An adventure in Burgundy

The deal...

Four wine professionals from London are off to Burgundy for 3 days of tasting (drinking?). Four winery visits leading up to the annual tasting of Burgundy wines at the Abbey in Tournus.

Burgundy has always been a but of a tricky deal in wine buying terms. Though the region is legendary in wine circles and features two of my favourite grapes - Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, I have far to often had to drink my way through gallons of mediocracy to find something that makes sense in terms of price/value. The really good stuff is impossible to get and expensive whilst anything near entry level always seems to disappoint. 

Well, the aim for the next few days is to find that gem, that little winner that you would proudly take to any dinner party and secretly drink way to much of at home. That special wine that isn't the most expensive, the most concentrated or even the best. I'm looking for a wine that is perfect everytime, a wine that hits never ceases to amaze when you drink it and never leaves you thinking about what you paid for it.

How it went...

The first winery - Meix-Foulot, in Mercurey was where we stopped that night - the wines were well made but were Pinots I can take or leave. To my taste they felt watery and light and though they were representative of wines from this southern part of Bourgogne, I was unimpressed. Nevertheless, the proprietor of the estate was lovely and after a long trip spent talking, dreaming and gagging about wine - they did the job they needed to.

The next day started with much coffee and a heavy head - the evening before spent eating the best steak tartar I've ever had and an amazing snail ravioli - check out Port des Anges in Beaune. Its a little expensive but decent with a good, smallish wine list.

The next 10 hours were a blur of vineyard walks, winery visits and tastings from Domaine Edmund Cornu in Ladoix to Jean Chauvenet in Nuits St Georges and onto Jean-Claude Belland in the Cote de Beaune. Many of the wines were truly excellent and 2007 will be a fine vintage for Burgundy with the wines well worth buying.

Bugundy is a complex region - with huge variation from vineyard to vineyard and quality difficult to pin point. As a general rule to regularly get good Burgundy you need to choose your producer first, the vintage next and finally the village where the wine was made. So, a good producer may produce a good wine in a bad year but a wine from a well known village could be quite average. You need to know your producers - this is true anywhere in the wine world but especially so in Burgundy.

Best producers (and their style):

Domaine Jean-Claude Belland - his wines are soft, fruity and very approachable. From the modest village of Ladoix the soft red fruits in his reds are truly gourgeous (his Maranges, Bourgogne rouge were easily the best sub £15 wines on show). Good Aloxe-Cortons, lovely Grand Cru Corton Cloas de la Vigne au Saint and the Chambertin Grand Cru a strong 8/10 among all the Chambertin's tasted. The Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru stole the show, it is full of de-comissioned Chambertin fruit and a top buy.

Domaine Bitouzet-Prieur - simmply some of the best Meursaults I have ever tasted - not so much the entry level village Meursault but rather the sublime 1er Cru Santenots and Perrieres. We had an '02 Santenots for the Gala dinner after the tasting and it was balanced, complex and truly world class.

Domaine Lignier - Top Chambolle-Musigny, soft, wild strawberry character and great value. The best wines were the Grand Cru Bonne Mares and Clos de la Roche - both 9-9.5/10 wines and drinking so nicely now.

Domaine Sordet - really lovely Pommard especially the 1 er Cru Clos de la Boucherottes - magnificent!

Did I find any gems? The truth is I found a few and reignited my love with Burgundy that had run a little dry recently. Cornu's Maranges would be the winner, a gem from this trip - unfussy, high quality, effortlessly drinkable, affordable (c. £15) and giving a real taste and insight into what is possible from this region. At the higher end it was a revelation - stunning wines of such variety and poise and passion. If you can get the good stuff, few things compare.