This is a longer version of an article also published in the Financial Times.
There are few uncontroversial statements in wine lore but here’s one of them: white burgundy is the classic white wine for entertaining. It is also inimitable – or at least has not yet been successfully imitated elsewhere. That said, white burgundy, made from Chardonnay grapes grown in minuscule historic vineyards in the variety’s homeland in north eastern France, is even more frustrating than red at the moment. It is available only in tiny quantities and in infuriatingly variable quality. But when it is good, its sap, savour, density and dryness is unrivalled, and the most sensational treat.
Fine wine from the Burgundian heartland of the Côte d’Or is not cheap. While basic Bourgogne Rouge from a good producer can be thoroughly satisfying, Bourgogne Blanc is all too often a bit thin and vapid (even if the late Denis Mortet’s 1996 was an exception to this rule even as recently as a few weeks ago). Oligarchs can head for a Montrachet from Domaine de la Romanée Conti (maybe 1999 or 1992) or a Chevalier Montrachet from Domaine Leflaive (1993, 1997 and 1999 showed best in a recent comparative tasting of vintages since 1991), but the rest of us should still be thrilled by many a lesser wine.
The 1999s, 2000s and 2002s are drinking particularly well now, although few of them are still commercially available. Even the rich, early-maturing 2003s are becoming difficult to find and most buyers will be nudged towards 2004 which is looking an increasingly attractive vintage for white burgundy. Marc Morey wines, made by his son-in-law Bernard Mollard, are well worth seeking out. Domaine Marc Morey, en Virondot 2002 Chassagne Montrachet (£27.40 A&B Vintners of Brenchley, £31.90 Four Walls Wine of Chilgrove) comes from a particularly blessed little parcel of vines just above Chassagne’s celebrated Cailleret vineyard. The 2001, as expected, is a little leaner but could please with a relatively simple fish dish. Domaine Marc Morey 2004 Chassagne-Montrachet (£21.90 Haynes Hanson & Clark of London SW1) is sumptuously good for a ‘basic village wine’ – wonderfully pure with real tension and length.
Meursault can in general supply richer white burgundies and Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, Charmes 2004 Meursault (£45.63 A&B Vintners) is most impressive for its combination of openness and lovely freshess. Pierre-Yves is the son of Marc Colin, ex winemaker at Domaine Marc Colin and married to the daughter of Jean-Marc Morey – hence the name Colin-Morey (got that?). He has set up his own negociant operation (one sometimes wonders who hasn’t) and acquired this fruit from a parcel of vines very close to the great Meursault Perrières vineyard. Not cheap, this wine is already showing very winningly and was delicious and already complex with seared tuna.
The particularly opulent Maison Deux Montille, Grands Charrons 2004 Meursault(£23.75 Genesis Wines of London SW1) is a little lighter but also drinking beautifully at the moment, an early product of the negociant set up by the brother and sister who played such memorable roles in the film Mondovino. A little nervier is Vincent Girardin, Le Limozin 2004 Meursault (£20.99 Waitrose) from a much bigger, more established negociant operation obviously benefiting from its expanded premises in Meursault. This is a wine that displays the textbook hallmark of wine quality, real persistence of flavour.
It is quite possible to find delicious Côte d’Or whites under £20 a bottle however. Another Colin and her husband produced Lequin-Colin, Les Charrières 2004 Chassagne Montrachet (£17.95 Stone Vine & Son of Twyford) which has notes of liquorice and lemon cream as well as real raciness. I had thought of David Duband as a red wine producer but David Duband 2004 Bourgogne Hautes Côtes shows that he can make excellent white too. Even though from vines at higher altitudes than the most famous vineyards, this one has classic Côte d’Or savour and density – although also apparently a deposit in bottle that has made Oddbins remove it from their shelves rather than sell it in selected stores at £17.99.
