this in possession of that laudable property, namely being interesting and thought-provoking. I feel this is frighteningly young, and will be much better in five to ten years time.

Much is talked about premature oxidation of white Burgundy, this doesn't suffer from that in the slightest.

Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Clos de la Mouchere 2001, Jean Boillot
A lovely, nutty, buttery nose with nice ripe lemon fruit and a good mineral tang. This smells fresh and lovely, pretty god-damned complex too. The nose is a sleek charmer of pronounced beauty. The palate is very fresh, with concentrated flavours, good acidity, nice fruit and a really satisfying mineral character on the finish. It has weight and density as well, but these don't detract from its racy excitement. The finish is just great, nice and long with really detailed flavours of fruit and minerality. This could easily age for longer, but is quite a bundle full of joy now. Excellent stuff.

I've been given some wine; lucky I was given it as I am broke from ringing up winemakers in France on my mobile, fool that I am, I've got Skype. The wine is de Courcel Pommard Premier Cru Rugiens 2003. As you can tell by the note, I think this is a really top wine. Indeed, I'd go as far as saying it is the second best Burgundy 2003 I've had.

Yves Confuron who makes the wines at de Courcel turned up late when we visited to try the 03s. He was miserable as sin for the first fifteen minutes of the tasting before our incredible enthusiasm for his wines got the better of him and he became almost charming. As you may recall, 2003 was a really hot year, and most of the Burgundy I've tried from this vintage suffers from this heat. Yves harvested late (!) and didn't acidify his wines (!!) and yet they are completely brilliant. They may be big, almost monstrous, but they have a wonderful harmony and balance which is simply superb. The depth of fruit and tannic structure of them are utterly beguiling, and the complexity and style are without fault. Great wines, by any definition of the word.

Now, I have three bottles of this Rugiens and I am really tempted to open another, so much do I love them. However, this wine will be even better in another ten years, so I must wait. My friends will have a lot of fun when I am old and knackered in 2018 (I'll be forty-five that year, hell's bells) and have three bottles of this nectar to pop. I cannot recommend highly enough that if you see any de Courcel 2003s you snap them up. Ideally then give them to me, but I'll understand if you keep them as they are freaking tits. The Rugiens is undoubtedly the best, but the Grand Clos des Epenots is not far behind. Even the more minor wines are brilliant and worth paying for; we were surprised by the downright decadence of even the village Pommard. Buy them, if you can, and if you cannot make friends with someone who has them.

So what was the best 2003 I've tried? Clos des Lambrays 2003 (sorry Jeremy). In this difficult vintage they landed not only on their feet but were also passed a glass of something good to drink as they hit the ground. This wine really is the cat's arse. The good thing about Clos des Lambrays is it is quite a big Grand Cru which is (largely) in one estate's hands, so they always have plenty to sell and it is not too difficult to find on the market. They also charge very reasonable prices for what is usually very good wine, and what was buttock-spankingly good in 2003. So this goes down as a top recommendation as to how to blow your pennies as well.

Apart from these two (and a few Dujac's that I will write up when I get around to trying them again; the Clos St. Denis was damned good, but Clos St. Denis for heroes. Beautiful heroes, though) you can largely skip 2003 Burgundy.

I went out to lunch with Peter Sidebotham of Hand Picked Burgundy. We went to Andrew Edmunds. I feel the need to point out I paid for my share so glowing I will be about the company; my editorial independence is not for sale.

Meursault Premier Cru Charmes 2004, Domaine Latour-Giraud
This had real baby vomit characters, proper white Burgundy. It had good minerality on the nose and a nice purity of fruit. Perhaps not terribly expressive, but quite charming. The palate had a good grip of acidity and nice minerality, with good fruit and real length. Again, perhaps not the most complex of wines, but as far as I can understand scoring wines I agreed with Peter's 3+/5. This was proper, charming, ultimately pleasing Burgundy that didn't demand too much and gave more than one expected. The quality comment is: really quite good, which was a 'good thing' for the knock-down price we paid. He made a good buy on some 2006s from this producer the very day before, if you want to check his list in a few years' time.

Marsannay 1999, Meo-Camuzet
There is no denying this smelled of arseholes, it was quite dirty and Bretty. Reminded me quite a lot of Pibarnon 1993, but that is not a bad thing. Underneath that the fruit was charming, and this was just on the right side of maturity. The palate was quite smooth, and showed a reasonable degree of complexity for a Marsannay, but it was perhaps a tad dirty to be a truly great bottle from that appellation. The finish was quite charming, though, and this slipped down a treat with what was a very pleasing meal.

If you are dropping by Andrew Edmunds in the future you might want to try the Clos des Lambrays 2002, this was a real bargain at the price they were offering it for, and it is tits wine.

Perhaps it is rude of me to comment on the company, but I am sure he'll welcome another link to his site. Peter was one of the most honest and direct wine merchants I have had the pleasure of meeting. A couple of times he mentioned wines he had purchased and for a second I found myself thinking, "You are not selling that shit are you?", before he went on to say they were not good enough for his customers and he'd be putting them straight into auction. This is a great attitude, and far too uneconomical for him to be making an honest living out of his business. I have purchased some top bunny wines from his company, and probably will again. If you need some advice about buying properly mature, proper Burgundy (best of all) by the bottle I suggest you drop him an email or drop by his site. His prices are reasonable and he is a top chap with the correct attitude about wine. I will point out (again) that I paid for my half of the meal (again, my editorial independence is not for sale), it was a pleasure to do so, enjoying a good meal with someone who understands the beauty, pleasure and (above all) fun that fine wine can provide made it worth every penny.

The final wine for christmas day. This one is a magnum.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru les Gruenchers "Vieille Vigne" 2002, Domaine Fourrier en magnum
A bright nose of fresh, ripe fruit. This smells very concentrated and very Chambolle. It has good minerality and a reasonable degree of complexity. The palate is very ripe, but has very high levels of acidity; this is a bit prickly. The fruit is nice, though, and there is a good earthy tang on the finish, which is adequately long. This just seems a bit out of balance to be a really good bottle of Burgundy, but it is certainly drinkable and quite refreshing.

Many people have raved about the Bret Brothers, and only a slightly smaller number have then gone on to make a joke about their name. This many have lighter-fluid characteristics but it is proper Burgundy.

Pouilly-Vinzelles Climat "les Quarts" 2003, Bret Brothers
By all that is evil this has an alcoholic burn to the nose. That being said, there is plenty of stoniness, lots of white fruit and the slightly baby-vomit character of real white Burgundy. Distracting as the alcohol is, this is quite a pleasing nose, it smells a bit like Chablis Grand Crus. The palate also has an alcohol burn, but a lot of acidity, fruit and minerality. This is surprisingly complex, with some real length. Ultimately, I don't think this quite has the balance for ageing, but it is still a very enjoyable drink now.

Back on the booze. Hooray! And it is Burgundy, what more could a chap ask for?

Morey-Saint-Denis "Clos Solon" Vieille Vigne 2001, Domaine Fourrier
Yum, this smells quite ripe and concentrated. Good cherry and strawberry fruit there, too. There is a creamy earthiness/minerality to it which is very pleasing. This is the nose of a top village wine. On the palate the tannins are refined and silky, there is lovely fruit and a real mineral complexity to the finish. The acidity level is perfectly balanced. For a village wine this has got some serious length. This will probably age for another seven years or so, but I am enjoying it quite a lot now. Good stuff.

Hooray for Burgundy! Especially good Burgundy, it is one of the nicest things there is.

I've wanted to try this wine for years, the Ramonets claim it is the best red wine of the Cote de Beaune. I've just never seen it for sale by the bottle anywhere until I went to a sushi restaurant in Helsinki: it had to be purchased.

Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge Premier Cru Clos Saint Jean 2004, Domaine Ramonet
The nose has a great purity of fruit and real elegance, this smells beautiful. There is fresh strawberry fruit there, and a real complex minerality which is similar to the minerality one would expect to find in in white Chassange. For a 2004 this smells reasonably, if not incredibly ripe. The palate is extremely refined and silky. Acidity is definitely an intregral part of this wine, but it is not overwhleming. It is quite light bodied, but there is no shortage of concentration. The tannin levels are surprisingly low, but this is not a problem. It is extremely complex with lovely flavours that really excite and thrill. Very long, too. This is an extremely good bottle of wine that emphasises elegance, purity and refinement. I don't think it is the best wine of the Cote de Beaune, but it is ranking. Whilst this will age well, it provides one hell of a lot of pleasure now. If I had another bottle I'd drink it now with someone who likes Volnay; it is very Cote de Beaune-y and I think it'd fool them. I loved it, and I would love to try it in a slightly riper vintage. If anyone knows where I can get 2005 by the bottle do spill the beans so I can snap a couple up.

I purchased this bottle attempted to test my normal buying rule that decent wine starts at roughly ten pounds a bottle. This cost an Ayrton and it is very good for that price.

Bourgogne Rouge 2002, Ghislaine Barthod
Nice cherry fruit on the nose, it seems reasonably ripe. Beyond the fruit there is not that much else there, though; it is quite simple. The palate has reasonable body with pretty fruit and reasonable acidity. It is a lively little number, that is for sure. Tannins seem ripe enough, it is not hard or tough. OK, this is a very simple glass of Burgundy, but the fruit is nice and it has a degree of charm. Not to be sniffed at for ten quid.

