Tomorrow I am off to Burgundy, Alsace and Champagne; oddly enough these are three of my four favourite wine regions. To dine we will be revisiting La Ferme de la Ruchotte and going for two meals at the best place I have ever dined, l'Arnsbourg.

Of course, there will be wine tastings: Roulot, Roumier, Lambrays, Dujac, Arlaud and hopefully Mugnier and Pernot in Burgundy. Only three tastings in Alsace, but we are super-high-grading: Trimbach, Sorg and Boxler.

All of these I will write up, along with the general drinking that will no-doubt occur, but it seems unlikely I'll be able to post these whilst I am away. I'll be back on Tuesday 8 July and will post two postings a day from my trip until the site is up-to-date

I've enjoyed the last couple of Prager wines, so when I saw this in Fortnum's I thought it well worth a try.

Riesling Smaragd "Stenriegl" 2006, Prager
A highly perfumed nose of wonderful apricot and peach aromas. There is a strong earthiness to this wine, that grounds its more expressive, floral side. This is perfectly balanced. It tastes absoutely fantasic, with its floral, fruity flavours in perfect harmony with is dense, mineral weightiness. This is really lovely, lovely balance and style.

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.

Roman Niewodnicszanski often makes top Riesing, this is no disappointment.

Riesling Scharzhofberger "Pergentsknopp" 2005, Van Volxem
A lovely nose of sweet citrus fruit with a lovely savoury character.There is a hint of celery to it which is oddly appealing. It doesn't smell particularly botrytised, but there is plenty of ripe fruit there. The alcohol seems in perfect harmony on the nose (claimed 12%). The palate has truly lovely bastard-loads of fruit, with great minerality and a thrilling edge of acidity. It is not overly sweet, and the fruit and minerality make this thrilling. This has an obvious high degree of complexity, but is going through a bit of a closed patch. I would wager this would be a lot better in five or more years time, but it has a thrilling, nervous, edgy life to it now. Lovely stuff, and it is a relative bargain.

OK, I admit that very few Sauvignon Blancs do it for me, but this is horrible beyond my powers of description. I'll give being rude a go, though.

Sauvignon Blanc "Selection 94" 2006, Dog Point Vineyard
The nose is completely confected and contrived, clearly made from over-ripe fruit that has been cold-fermented. It is not all that clean, either. Utterly disgusting filth would be a fair description of the nose; it revolts in so many ways. I've had two mouthfuls and that is enough. It is blowsy and distinctly sweet, with truly horrible rotting fruit flavours. It lacks any balance, harmony, or even any nice flavours that would make one want even sip this wine gingerly. This wine is a slur on the good name of wine. How could anyone make this and, even more incredibly, expect people to pay money and drink it? I have been drinking so well recently that this wine is personally offensive; the winemaker generated this filth specifically to revolt those who like nice wine and I bet the bastard was targetting me in particular. I am eternally grateful that I didn't pay for this, but my bad mood at having tried it will last until someone punches the winemaker on my behalf.

This was quite delicious with the chicken I roasted earlier.

Chablis Grand Cru Preuses 2000, Domaine William Fevre
A lovely nose of earthy complexity and plenty of nuttiness. There is some lovely lemon fruit there as well. I am quite surprised by the degree of maturity displayed on the nose; this smells very much up for drinking. There is real density and weight on the palate, but the great minerality and wonderful acidity keep this well-balanced. The fruit is quite delicious and the finish is very long and pleasing. I don't think there is much point in keeping this wine any longer, I am under the impression it has peaked and will not get any better. It is quite tasty, though.