Having recently tasted our way through the majority of the wines we are offering from the fabulous 2009 vintage, I am totally resolved to drinking more Burgundy this year!
Many wine writers have rated the vintage as one of the best ever, while others say it is not quite as good as the 2005 (but that vintage has long since sold out), and whatever you read, the simple fact is that there are exciting wines to drink at every level, not just the top end. Many of the simple village wines offer as much immediate enjoyment as do the very popular New World Pinot Noirs that we are selling so successfully today, but with the additional dimension of having true Burgundian characteristics or ‘terroir’, something which cannot be replicated elsewhere it would seem. Nicolas Rossignol, something of a super star winemaker in Volnay, has produced a stunningly attractive simple Bourgogne Rouge, packed with dense, velvety Pinot fruit, which can be drunk immediately or cellared for a year or two. Something of a bargain. And if I were to choose today just one white, from the plethora of great white Burgundy on our list, it would undoubtedly be Paul Jaquesson’s Rully Premier Cru Pucelle, which with its delightful strain of sweet fruit and mineral intensity completely wowed a room full of tasters.
The purity of fruit, fresh expression and relatively light alcohol levels of these wines make them an important part of my New Year ‘stay healthy’ regime!