Notes have been a bit thin on the ground of late, I am not feeling happy and even the mystic power of wine does little to cheer me. However, tonight we have popped one of the loveliest bottles of wine I've had in... oh... I period of time. I know I've had this many times before, but this is the best bottle that has been popped.

Meursault "Les Tillets" 2001, Domaine Roulot
The nose is really nutty and mineral. It has a very pleasing, round character, but it has real precision and purity of aromas on the nose. It is very stoney, but has some really good lemon fruit. The palate is a delight of pure flavours, precisely defined fruit, minerality and acidity. This is quite lovely, real depth of flavours and great length. It is really stylish too. This is a fine wine, and up for drinking (with a lot of pleasure) now. Top bunny.

This is quite the nicest bottle of white Burgundy I've had in, oh, a period of time. It is a beast, but is really elegant and refined.

Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru 2001, Paul Pernot et fils
A huge round nose of nuts and sweet fruit, this has odd hints of Frangelico it is so hazelnutty. It is also extraordinarily mineral and deeply complex. It has to be admitted, there is a bit of sulphur there. The palate is utterly brilliant: broad, nutty with plenty of fat, yet with precision, lively acidity and brilliant minerality. It is very long with great complexity. This is really stylish. A stunning wine that only really needs more time to shed the sulphur and become properly mature.

The one producer I managed to visit on the abbreviated trip. All of the wines were barrel samples of 2006. Anne Gros commented that the 06 vintage had a lot of charm. I could see that, I also thought the wines were quite pure and refined.

Bourgogne Rouge Hautes Cotes de Nuits 2006
Prickly, slightly green nose. Nice fruit on the palate. For such a minor wine this has a degree of refinement. Nice.

Bourgogne Rouge 2006
Better fruit here, some blackberry. The palate is a bit spikey but again there is some nice fruit. Once again there seems to be a degree of refinement and charm with some reasonable weight for a Bourgogne Rouge. Very good for what it is.

Chambolle-Musigny Combe d'Orveau 2006
Very elegant fruit, raspberries. The palate is very elegant, too, with good harmony and plenty of charm, nice fruit and good acidity. A very pretty village wine.

Vosne-Romanée les Barreux 2006
A bit gassy. Nice blackberry fruit on the nose. Quite a complex palate with a good interplay between fruit, minerality and tannin. Good length and concentration, too. Very nice indeed.

Clos Vougeot Grand Cru le Grand Marpertui 2006
The nose explodes with exotic fruit and flowers. Very complex indeed. It is quite tannic, but the fruit is very elegant and refined. Lovely acidity. Great length. This is a really serious wine that is utterly delicious.

Richebourg Grand Cru 2006
An extra-ordinary nose of exotic fruit with hints of liquorice. It is so complex with real old vines concentration. The palate has a great texture and lovely, lovely fruit. It is very long and again shows real refinement and charm. This is truly fine wine.

Hautes Cotes de Nuitrs Blanc Cuvée Marine 2006
Very ripe pear fruit nose. Some weight to the palate. Acid not too high. Reasonably pretty.

Bourgogne Blanc 2006
A surprising amount of depth and concentration on the nose. Same on the palate, too. It has a tiny bit of residual sugar which makes it seem a touch fat. Nice, though.

Tomorrow I will be off to Burgundy. I'll be visiting a few good places and will post musings on my return. But tonight:

Vosne-Romanée 1997, Rene Engel

A lovely soft old fruit nose, something slightly floral as well. It has a slightly herbal, meaty character, not unlike mature (clean) Bandol. The palate is a bit dry, but there is some reasonably complex fruit to it. It is by no means a fine wine, but is really an enjoyable drink. What what more could one ask from a ten-year old village wine from an early-drinking vintage?

The best premier cru of Pernand-Vergelesses from its best producer in a good year. Should be good, but is it nice?

Pernand-Vergelesses Premier Cru Ile des Vergelesses 2002, Domaine Chandon de Briailles
This smells very strongly of ripe strawberries; ripe, English strawberries no less. There is a direct minerality to the nose. This actually smells quite nice. The palate has plenty of strawberry fruit, which is ripe, but with persistent acidity. It doesn't have much flesh. It is nice, pure, elegant and refined, but just lacks a bit of charm. It needs more visceral character to be truly lovely.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru les Cras 1995, Domaine G. Roumier
Ah what a charming nose. Ripe cherries and strawberries with complex mineral aromas. This is a real lovely, very refined and pure, but bursting with titillating pleasure. The palate sings a wonderful song of softness and life. It is incredibly silky and smooth, but is kept racy thanks to some good acidity. The fruit is utterly delicious. I knew Christophe Roumier's 95s were good but this takes the grape in terms of how much I love it. Don't get me wrong this is a freaking triple-A charm-tastic ball of love to drink now but I wonder if it might be even nicer in two-three years.

1996 seemed to produce high-acid wines all over Europe. I've had worries about a lot of my wines from that vintage. These two are certainly not short of tooth-fizzing action, but are really pretty good. The Nuits needed a lot of air before it blossomed.

Riesling Spätlese Brauneberger-Juffer Sonnenuhr 1996, Fritz Haag
A mature, petrolly nose, but it retains a citrus fruit zip and is incredibly mineral. On the nose it is very impressive and promises loveliness, plenty of style and complexity here. Hell's bells, that palate is acidic! There is some good fruit there, and reasonable weight and richness, but the initial impression of this is that it is concentrated lime juice acidity designed to make those with stomach ulcers howl with pain. I had a stomach ulcer fixed a few years ago so this doesn't bother me so much. I like the combination of ripe fruit, acidity and minerality very much. Even our guests (who are less completely obsessed about wine than me) were impressed with its slatey character. OK, this is for the brave, but it is certainly a goodie.

Nuits-St.-Georges Premier Cru Perrières 1996, Robert Chevillon
After leaving this to sit in a decanter for a while it shows a lovely, earthy nose of undergrowth and softy ripe fruit. It is certainly very complex and like a classic (high-quality) Nuits on the nose. The palate starts off being a tough, but with further swirling in the glass it seems a lot less butch. Not that I am denying this has a serious tannic structure, but it just seems in balance with the fruit and fine core of acidity. The acidity is definitely present, but not out of harmony. It has a lot of complexity; earth, minerals and fruit. It is pretty long, too. Certainly a good, interesting wine. I must remember that any 96 red Burgundy I open over the next few years need the aid of a decanter to blossom.

Normally an excellent wine, even if it is getting a bit pricey these days. This bottle would have been a lot nicer a few years ago.

Pouilly-Fuissé Vieilles Vignes 2001, Château-Fuissé
Quite a dark yellow colour; this makes me worried as soon as I see it. Yes, it is really rather oxidised on the nose. Oh dear. There is some weight and fatness to it, but it is basically pushing up the daisies. The palate is quite weighty, but is also totally shot. There is also a nasty, harsh acidity to it. Like an aged, corpulent harlot this repels with its sickening stench, yet it tries to tempt me to dip in just one more time, knowing that if I do the only result will be to feel violently ill.

When I purchased this in 2004 a noted American wine-critic described this and other wines from the producer as being better than Côte-de-Beaune Grand Crus. You just had to try them to know that was a laughable assertion, but they were really nice for the sub-twenty notes price. I put this and an old-vines cuvée wine in one of my cellars and on yesterday's visit to it I decided five years was probably quite enough ageing for a Pouilly-Fuissé; I was right.

Pouilly-Fuissé 'La Roche' 2002, Daniel Barraud
The nose is really quite big, fat and bold, with nutty hints of oxidation, ripe lemon fruit and a degree of minerality. It smells nice enough, but just a bit over-mature. It does smell like type (if mature) Pouilly-Fuissé. It tastes rather fat and nutty, again with hints of oxidation. The fruit is nice, as is the soft texture and the mineral-hints are good to taste. However, ageing for five years hasn't really done this any favours. On release this was a charming, if not terribly complex, wine of some style and verve. Now it just seems a bit tired and all the favours are somewhat disjointed. It hasn't gained anything from ageing, only lost its harmony and freshness. There is not the 'tits out for the boys'-quality it had when younger. It is a perfectly reasonable drink, and I will remain a customer of Barraud's wines after trying it, I just won't bother ageing them in future.

This is only the fourth vintage of this wine made by Sylvain Cathiard after the vineyard was re-planted, so the vines are quite young. I have to say I couldn't tell that by tasting it, it doesn't seem light and is quite serious. Quite lovely, too. This Premier Cru is located just above the Grand Cru La Romanée so it cannot be all bad. I like M. Cathiard's labels:

Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru aux Reignots 2002, Sylvain Cathiard
The nose has obvious Vosne spice and exotic tones. It smells really concentrated and very complex; there is plenty of ripe fruit and minerality framed within a very subtle oakiness. It is really seductive. The fruit and spice coat the palate with concentrated, highly attractive flavours. It is really complex with a great long finish. The finish does have a hint of severity about it, but this is obviously a young wine and I think this would only become more svelte and silky as it ages. This is a serious and utterly charming bottle of wine; for all of its intellectual pleasure one could happily describe this as callipygian. M. Cathiard hits the bull's eye once again.

I visited Domaine Vincent Dancer last summer and was very impressed. So when I saw some of his wines for sale from Four Walls Wine I thought they would be worth shelling out for. This is a damned-good bottle of white Burgundy, so I think I'll be buying more...

Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru la Romanée 2002, Domaine Vincent Dancer
An opulent, expressive nose of ripe lemon fruit, rich minerality and some spice. A bit of wood is noticeable on the nose, but it seems in perfect harmony with the exotic hedonism it also displays. The palate is quite dense with good intensity and fine acidity to balance its opulence. It is big, but has real finesse and precise mineral flavours that linger with the fruit on a very impressive finish. This is a very sexy, stylish wine that I enjoy very much; for all its luxurious flavours it is not short on complexity or sophistication. The quality comment that I really want to use for this wine is that it is 'tits', but I am too polite and non-sexist to use the word 'tits' quite so gratuitously.

The first offers for 2005 Burgundy are coming out around now. All I can say is, "Fill your boots, this is a great vintage". For those who missed them I reported on a few domaines that I visited last summer. They were (in no particular order): Comte Armand/Domaine des Epeneaux, Domaine Roulot, Domaine Vincent Dancer, Bernard Moreau et Fils, Frédéric Mugnier, Domaine Arlaud, Domaine Christophe Roumier and Domaine Dujac. All of these are top addresses and you'll be safe buying from them.

I'd like to wish all of my readers a happy new year. I hope you will be drinking fabulously well tonight; I know I will be.

Meursault Tessons Clos de Mon Plaisir 2000, Jean-Marc Roulot
A beautiful nose of flowers, honey, lemons and nuts all framed within the most subtle seasoning of oak. It has a good creamy minerality to it. This smells very harmonious and elegant. The palate has serious concentration of flavour, layers of deliciousness, but is very refined and light to medium-bodied. The nuttiness and lemon fruit are very present on the palate, with a seriously long nutty, mineral finish. The flavours are marvellously detailed, but integrated to form a coherent and wonderful whole. This is a truly excellent bottle of Meursault that, whilst drinking extremely well now, has a long and glorious future ahead of it. I chortle with glee to think I am on M. Roulot's private clients' list. Ho ho ho.

We are drinking a couple of quite grand wines to celebrate new year, this one is certainly damned-good. New year is a good time for wine-lovers as all of one's collection becomes a year older over night and so get closer to drink-ability.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru les Fuées 1995, J et F Mugnier/Château de Chambolle-Musigny
This has a lovely nose of ripe, pure fruit: strawberries and raspberries. There is a light earthiness to it and it is very Chambolle. It is starting to show some maturity. The nose is quite beautiful and charming. Lawks, I like this a lot already. The palate is extremely refined and beautiful with fresh, soft fruit and real elegance. Despite the obvious concentration of flavours this is light-bodied. There is some good acidity to keep it in balance and whilst it is reasonably tannic, the tannins are perfectly ripe and delicious. There is real style and complexity here. It is also completely lovely and simply oozes charm; I am smitten. Freddy Mugnier hits the spot once again. I demand to own more of his wines, I want them here and I want them now!

We are having osso buco for dinner tonight, I thought a light red wine would go best with it.

Volnay Premier Cru 2004, Marquis d'Angerville
The fruit on the nose is very fresh and lively, it is very mineral too. It seems reasonably ripe for a vintage that wasn't so hot, but not over-ripe, thankfully. The palate is also very fresh and mineral, with good acidity keeping it lively. There are detailed flavours here which persist on a delicate but reasonably long finish. It has the lightness of a good Volnay, but there is a reasonable amount of concentration to the flavours. This is a perfectly decent Burgundy, especially for those who like lighter styles, and I think it would be better in about five years or so.

I really like Cyprien Arlaud's wines normally, but this is remarkably dull.

Morey-St-Denis Premier Cru les Ruchots 2000, Domaine Arlaud
This smells reasonably rich and fruity; ripe, dark fruit. There is a seasoning of oak but it is not intrusive. This is a pleasing nose. Sadly the palate is really quite dull, it is bland and doesn't taste of much. It has quite high acidity and some soft tannins, but merely hints of the fruit that show on the nose. There is no finish to speak of. I am terribly disappointed by this wine, Arlaud makes some really good wines, but this is as dull as dish-water. You can drink it, but it would probably put you to sleep rather than leave you chortling with pleasure; I like to chortle with pleasure. I wonder what went wrong with it.

Roast goose for dinner tonight, and naturally roast goose goes with red and white Burgundy. The Lafon Meursault might be muy oaky, but it is a very fine wine.

Meursault Premier Cru Charmes 1999, Comte Lafon
A big, opulent nose of ripe citrus fruit, nuts and oak. It is quite buttery, too. The nose is intense and multi-dimensional. The palate certainly has some scale, but there is finesse and elegance to it. The oak stands out a bit on the finish, but the fruit and minerality are so lovely and harmonious that this is not a problem. Really good balancing acidity. Serious class and dimension here. It is still quite youthful, and I think this will be even more charming when it has had some time to breathe. For a wine of this size and oakiness this remains an incredibly satisfying and refined drink, and that is what makes it tits-good. Magic stuff.

Pommard Premier Cru Grands Epenots 2000, Pierre Morey
This has quite a pleasing nose of ripe fruit and a slightly herbal, leathery character. It smells quite light and Côte de Beaune-y. Whilst the nose is quite pleasing, the palate is a bit green, lean and tough. It is by no means unpleasant, I'll drink it, but it lacks the explosive excitement, and downright class, of Pommard producers such as de Courcel or Comte Armand. I am not sure that ageing this any longer will do it any favours, the greenness of the tannins suggest it'll just dry out. After the thrills of the Lafon this is a bit of a let down.

This afternoon I am drinking with a past captain of the Oxford blind tasting team. He lost when he was captain, I won. We finished off the Spätlese from last night then obviously needed to move on to red wine. Sadly, the bottle we popped is not entirely satisfactory.

Chambolle-Musigny 2000, Ghislaine Barthod
The nose of this is quite woody and strangely chocolaty, it doesn't really smell like my idea of Chambolle. It is also distractingly alcoholic and lacking any fresh, charming fruit. The palate is reasonably balanced, with good acidity, but fruit is really lacking. It is quite tannic. What I find disappointing about this wine is that it really lacks the charm and pleasure of good Burgundy, my colleague suggests it even lacks the charm and pleasure of average Burgundy. I find this wine boring and depressing; I want racy, hedonistic excitement and this just delivers an extra-large helping of dullness.

We needed a better wine after the 1996 to keep us jolly into the evening, fortunately I had a bottle of the Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru les Cras 1995 from Ghislaine Barthod in the wine cupboard so we could compare and contrast vintages. It seemed very similar to last time I had it: perfectly ripe with a great purity of fruit making for a very charming bottle of Chambolle. One cannot ask much more than to be drinking charming Chambolle.

I was worried that this would suffer from 1996-syndrome, namely too much acid. It does a bit but is perfectly drinkable.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru les Cras 1996, Ghislaine Barthod
Very pure fruit on the nose, soft and perfumed. Doesn't seem very complex, even though it is distinctly Chambolle on the nose. The fruit is good, though. The fruit is good on the palate, too, but there is really not much complexity there and the acid is a touch high. It does have focus and the fruit persists a long time on the finish. It is a perfectly drinkable little Burgundy, but not terribly thrilling. I've got another bottle of this in my cellar which I think I should liberate and drink as this will not be going anywhere.

That Bandol was so awful we couldn't drink it and opened something much nicer that was slightly cheaper. Cyprien Arlaud makes one of the best Bourgogne Rouges, this is quite lovely for what it is.

Bourgogne Rouge 'Roncevie' 2004, Domaine Arlaud
Bright red fruit on the nose, it is very clean and pure. There is a hint of greenness there, but it doesn't distract from the purity of the fruit. The palate is light and elegant, with very good fruit, quite lovely, in fact. This is a very pleasing bottle of Pinot Noir that I am happy to enjoy rather than evil filth Bandol.

At the quite brilliant two-star Mugaritz we had three nice things, all much better than the dross Albarino we were generally obliged to order.

Savennières Trie Speciale 2000, Domaine Baumard
A rich, powerful nose of apple fruit and minerality. This is very concentrated and powerful. It also smells quite clean for a Savennières. The palate is very powerful with clean apple fruit and a great mineral tang. It is very long and really quite stylish. It could age happy for a long time, but was perfectly up for drinking at six years of age.

Pouilly-Fuissé Vieilles Vignes les Crays 2003, Daniel Barraud
A weighty nose of honey, nuts and toast. There is very ripe lemon fruit there too. This smells like really rather ripe Chardonnay. The palate is obviously very ripe and weighty, but there is enough acidity there for it not to become overly heavy. This is a really good 2003, especially considering the Maconnais is a warmer region, I am impressed.

Riesling Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Auslese #10 2003, Fritz Haag
The nose smells very strongly of botrytis and ripe fruit. This is very charming. The palate is really quite sweet, but there is a surprising amount of acidity for a 2003. This is much better than most German 03s I've had, quite delicious.

I've done the harvest in Burgundy in the past, it is extremely hard work. Here is this year's harvesting team from Domaine Dujac in Morey-St.-Denis.

They don't look as knackered as me when I was there. Here are some of the fruits of their labour, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru grapes.

They look ripe and I cannot see any rot on them. The report is of a good harvest with slightly low acidity. The grapes were nice and ripe with low yields so this promises to be a good vintage from Dujac. Dujac is a great address in Morey and well worth trying if you see any.

