Maison Roche de Bellene, Vieilles Vignes, Volnay, Burgundy, France
Good French Pinot Noir is very hard to beat and this one from Maison Roche de Bellene in the Volnay region is excellent. Dry, soft with excellent balance and flavours of cherry and raspberry with notes of oak and slight hints of earthiness. At £40 bottle its rather pricey but worth a try. Its like buying a second hand Rolls Royce, on my wish list 😉
Veuve Ambal, Cremant de Bourgogne, Grande Cuvee NV, Burgundy, France
I like crémants because they tend to be fresh and vibrant, more fruit driven rather than toasty notes driven. This one from Veuve Ambal, Burgundy in a good example. Clean and fresh with citrus and just a hint of grapefruit it’s lovely to sip in the sun, watching the world drift by. At £30 a bottle it’s not cheap, more silver than gold, but worth trying.
Domaine du Bicheron, Mâcon-Péronne, 2020, Burgundy, France
If you don’t like Chardonnay then try a good white Burgundy because you can see the grape at its best and this one from Domaine du Bicheron is pretty good, not amazing but at £16 a bottle it’s a good starting place. Dry, light with high acidity and has citrus flavours and a little apple poking through. There’s a minerality, cleaness and freshness with good length. Great with fish or a zesty salad.
Patriarche Pere et Fils Bourgogne Chardonnay
Love it or hate Chardonnay, Burgundy does seem to produce better Chardonnay than most other places. This is a competent dry white wine with plenty of acidity and depth of flavour although a little one dimensional. Citrus and apple are in there but it’s a little sharp for me. At £16 a bottle there are better Burgundy Chardonnay’s out there.
Prosper Maufoux, Puligny-Montrachet, 1er Cru, La Garenne 2018, Burgundy, France
This Chardonnay from Prosper Maufoux, Premier Cru, in Burgundy, France is a great example of an amazing wine, one that all should try but at £100+ a bottle very few will. Its dry with great length and balanced acidity. Lots of stone fruit and a softness that coats the whole mouth, truly superb.
Cave de Lugny, Mâcon-Lugny, La Carte, 2019, Burgundy, France
Ah a rather good Burgundy is worth trying and this one from Cave de Lugny is very good, really very good. Dry with plenty of acidity and good length. It’s got lots going on on the flavour side with peach, apple, melon, oak notes and mineral undertone all rounded with soft butter and vanilla hints.
At £15 a bottle it’s amazing value.
Chateau Fuisse, Pouilly Fuisse, Le Clos Monopole, 2014, FranceYou know if you have good wine friends when they bring you a bottle of this Chateau Fuisse, Pouilly Fuisse, Le Clos Monopole, 2014 to dinner.
Some of the other people at the dinner table were very excited when they saw this wine, I was very excited when I drink this wine.
Coming from burgundy you do expect good wine but this was exceptional it was medium bodied reasonably dry with excellent balance of acidity and flavours. You had lime, peach, apple and honey flavours with mineral notes with an underlying creamy butter that had just the right level of oak underlying it all.
The worst thing is that at £60 a bottle most people will never get to try such an amazing mine.
Chateau Du Meursault, 1st Cru, 2002, Burgundy, France
Bold, Dry with great balance of acidity this Chateau Du Meursault, 1st Cru, 2002 from Burgundy is excellent. Smells of honey and butter with stone fruit that comes through in the flavour with pear hints. A little thicker in texture than many white wines it’s a grown up wine for a dinner party.
At £40 a bottle it’s pricey but blimey it’s good.
Hospices de Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune, Premier Cru, Cuvée Fouquerand, Alain Corcia, 2002, Burgundy
Big name and big price but this is really quite a special wine from Hospices de Beaune in Burgundy. Although it’s 19 years old it has fabulous structure soft tannins which are firm but not excessive with beautiful soft red fruit flavours. There’s not much on the aroma side but it glides down very well with or without food. I had this with annoying of pork with a red wine reduction and the pairing was perfect.
Some people will think it’s overpriced and I get that but sometimes it’s so nice to be able to taste something that is old but where the winemaker has made it but you can enjoy it decades down the line. Not your average drink but they’re are other wines out there for those times.
Majestic wine do have some crackers and this Cremant Blanc de Blancs from Domaine Papillon-Lavoignat in Burgundy shows off a cracker. Made in the traditional method with possible Aligote with Chardonnay. Its dry, fresh and fruit driven. delightful pale lemon it colour with pear, apple and lemon notes and creamy after note popping in there. Allow it to warm up a little to get the flavours as they are reasonable subtle. At £14 on a mix 6 at Majestic its a “spot on the money” excellent sparkling.
Domaine Papillon-Lavoignat, Cremant Blanc de Blancs, Burgundy, France