Many thanks to winemaker and all-round good chap Jeremy Seysses for the pictures.

I am a big fan of the wines of Comte Armand, even a minor appellation like this is treated seriously there. This is one of those bargain wines that allows you to see the skill of the winemaker (as well as the quality of the fruit) without shelling out for their most famous wine.

Auxey-Duresses Premier Cru 2002, Comte Armand
There is a tiny hint of greenness on the nose, but its predominant feature is ripe fruit: raspberries and cherries. This has the elegance on the nose that one would expect from a good Côte de Beaune wine. The palate has elegance, too, with nice fruit and a good tannic backbone. The tannins are definitely noticeable, but they are ripe so this seems vigorous and lively rather than rough. This seems more accessible than the 1999 I had in January It is a silky, smooth Auxey that I could easily mistake for something a bit grander..

The 2002s from Daniel Barraud were quite excellent for Pouilly-Fuissé; I put a few bottles in my cellar. When I saw the first 2004 on the shelf of Lea and Sandeman I was keen to try it.

Pouilly-Fuissé la Verchère 2004, Domaine Daniel Barraud
The nose is nutty with some ripe lemony fruit. It smells quite pretty and charming, if not overly complex. The palate is light to medium-bodied with good fruit and a creamy minerality on the mid-palate and finish. The flavours are pure and focused. It is a nice drink, but the 2002s were a bit more bien loché (well titted out) and fun. This is a light, pretty Chardonnay that should go well with dinner tonight.

Dugat-Py are quite well thought of, on my occasional tastings of their wines I have often wondered why they are so popular and so expensive. They are not really beautiful, lovely Burgundies.

Gevrey-Chambertin Tres Vieilles Vignes Coeur de Roy 2000, Bernard Dugat-Py
This is a very dark wine. It smells more like an oaky Syrah or Cabernet than lovely Pinot. The nose is certainly that of a big wine. The palate certainly has big tannins, but it doesn't have much for to balance this out. It is very drying, not terribly complex and certainly not lovely. As I've thought with previous wines of theirs that I have had, they are just far too extracted and lacking any real charm. I won't be buying more of their wines, far too expensive.

I am a big fan of the wines of Jean-Marc Roulot; they are elegant, refined and beautiful. They are also very easy to drink. We brought this back from our cellar in Burgundy

Meursault Les Tillets 2001, Domaine Roulot
This has a restrained nose of flowers and minerality. It smells very elegant and polished. The palate has good acidity, is very gently oaky and plenty of lemon fruit. It has very good length with fruit and minerality persisting on the finish. This is quite delicious and shows that these Meursault deuxieme crus are well worth seeking out from good producers.

I cannot pretend to be terribly objective about Domaine Dujac wines, not only are they my favourite producer in Morey but they are also made by a friend from university. Moreover, I was staying there for most of the time I was in Burgundy. Lovely people, lovely wines.

Morey St. Denis 2005
In the full flow of malolactic fermentation, it smells a bit bacterial. Underneath that there is excellent fruit and a dense tannic structure. There is plenty of fruit. Top Morey villages.

Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru aux Combottes 2005
A bit reduced on the nose. Nice Gevrey fruit, though. Really quite complex. Again it has quite a dense tannic structure. It seems very complex and charming. I am a fan.

Nuits St. Georges Premier Cru aux Thorey 2005
This is the only vintage this wine will be made at Dujac. A dark fruit nose that is really Nuits, but it shows refinement. A good, elegant palate with nice, ripe tannins and very good fruit. This is a charming Nuits. I want some.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru les Gruenchers 2005
Very fragrant nose that is deep and rich. Very concentrated palate with refined tannins and nice length. Quite lovely.

Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru les Beaux-Monts 2005
A bit malo-y but lovely exotic fruit here. Good fruit on the palate, too, with a real depth of flavour and good length. Serious Vosne.

Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru 2005
Rich nose of quite lovely fruit. Very complex. Lovely rich palate of fruit and earth. This is terribly charming. I love it.

Echezeaux Grand Cru 2005
This is really ripe, almost chocolaty. Nice fruit complexity. The palate has good concentration and nice balance. This is very good indeed. Sloo!

Clos St. Denis Grand Cru 2005
Still a bit gassy, but this has a really pretty, charming fruit character. Good concentration, too. This is a really grown-up wine. Lovely fruit on the palate with great complexity. Yeah baby!

Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2005
Dense, concentrated nose of dark, ripe fruit. Real style and complexity here. The palate has great fruit and complexity. This is ace - and I don't mean ace-hole.

Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru 2005
From the newly acquired vines: The fruit on this is really good, complex and stylish. It has a degree of masculinity. Seems up to standard.
From the Domaine vines: This smells richer and more powerful. Has great complexity. Super sloo!

Chambertin Grand Cru 2005
Profound nose of dark fruit. Very complex. The palate has some good fruit, very good length and great complexity. Wow, top effort for a first vintage. There are only five barrels on this made, I wonder how much I can score for my cellar.

Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru 2005
Wow, really exotic fruit on the nose. Very complex. This is really long. Another top effort for a first vintage of this wine.

Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru Malconsorts 2005
Good Vosne fruit character. Muy complexity! This has a lot of concentration and very good length. The fruit is just lovely. Dujac hits the spot again.

Morey St. Denis 2004
Nice ripe fruit. Palate shows a hint of greenness and the acid is a bit higher than the '05. It is a nice drink, though.

Morey St. Denis Premier Cru 2004
Ripe nose with good minerality. Quite good concentration with juicy fruit and chewy tannins. Very Morey. Good balancing acid and nice length. A goodie.

Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru aux Combottes 2004
A pure expression of fruit and minerality on the nose. Silky tannins on the palate along with very pleasing fruit. Good balancing acidity. Yum.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru les Gruenchers 2004
Refined and elegant fruit that shows old vine concentration. Really pretty palate with lovely fruit. Most delicious.

Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru 2004
Really lovely fruit on the nose, charming and complex. The palate has good complexity too. It'll age really well. A goodie.

Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2004
Ripe, dense nose of complex fruit and earth. Profound. Nice complexity on the palate with lovely cherry fruit and good, ripe tannins. This is fine wine already!

Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru 2004
Wow, powerful, masculine nose. Dark, brooding fruit. Palate is very complex with a lovely mineral character. This is seriously grown up wine.

Morey St. Denis Blanc Premier Cru Mont-Luissants 2004
Fresh, lemon fruit on the nose. It is also quite nutty and shows some good minerality for such young vines. Good acid. A nice, refreshing drink.

Clos St. Denis Grand Cru 1997
Very perfumed with sweet, ripe fruit. Really earthy and mineral. The fruit is quite lovely. Delicious.

Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 1988
Sweet, mature fruit. Nice and earthy. Really complex on the nose. That palate has slightly high acid on the finish, but for an '88 this is soft and charming. Lovely.

Christophe Roumier is a charming chap and his wines are charming too. His wines are personal favourites of mine and are usually worth seeking out in any vintage. Roumier and Mugnier are the best sources of Chambolle.

Chambolle-Musigny 2005
Very pretty fruit, but it is not short on concentration. The palate is lovely and charming. Very good indeed for a village.

Morey St. Denis Premier Cru Clos de la Bussiere 2005
Darker fruit on the nose. It is quite ripe. Nice tannic structure. A good wine.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru les Cras 2005
A dense, brooding nose of ripe fruit. Nicely structured palate with a lot of cherry fruit. This has the balance to be a very good wine indeed.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru les Amoureuses 2005
Very ripe, dark fruit nose. Intense and brooding. The palate has very good concentration but it does not lack finesse. Very long. An excellent premier cru.

Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru 2005
Very intense nose of ripe cherries. Very earthy and very complex. The palate is quite delicious with plenty of ripe fruit and a lovely structure. Quite delicious. Yum yum.

Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru 2005
Red soil cuvée: Really powerful nose of dark fruit. It is almost meaty. The palate is incredibly concentrated and rich with fruit. This is a bit of a butch wine, but quite delicious nonetheless.
White soil cuvée: The nose is a bit more closed, the malolactic fermentation is less advanced. This shows as some gassiness on the palate. This seems more vivid and lively than the red soil cuvée. Still delicious, though. These two cuvées will be blended to make the final wine.

Musigny Grand Cru 2005
Christophe does not make much of this, so it was a rare treat to try it. Smells really beautiful with a lovely perfume. Beautiful structure with real complexity. Very long. This is a brilliant Musigny.

Chambolle-Musigny 2004
Nice fruit, pretty fruit. This is a nice, stylish, light-bodied Chambolle.

Morey St. Denis Premier Cru Clos de la Bussiere 2004
Denser, darker fruit. The tannins have a hint of greenness, but it is not distracting. It has got reasonable length. Nice enough.

Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru 2004
Dense nose of ripe, dark fruit. The palate is quite powerful, but it has a good backbone of minerality and acid. Nice balance. Delicious.

Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 2005
Very fruity and very mineral nose. Tres Corton. Very mineral palate, quite dense and buttery. Very long. Considering its youthful state this is quite impressive.

Cyprien Arlaud seems to be making better wine each year. This is quite good as his wines are very affordable. A good address.

Morey St. Denis 2005
Quite a pretty nose of fruit. It is a bit reduced. The palate is nice, though, with good fruit and reasonable length.

Chambolle-Musigny 2005
Prettier fruit and the Morey. Again it is a bit reduced. Palate has really good fruit, nice acidity and a charming finish.

Gevrey-Chambertin 2005
Good concentration of fruit on the nose. Sexy tannins on the palate, quite sophisticated for a village wine. Nice.

Morey St. Denis Premier Cru Blanchards 2005
More concentration than the village wines. It has good complexity. Nice length. Very Morey. I like its vineyard character.

Morey St. Denis Premier Cru Millands 2005
This is really Morey-ish as well. Very perfumed with lovely, clean, pure fruit. Good tannic structure and nice fruit on the finish. Very nice.

Morey St. Denis Premier Cru aux Chezeaux 2005
This is quite a pretty wine, almost Chambolle-y. Nice length and the fruit, tannins and acidity are in good harmony. Nice.

Morey St. Denis Premier Cru Ruchottes 2005
Lovely perfume of dark, ripe fruit. Smells yummy! Great fruit integrated with lovely, ripe tannins. This is quite a serious premier cru.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru les Noirots 2005
Now this has a pretty, charming nose. It is quite mineral too. It has a light, refined palate that shows good fruit. Nice Burgundy! Pretty Burgundy!

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru les Sentiers 2005
Nice fruit and whilst it shows good density it remains elegant. This is quite delicious.

Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru aux Combottes 2005
Very ripe fruit on the nose, clean and pure. It has good minerality, very good concentration and some refinement. A really good Gevrey.

Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2005
A really super-concentrated nose of ripe fruit and minerality. The palate has density too. Very ripe fruit is there. This is really delicious.

Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru 2005
A really charming nose of ripe cherries. It is quite mineral too. A really pretty palate of lovely fruit. It has concentration and length, but it is very charming.

Clos St. Denis Grand Cru 2005
Much concentration here, but the fruit is really very pretty. Very fragrant. The palate shows real concentration of fruit and is very long. Top bunny Clos St. Denis.

Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru 2005
A very powerful, expressive nose. Loads of dark fruit. This was tasted from a new oak barrel, but it has the density of favour to hold the oak well. The palate is very dense and concentrated. Good acid and nice ripe tannins. A serious wine.

M. Mugnier makes some of the most beautiful wines in Burgundy. He has one recipe he uses for wine making every year, it doesn't change with vintage variations. It seems that recipe is a pretty grown-up one.

Chambolle-Musigny 2005
Lovely, pure fruit nose. Quite intense and ripe. The palate is very silky with lovely fruit. Quite delicious for a village wine (although a large proportion of this is declassified Premier Cru).

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru les Fuées 2005
Delicious fruit on the nose. Very elegant and refined. This has a bit of malo activity still happening so it is a bit spiky, but it will be smooth and complex. Clearly a fine wine.

Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru 2005
Again this is very fruity but it has a rich earthiness. Very elegant palate with good intensity. The palate is very round. This is quite excellent.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru Amoureuses 2005
Beautiful nose of fruit and minerality. Smells gorgeous. The fruit! The harmony! The refinement! This is simply magic.

Musigny Grand Cru 2005
Super earthy complexity here, it is really polished and refined. Very mineral. Extraordinary depth of flavour, fruit and minerality. Lawks! This is super-grade top bunny.

Nuits St. Georges Premier Cru Clos de la Marachel 2005
Darker fruit on the nose, but it still has elegance. Quite a dense palate, but it is very refined for a Nuits. This is a terribly good Nuits.

Chambolle-Musigny 2004
Good depth of fruit on the nose. Pure red fruit. Tannins are a bit present, but they don't seem intrusive. Plenty of fruit. Yummy for a village.

Nuits St. Georges Premier Cru Clos de la Marachel 2004
Dark Nuits fruit on the nose with a pleasing earthiness. It has good structure with interwoven tannins, fruit and acidity. Quite a serious drink.

Musigny Grand Cru 2004
The nose is quite exotic, but has real definition and finesse. The palate has loads of elegant fruit, great minerality and a soft, elegant structure. Incredibly long, with fruit and minerals persisting. It is an intense experience. Extraordinarily good.

Musigny Grand Cru 1989
Soft, mature fruit on the nose. It is quite earthy. Also quite ripe. It has very good complexity and great intensity. Up for drinking. Very charming and deeply delicious.

M. Moreau makes very classic, typical wines; they don't have the same kind of house style as Dancer and Roulot.

Bourgogne Blanc 2005
Nice fruit and a hint of oaky character. It has some style for a Bourgogne of Blanc.

St. Aubin Premier Cru Sur Gamay 2005
Smells like a baby Puligny. Pure fruit, very classic. Perfectly drinkable.

Meursault 2005
Quite nutty and quite mineral. Reasonably complexity for a village wine. Again it is quite classic.

Chassagne-Montrachet 2005
Classic, typical Chassagne nose - flat Champagne. Delicious palate this is really typical for Chassagne. Very good indeed for what it is.

Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru Maltroie 2005
Quite a mineral nose, flat Champagne too. Some real complexity on the nose. This palate is very finely balanced by nice acid and good minerality.

Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru Champ Gains 2005
It is pretty ripe, but there is a nice minerality to the nose. The palate is also quite big, but it has the acidity and minerality to manage. Nice.

Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru Chenevottes 2005
Reasonably weighty nose, it is quite floral. The palate is a bit lighter than the previous wine but it is not lacking concentration. Perfectly drinkable.

Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru Morgeot 2005
Quite a fat, but mineral nose. It has plenty of lemony fruit. The palate is most pleasing, fat but with a really good mineral finish. Yummy, this is quite nice.

Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru Grand-Ruchottes 2005
Really mineral on the nose. On the palate too. It has weight, length and plenty of style. I love its minerality. Very good indeed.

Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge Vieilles Vignes 2005
Very pure red fruit. The fruit on the palate is quite yummy. For a village wine this ranks as 'sloo'.

Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge Premier Cru Cardeuse (part of Morgeot) 2005
Nice ripe fruit and it has a purity of mineral expression. It has some good weight and nice structure. This is a good Chassagne Rouge.

M. Dancer has only been making wine since the 1996 vintage; he seems to have got very good at it very quickly. Like Roulot his wines have a definite house style, polished and very detailed. This was the first time I tried his wines and I hope to be able to do so many times in the future.

Meursault Corbins 2005
Very ripe nose. The palate is quite round, but has good acidity. It is quite balanced for a voluptuous wine.

Meursault Grand Charrons 2005
Very mineral nose. Again the nose seems quite round and fat. Real complexity here. Very stony. Nice length. This is quite a grown up village wine.

Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru Morgeot 'Tete de Clos' 2005
A very rich, stony nose. Real concentration and intensity. Rounder than the Meursaults. This is lovely. Long, round, intense and charming.

Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru la Romanée 2005
Again this is quite a dense, intense wine. It also seems quite detailed and precise. This is a bit special.

Meursault Premier Cru Perrieres 2005
Still fermenting. Difficult to judge but it seems quite mineral to me.

Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru 2005
Really mineral nose. It smells very detailed. It is very concentrated and detailed on the palate. Very long. Real complexity. Very stylish. Excellent.

Bourgogne Rouge 2005
Nice fruit, seems ripe enough. Good tannins. Even some length. Perfectly drinkable.

Beaune Rouge Premier Cru Montrevenots 2005
Bright and fruity, but good concentration for young vines. Shows a bit of heat-stress, but it is a nice drink.

Pommard Perrieres 2005
Village-level wines just below the Clos des Epeneaux and you can tell it by the fruit and slightly spicy character. Nice structure for a villages. It is pretty good.

Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge Premier Cru Morgeot 2005
Lovely fruit and a good mineral character. Very clean. It is quite complex with good length. This is really quite good.

Pommard Premier Cru Pezorelles 2005
Very clean, fresh fruit. It is nice and ripe. It also has a good spicy character to it. Good complexity. Good length. Good wine!

Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru 2004
Again this has real definition and focus. It smells really complex. It tastes really complex, too, with brilliant length and a lovely, detailed texture. This is superb. Brilliant Burgundy.

One of my favourite producers of Pommard. The winemaker, Benjamin Leroux, is a very thoughtful chap who seems very committed to making the best wines. He speaks perfect English and is a charming fellow. From the 2001 vintage the Domaine became entirely biodynamic. This seems a good thing as the wines since then are damned good. Here is a picture of the winemaker (left) and me:

Volnay 2005
This was tasted from a new oak barrel, so it is a bit oaky. Good cherry fruit, nice depth of concentration. The palate is dense with good length. Good Volnay, alright.

Volnay Premier Cru Fremiets 2005
Lovely fruit nose with real concentration. The palate has some big tannins, but also lovely fruit. It is very long. Quite charming.

Auxey-Duresses Premier Cru 2005
Not yet finished malolactic fermentation. Nice fruit on the nose - blackberries. Still quite acidic. Good tannins. Shows real potential.

Pommard Premier Cru Clos des Epeneaux 2005 - young vines
This is normally declassified to Pommard or un-named Premier Cru. Quite a dense nose. Lawks, it is tannic. It has reasonable fruit and some good length. Not bad for young vines.

Pommard Premier Cru Clos des Epeneaux 2005 - 35 year old vines
There is some real density here. Powerful fruit and ripe tannins. This seems really good, but typical, Pommard.

Pommard Premier Cru Clos des Epeneaux 2005 - 50 year old vines
This is even more dense and concentrated. Very good old-vines complexity and concentration. No shortage of tannin. This is a serious wine. Excellent.

Pommard Premier Cru Clos des Epeneaux 2005 - 60-75 year old vines
Incredible richness on the nose. Great concentration. Very tannic, but the tannins are really ripe and in balance. Fantastic length. The cat's arse, alright. Wehay!

Pommard des Dames de la Charite 2005 - a Hospice de Beaune wine
This is made from Pommard Premier Cru Rugiens and Premier Cru Grand Clos des Epenots. Some density, but it seems a bit light for Pommard. Really quite nice, but the Clos des Epeneaux is the way forward.

Beaune Cuvée Nicolas Rolin 2005 - a Hospice de Beaune wine
Charming red fruit nose. Palate is reasonably fun and fruity. Quite round and voluptuous. It is alright.

Pommard Premier Cru Clos des Epeneaux 2002
Nice ripe nose of clean fruit, quite Côtes de Beaune-y fruit. The palate is delicious - great fruit, balanced acidity and really ripe tannins. This is really excellent, top banana!

Pommard Premier Cru Clos des Epeneaux 2001
This is also quite ripe, harvested late according to M. Leroux. The palate is a bit like a very good, ripe Premier Cru Nuits St. Georges. This has a real depth of character that is very charming. This is a wine for long term ageing. It will be great.

My favourite producer of Meursault. Jean-Marc Roulot is also a lovely chap as well as making great wines. His wines are made in quite a reductive style, so they don't normally have the problem of premature oxidation that some white Burgundies show. We tasted some 2004s from bottle and some 2005s from cask.

Bourgogne Blanc 2004
Lots of fresh lemony fruit. Good fruit on the palate. Nicely balanced. A bit simple, but alright in its way.

Monthelie Premier Cru Champs Fulliots 2004
Nice fruit and good acidity. Not much more complexity than the Bourgogne. It is a bit more oaky, though, and I think it is a bit more concentrated. A nice drink.

Meursault les Vireuils 2004
Lovely fruit on the nose, great minerality too. It has a really long finish of minerality and fruit. Very well balanced and stylish.

Meursault Tillets 2004
This seems a bit oakier, but the creamy minerality dominates the nose. The palate has impeccable balance and harmony, it sings a song of balance and deep loveliness. Good concentration and great complexity.

Meursault Tessons Clos de Mon Plaisir 2004
Seems a lot oakier but it is still balanced with the fruit. It is very mineral with great concentration and a bucket load of finesse. Quite beautiful, quite lovely.

Meursault Premier Cru Charmes 2004
Much riper and bigger on the nose. The palate is quite big too, but the balance is just superb. This is not heavy or ponderous in any way. Real complexity here, real style too. Crivens!

Bourgogne Rouge 2004
Light nose of red fruit with a hint of greenness. Nice fruit on the palate. It is quite light. Nice enough for a Bourgogne Rouge.

Bourgogne Blanc 2005
Still a bit malo-affected. Quite ripe and fat. It has got a bit of gas still. For a Bourgogne Blanc il y a du monde au balcon!

Meursault Tillets 2005
A bit reduced and gassy. Smells quite ripe. The palate has good ripeness, but still seems very balanced. Still quaquaversal, but I am impressed.

Meursault Tessons Clos de Mon Plaisir 2005
Very gassy still, but there is plenty of fruit underneath. Good ripeness and acidity on the palate. It shows good minerality as well. This is going to be really good.

Meursault Tessons Clos de Mon Plaisir 2001
Very peachy nose, quite ripe and powerful. It still has a great minerality and lovely acidity. It is very harmonious and has great length. For a 'deuxieme cru' this is superb.

Rather a nice magnum drank with our lovely neighbours.

Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru les Folatieres 2002, Gerard Chavy et fils en magnum
This has a pretty nose of melon, lemon and creamy minerality. This smells like it has seen very little new oak and it is all the better for that. It has a very light-bodied palate with plenty of fruit and minerality and a good back-bone of acidity. This is really quite a pretty bottle of white Burgundy, we all enjoyed it very much.

A couple of bottles of Burgundy in a restaurant; one good, one not so good.

Macon-Clesse Cuvée Tradition E. J. Thévenet Domaine de la Bongran 1998, Jean Thévenet
The nose was really quite ripe, but it had definite hints of oxidation. The palate was surprisingly acidic for all its weight and fat. It was reasonably balanced and drinkable at the start, but during course of drinking it became really rather oxidised and ended up tasting more like Fino than Burgundy. Much too old, really, but I would have been interested to try it a few years ago.

Vosne-Romanée 1995, Domaine Rene Engel
The nose had plenty of ripe fruit, quite exotic and perfumed. It showed a pleasing degree of maturity on the nose, quite ready for drinking. The palate was soft and fruity, with good acidity and a present but soft tannic structure. This was a really good village wine, perfect with ris de veau.

The neighbour and I are having a deeply philosophical conversation. I cannot quite remember what it was about as I have just popped a bottle of hopefully lovely Volnay. Sloo...

Volnay Premier Cru les Chevrets 2001, Jean Boillot et Fils
A beautiful nose of ripe red fruit, it has a degree of rhubarb character to it. I quite like the minerality on the finish. The nose is that of a light-bodied, hopefully lovely wine. The palate is light, with plenty of bright, fresh fruit, but sadly the acidity is a bit high; quite rhubraby, in fact. It seems a bit spiky. A refreshing glass of red Burgundy, but ultimately lacking loveliness.

Etienne de Montille took over wine making duties at the Château for the 2002 vintage. There was an immediate rise in quality.

It is a bright and sunny day here in London and we are winning in the cricket. I couldn't ask for a nicer drink.

Meursault Premier Cru les Perrieres 2002, Château de Puligny-Montrachet
The nose shows a good honey and nuts character. It is really mineral. There is some oak there, but it is gently oaky and perfectly in balance with the fruit and nuttiness. The palate is lively with acidity and fruit, but very harmonious. The fruit is really lovely, as is the concentration. There is a great long finish to this of nuttiness, fruit and minerality. This is really quite lovely. A great drink for a summer's day. Excellent.

Continuing my theme that wines do not have to be frighteningly alcoholic to be good I was very pleased with this little number clocking in at 12.5%. It was lovely.

Vosne-Romanée 2002, Domaine Rene Engel
A fresh nose of complex, exotic fruit. It is quite beautiful and stylish. The fruit and minerality of the nose sing a lovely song of integration and balance. The palate is fresh and light, but not short of concentration. It is very long and very classy. This is a really lovely village-level wine.

M. Engel died last summer, on his yacht in Tahiti, just before I attempted to book a tasting chez Engel. He was a great source of affordable Vosne and will be greatly missed.

I got this on release from Berry's, what a bargain it was. It doesn't suffer from 1996 syndrome.

Vosne-Romanée Les Brulees 1996, Rene Engel en magnum
A lovely, soft nose of mature fruit. It is very complex and harmonious. There is a good Vosne character to it, it is aristocratic and exotic. The palate is really soft and fruity, but it is kept from being soupy or flabby by a nice sappy-ness to the finish. This is really complex and earthy, and is drinking very well now. This is the best 1996 red Burgundy I've had in a while; most of them seem frighteningly acidic whereas this is well balanced. Lovely, slips down a treat.

This is from one of the more expensive producers of Burgundy. I have a bit of a soft-spot for their wines, but I can rarely afford them. This was nigh-on thirty pounds; pretty steep for a village wine.

Vosne-Romanée 1999, Domaine Méo-Camuzet
Initially the nose was a bit reduced and backward, but with vigorous swirling in the glass it opened up to display ripe, clean, black cherry fruit. The nose seems very concentrated for a village wine. It seems very concentrated on the palate too. It has a lot of ripe fruit, good acidity and nice ripe tannins, but at the moment it is just a bit lacking in charm. It may seem odd to say at seven years old a village wine needs more age, but I think this would be much better with five more years in the cellar. I can see that its components would be more integrated and less quaquaversal given a bit more age. It is certainly very good and I think it is worth the money; it is just not ready for drinking yet.

I'm not feeling too happy today and wine is not a cheap substitute for happiness it is an expensive pre-requiste for happiness: I've opened another bottle.

Volnay Premier Cru 2001, Domaine de Montille
It is really very pale in colour. A bright nose of cherries and strawberries. This smells quite beautiful. The palate has really lovely fruit, good concentration and nice length, but it is really elegant and refined. This is really lovely. It would age very well for at least another decade. It was cheap too, what more could one ask for?

Two wines opened at the neighbours place of a Sunday afternoon. We were bored and wanted something nice. These are really quite nice.

Morey-Saint-Denis 2001, Domaine Dujac
Silky, complex fruit nose. It has a lot of soft earth and rich complexity. This is lovely. On the palate there is a vigorous amount of tannin, but it is so integrated with the fruit that it seems really sexy and svelte. This is a quite brilliant bottle of village Burgundy. As I've said before, Dujac really landed on their feet in 2001 and they are the best producers in Morey.

Vosne-Romanée 2002, Sylain Cathiard
An opulent, exotic nose of hedonistic complexity. This smells quite brilliant. A incredibly fruity palate, with a nice tannic backbone and good balancing acidity. This is really lovely: really interesting too.

Which is best? Crivens, I feel put upon to make that choice. They are quite different: the Morey is rounder and softer whereas the Vosne is more racy and exciting. But the Dujac, obviously.

We have popped another half bottle of Morey Premier Cru les Loups from Domaine des Lambrays; it is really terribly good. It has great elegance and refinement despite still being a bit closed. It is really silky and concentrated. This is lovely Burgundy. We've only got one more half left, alas.

I should say we opened this because the Santa Duc Gigondas Prestige des Hautes Garrigues 2003 we tried to drink with our steak proved to be too much like hard work. It was so frighteningly ripe and alcoholic that we could only manage a glass each before putting a cork back in it and deciding to re-visit it tomorrow. I don't really see the point in such monsters, they are rarely balanced or indeed nice.

Another wine from the wonderful Sylvain Cathiard, one of his most minor crus. This was opened for general drinking purposes when my mother visited. It seems a tad butch to be really pretty Chambolle.

Chambolle Musigny les Clos de l'Orme 1999, Sylvain Cathiard
A ripe nose of fresh, bright fruit. It smells a bit hot, with a hint of over-ripe fruit character. The palate has some good ripe fruit, but the tannins are a bit too tough and I am not sure they'll resolve themselves given time. It is a nice, vigorous wine, but not quite lovely enough for my tastes.

Opened my last bottle of Cathiard Vosne Malconsorts 2000 last night. Once again it was really lovely, with beautiful fruit and great balance. I did once say he makes beautiful Vosne for lovers of beautiful Burgundy. I've done rather well for Burgundy in the past few days, but the Lambrays 2001 was the best. That was a great wine.

Yet another wine from this producer, they really are a personal favourite.

Clos des Lambrays 2001, Domaine des Lambrays
A beautiful, perfumed, complex nose of fruit and earth. This smells deeply lovely. The palate is staggeringly beautiful; ripe, fresh Pinot fruit, with mineral complexity framed in a good tannic structure. It is extremely complex and long. This is truly excellent wine, it'll age for fifteen years or so. Drank with extreme pleasure. Bravo, M. Brouin!

Dinner required something light and elegant to go with it. I required something good in order to celebrate being broken out of hospital. Our requirements were fulfilled by this lovely village-level Burgundy. The producer has become, in only a few short years, a really Good Thing.

Gevrey-Chambertin Aux Echezeaux Vieille Vigne 2001, Domaine Fourrier
The nose has plenty of refined fruit. Nice fruit, pretty fruit! It also has a blood-soaked stone character that has become more pronounced as the wine has been allowed to breathe. This wine is like a slightly more masculine Morey-St-Denis. The palate has real refinement, good complexity and is very concentrated. Fruit flavours persist on the finish for a very long time. The acidity keeps this very lively and balanced. Its tannins are a bit tough at present, it needs another year (or two) in the cellar, but this is undoubtedly damned-good village-level Burgundy.

I've had this wine before and I think it is great, it just appears it is going through some middle-aged awkwardness at the moment.

Pommard Premier Cru Clos des Epeneaux 2001, Comte Armand/Domaine des Epeneaux
A ripe, full-bodied nose of rich dark fruit and earth. It is framed with a seasoning of new oak. The nose is extremely expressive and charged with lovely, complex flavours. The palate has plenty of fruit, but at the moment the tannins seem a bit awkward. It is very complex with great persistence of flavour, though. Whilst this is a bit tough at the moment it is easy to see this is packed full of lovely flavours just waiting to emerge in five or so years time. It has the balanced required to make this a top wine. Excellent, but young.

I've mentioned I enjoy Morey-Saint-Denis wines in the past; this one is particularly lovely. Once again it is a product of the hard work of the charming Cyprien Arlaud.

Morey-Saint-Denis Premier Cru les Ruchots 1999, Domaine Arlaud
A concentrated nose of lovely, elegant Morey fruit. The fruit is pure and ripe and it has a good earthy complexity to it. The nose is really beautiful. The palate is really deeply lovely. The fruit is ripe and beautiful, the tannins are ripe and balanced and the acidity is integrated and not excessive. It is extremely well balanced and the finish is very long and complex. This is a ripe but structured Burgundy that tickles my fancy almost lewdly so eager is it to please. Top stuff, a really svelte, silky and smooth Morey Premier Cru; I could ask for little more in terms of an opulent, hedonistic but intellectual wine.

The Tempier proved too filthy to drink. I got disappointed so decided to open something good; I wasn't quite expecting it to be quite this good.

Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru aux Malconsorts 2000, Sylvain Cathiard
Quite pale in colour. A rich, exotic, hedonistic nose of ripe, clean fruit. This smells extraordinarily beautiful and concentrated. There is some liquorice there too. If the nose is watching then a taste is actually getting on a wild roller-coaster of complete loveliness. It is concentrated and powerful, with great presence of fruit. It is also incredibly finely balanced with present but totally unobtrusive acid levels. This is a completely brilliant bottle of wine in perfect condition for drinking; I've had few 2000s that are as good as this. Really lovely.

My drinking companion likes it too.

I admit to being slightly prejudiced when tasting wines made by this producer. I know the winemaker (and sat around by a pool with him wearing togas last summer) and he is a terribly nice chap. I think it is very important to buy wines made by lovely people. When we tried his 2004s from cask they showed great promise as refined, elegant, proper Burgundy. This is an excellent source of beautiful Burgundy, the kind of Burgundy we love.

Morey-Saint-Denis 2002, Domaine Arlaud
This is quite dark. The nose shows lots of ripe, dark fruits; it smells quite a manly wine. Could it perhaps be a tad reduced on the nose? Not after five minutes of swirling in my glass. The palate has some big tannins, but there is a lot of ripe fruit, fine acidity and a good earthiness to it. It is very harmonious and balanced with good concentration and, despite its manly tannins, it is quite refined. The finish is very long and it is the dark fruit that persists. This is an excellent village-level wine. I am really enjoying my glass and I think the neighbours will love this when I take the rest of the bottle around to their place for a restorative glass of wine later tonight. Well done Cyprien!

2000 was not a brilliant vintage in Burgundy, but the wines are generally ripe, fruity and (best of all) suitable for early drinking. Normally one might expect a wine like this to take a decade to come around, but this is just lovely now.

Pommard Premier Cru Grand Clos des Épenots 2000, Domaine de Courcel
Quite pale in colour. It has bramble-y red and dark fruits on the nose. The fruit is very pure and ripe. It is a reasonably complex nose with fruit, earth and some spicy warmth to it. The entry is very soft and fruity, they are lovely ripe red fruits. On the finish a bit of Pommard chewy hardness shows itself, but the tannin and spicy wood characters are perfectly in balance with the fruit. This has the elegance of a de Montille wine but a tiny bit more weight; it is very much a Côte de Beaune wine. It is very bright and fruity, with good acidity, nice complexity and reasonable length. This is a very nice wine and excellent for the vintage. Up for drinking now and to be drank with a lot of pleasure.

After mentioning this wine in a comment below I couldn't really think of an excuse to leave it in the wine cupboard.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru les Cras 1995, Ghislaine Barthod
Bright red fruit on the nose. Very pure and quite ripe. Not so ripe that this is heroic, thankfully, as some '95s are. The fruit is really lovely. The palate has some big tannins, but there is plenty of fruit and ripeness. There is a lot of charm here. Nice acidity to balance the fruit. This is a lovely, pure and balanced Chambolle and what more could one ask from a wine beyond it being a lovely Chambolle? It could easily have lasted many more years, but is certainly a a lot of fun to drink now.

I was feeling a bit miserable until I drank this. Alcohol is not a cheap alternative to happiness, it is an expensive pre-requisite for happiness.

One with dinner at the restaurant Andrew Edmunds and one on our return home. It is a great place to eat; the food is usually simple but good. The wine list is good and affordable, too.

Chambolle-Musigny 1999, Ghislaine Barthod
A ripe, bright, fruity nose. Very pure and refined, it speaks of Chambolle. Not over-ripe in the slightest and the nose is open and giving.  The palate has some good, ripe tannins, plenty of fruit and is very harmonious and balanced. This wine was open and up for drinking, but a few more years of age would not do it any harm at all. A lovely village wine.

Auxey-Duresses Premier Cru 1999, Comte Armand
The nose seemed a touch tight and brooding. It certainly had some ripe fruit, but was not terribly giving. On the palate the tannins were a tad aggressive but I didn't feel there was enough fruit to handle them. It improved a bit with some air so I can only imagine this is a bit shut-down at the moment. It seemed like a tight, slightly tough Pommard. As it was it seemed reasonably impressive rather than svelte and lovely. I prefer svelte and lovely.

I have a double magnum of Pommard Clos des Epeneaux 1999 from Comte Armand; clearly a wine for keeping a long time.

I am not the biggest fan of Burgundy 1998s, they often seem hard and tough. This is a bit of a shame as it is one of the two vintages I've assisted with. However, this wine seems rather nice.

Volnay Premier Cru Champans 1998, Marquis d'Angerville
A bright, lively nose of red fruit. It is full of life, complexity and charm. The alcohol is a bit noticeable, but not frighteningly unbalanced. On the palate the acidity seems a tiny bit high, but there is plenty of fruit and it is really quite complex. The finish seems plenty long enough. One of the best 1998s I've had and, more generally, a very good bottle of Burgundy.

It's the first time I've tried wine from this producer. I met him in a restaurant on my last trip to Burgundy, he was very loud.

Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru 1999, Domaine Christophe Newman
A pure and elegant nose of red fruit, it is not especially complex. The alcohol stands out a bit. The palate is similarly hot and the tannins seem a bit dry. It is not especially complex or refined. It is a nice drink but hardly Grand Cru quality; it is a bit big and lacks finesse.

A shame. He seemed keen on making fine wine and has some good vineyards. I was disappointed.

This is not quite as good as the Cailleret on christmas day, but it is pretty damned-good.

Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Pucelles 2001, Domaine Leflaive
A rich, powerful, toasty nose that has real Grand Cru power. The oak is noticeable but it is not unbalanced. The palate is fruity and oaky, but has really good acidity and a nice minerality to keep it balanced. It is a pleasingly savoury wine. It is pretty complex, but perhaps not as complex as the Lambrays Cailleret drank recently. The length is certainly faultless, it tastes lovely going down. It is a powerful, rich mouthful that retains its balance. First-class white Burgundy without a doubt.

But white this time.

Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Clos du Cailleret 1999, Domain des Lambrays
Intense nose of nuts and stone. Really powerful and weighty, complex and intense. The palate is very full-bodied, with nuts, honey, plenty of fruit and some maturity. This is deeply lovely, I've had less impressive Grand Cru wines. The balance is superb and the length is just incredible. Top marks to Thiery Brouin of Lambrays for this stunning effort.

Volnay Premier Cru les Mitans 1993, Hubert de Montille
This has an exceptionally beautiful nose of raspberries and soft earth. It has a very sedate level of alcohol (12% claimed) making this pure and focused rather than ripe and heady. The palate is very vigorous and full of life. It has good, fruity acidity and obvious tannins, but it is such a little gem of fruit and charm that these do not unbalance it. It is very well balanced, in fact, and very lovely. An excellent Volnay that is drinking very well now.

This will be consumed with roast duck, and with great pleasure. It is a seriously lovely and seriously fine wine.

This is a good wine, but it is perilously lacking in charm. I realise it is terribly young, but I do wonder whether this will become lovely with age.

Corton-Bressandes Grand Cru 2002, Domaine Chandon de Briailles
This is a very pale coloured Burgundy, but there is nothing wrong with that. The nose has a lot of fresh raspberry fruit and quite deep and concentrated. There is no interference here with huge amounts of new oak, it is a pure and focused nose. The fruit is very present on the palate, and it is quite dense despite being a light-bodied Grand Cru-style. It is certainly very long, and really quite mineral and complex, but the acidity is quite spiky. It lacks any real fat even with extended decanting and tends toward the extremely linear; it is not quite balanced. What it lacks quite noticeably is any real charm; it is not terribly fun to drink. I imagine a wine like this will retain its fruit but never really lose the high degree of focus which is currently preventing it from being lovely. I have the next-door vineyard from this producer that I shall re-visit in a decade with great interest. I must admit to preferring 'lovely', but I cannot deny that this is serious and it is by no means a bad drink.

Nuits is slightly earthier, more meaty and generally butch than wines from my favourite Burgundy villages. However, a good example will still have elegance and balance, and this is a terribly good example.

Nuits St Georges Premier Cru Vaucrains 2002, Robert Chevillon
A heroic nose, exploding with ripe fruit, earth and spicy-richness. There is plenty of good, ripe Pinot fruit there and it is also noticeably Nuits in its slightly rustic character. The palate also has a bit of toughness, with some high acidity, but the incredibly ripe fruit balances this out perfectly. It is long, harmonious and full of grace. I have not had a heroic Burgundy that was quite so beautiful since I last had the 2001 Pommard Clos des Epeneaux from Comte Armand. This may be incredibly ripe and intense, but balance is the feeling one is left with as the very long finish subsides. The elements all work together very well, and it is in no way over-powering. A serious, but lovely, wine.

In its first flush of youth this is lovely. It probably will close down for several years, but I imagine it will re-emerge as a great wine of style and class.

Much better than the last bottle of white Burgundy I had to fight my way through.

Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru La Garenne 2002, Chateau de Puligny-Montrachet
The nose is very full, concentrated with a lot of floral character. There is something almost herbal about the nose. The palate is rich and concentrated, again really floral. Nice and ripe but in no way hot; restrained, if anything. The finish is really long, with plenty of acidity and minerality. This is a fine, balanced and concentrated bottle of interesting white Burgundy. Quite lovely, really.

... but someone usually hands me a glass of something good once I've got my breath back. Oh yes, oh yes, it is another offering from Morey St Denis, not my favourite producer there (which is Domaine Dujac), but as I have suggested in the past, a damned good producer.

Morey St. Denis Premier Cru Les Loups 1999, Domaine des Lambrays
Ah... Lovely, pretty fruit. Quite ripe, but it does not hold back in the 'lovely' department. It is a bit closed at the moment, so I shall not be opening my mag of 1999 Clos des Lambrays for some time. The tightness gives it a degree of restraint that this did not have when I last tried it, then it was during its opulent, expressive and hedonistic young stage. But the degree of loveliness here is not to be underestimated. No over-ripe HP Sauce character at all, this is pure, lovely, ripe Pinot from a Burgundy village that makes beautiful wine. This once again demonstrates the wonderfulness of elegant Burgundy, and I really love it. Shame it is only a half bottle.

This is not going to be a tasting note, it is going to be a rant. Partly because I feel so personally offended by this wine, but largely because I have been obliged to drink half a bottle of the booze-tastic horror.

Macon Villages Cuvée Tradition E. J. Thévenet Domaine de la Bongran, Jean Thévenet
By arse, what am I doing drinking this lighter-fluid? It is 14% at the very least, in the name of all that is evil! Now, I am all for wines of heroism, but I like them to have some form of balance. The only balance this has is a large amount of alcohol to balance out the large amount of alcohol. Honestly! Where is the elegance? Where is the refinement? It is just a big glass of booze. I know Australians who'd be floored by this monster. I like my wines to have harmony, to speak of something more interesting than a mere glass of tart-fuel. This cannot speak because its speech is too slurred. I see no pleasure in drinking what is effectively a large glass of raw booze. There may be some acidity there, but it hardly competes with the whacked-out, crazy, booze-tastic monster that is this alcohol-fuelled frenzy of a wine. I am whammed even slagging it off. But, far, far worse than that, I am bored by having to drink it. No thanks.

The worst thing is, I've bought bottles of this before and hated them just as much. I am such a fool buying another bottle of bloody awful, completely atypical Macon. Cuvée 'Tradition'? Tradition my arse.

I welcome comments on this entry as I know everyone in the entire world has consumed this wine. This must be why the world is in such a state; everyone is pissed.

I was so disappointed by the Leeuwin Estate Shiraz I decided to open something I knew would be good.

Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru 2002, Domaine des Lambrays
I have a bit of a thing for Grand Cru Morey St. Denis wines, especially those of the perfumed and elegant style. Clos des Lambrays is more like Clos St Denis than Clos de Tart, Clos de la Roche or Bonnes Mares in that it is a wine of beautiful fragrance and style. The 2002 had a lovely Pinot-perfumed nose; a very strong, ripe Pinot character especially when compared to the 2001 which was intensely terroir-driven. There was a balanced amount of new oak that could be detected on the nose. The palate was quite big and fruity, but very well balanced by good acidity and a nice minerality on the finish. This was a very pleasing glass of stylish Pinot Noir. I prefer the 2001 as it is more refined and complex, probably with a better ageing profile as well, but I am pleased to have seven more bottles of this to drink over the next fifteen years or so. A top glass of Pinot Noir, and a very good glass of Burgundy.

There will be a slight bias toward Burgundy in this blog and there will be many rants about my burning passion for the best stuff. I fancy a good glass of de Courcel* at the moment, but as I don't have any here I will have to content myself with a quick demonstration of my love for Burgundy in the form of the distribution of wine from different regions in my collection:

One third Burgundy, and most of it red. We are told the first quality of wine is that it should be red....

The first day of a new month, a new blog and a damned good bottle of Burgundy.

Sylvain Cathiard Nuits St Georges Premier Cru Murgers 1999:
Cathiard makes beautiful Vosne-Romanée wines for lovers of beautiful Burgundy. He is the best source of the Vosne Premier Cru Malconsorts, although sadly for your humble narrator once the wines hit Blighty they are mind-numbingly expensive. Hence I was rather pleased to pick up a few bottles of this for less than thirty pounds a bottle. A damned good Nuits it is too. It has Nuits power and is not short of acidity, but has lovely exotic, complex fruit that does remind one of Vosne wines very much. The fruit character was really pleasing, and it lingered on the finish for a very long time. Despite the reputation of Nuits for beefy and tannic wines this was terribly satisfying to drink now. It would have aged very well, but it was not in the least bit hard. After an hour in a decanter my partner and I finished this faster than a smoker gets to the smoking area after a trans-Atlantic flight. Lovely wine.

Burgundy is obviously one of the most pleasing red wines. Not only can it be analysed in intellectual terms, but also they are often (if one buys carefully) lovely, sexy, hedonistic wines that almost beg one to do something amorous after a couple of glasses. I do like Burgundy.