The Mâconnais region to the south, land of Pouilly Fuissé, is pressing increasingly hard on the heels of the classic Côte d’Or however with a host of white wine specialists such as Daniel Barraud, the Bret Brothers, Corsin, Ferret, Guffens Heynen, Merlin, Thévenet and Verget making better and better wines each year. (Berry Bros and Lea & Sandman have a particularly good range.) These producers have been paid the ultimate compliment of such stars as Comte Lafon of Meursault and then Domaine Leflaive of Puligny-Montrachet venturing south to start enterprises in the Mâconnais too.
The excellent Domaine Cordier’s wines are easier than many to find. They may not be cheap but are more satisfying and complex than many a Côte d’Or white. Domaine Cordier, Les Vignes Blanches 2003 Pouilly Fuissé (£19.95 Lea & Sandeman around London) is positively exotic with its aromas of bittersweet orange peel and the richness so typical of this vintage. Domaine Cordier, Les Crais 2005 St Véran (£17.49 Majestic) is full, golden, sweet and consoling offering a broad mouthful of rich flavour with enlivening hints of lemon and lime.
From another fine Mâconnais producer, Domaine Saumaize-Michelin, Les Hauts des Crays 2004 Pouilly Fuissé (£15.50 Montrachet of London SE1) has rewardingly bright fruit and should drink well over the next couple of years while we wait for the 2005s. Nor is there any hurry to drink Domaine Robert Denogent, La Croix 2004 Pouilly Fuissé (£15.69 Bibendum) which has equally exciting bright fruit as well as a slightly smoky nose.
Verget, the hugely successful negociant business set up by Jean-Marie Guffens-Heynen, has been on a roll recently – not least thanks to its adoption of screwcaps which seems to emphasize the house’s trademark of carefully delineated fruit. Farr Vintners of London SW8 have a good supply of Verget wines by the case (back to 1995) but Oddbins have managed to acquire quite a range of them to sell by the bottle. A tasting of a selection suggested that examples stoppered by screwcaps are much fresher than those under synthetic corks. Verget, Vergisson – La Roche 2004 Mâcon (£10.95 Lea & Sandeman) is particularly lively, and as refreshing as a cold shower.
Verget’s range of Mâconnais wines is complemented by some first class examples of the racy, nervy, slow-maturing wines from Burgundy’s northern outpost Chablis too. Verget, Terroirs de Chablis 2004 Chablis (£14.49 Oddbins special parcel) positively glistens with excitement. Like most good Chablis, it should continue to develop for many a long year in bottle but this is already a good, very classic drink.
Fine wine from the Burgundian heartland of the Côte d’Or is not cheap. While basic Bourgogne Rouge from a good producer can be thoroughly satisfying, Bourgogne Blanc is all too often a bit thin and vapid (even if the late Denis Mortet’s 1996 was an exception to this rule even as recently as a few weeks ago). Oligarchs can head for a Montrachet from Domaine de la Romanée Conti (maybe 1999 or 1992) or a Chevalier Montrachet from Domaine Leflaive (1993, 1997 and 1999 showed best in a recent comparative tasting of vintages since 1991), but the rest of us should still be thrilled by many a lesser wine.
The 1999s, 2000s and 2002s are drinking particularly well now, although few of them are still commercially available. Even the rich, early-maturing 2003s are becoming difficult to find and most buyers will be nudged towards 2004 which is looking an increasingly attractive vintage for white burgundy. Marc Morey wines, made by his son-in-law Bernard Mollard, are well worth seeking out. Domaine Marc Morey, en Virondot 2002 Chassagne Montrachet (£27.40 A&B Vintners of Brenchley, £31.90 Four Walls Wine of Chilgrove) comes from a particularly blessed little parcel of vines just above Chassagne’s celebrated Cailleret vineyard. The 2001, as expected, is a little leaner but could please with a relatively simple fish dish. Domaine Marc Morey 2004 Chassagne-Montrachet (£21.90 Haynes Hanson & Clark of London SW1) is sumptuously good for a ‘basic village wine’ – wonderfully pure with real tension and length.
Meursault can in general supply richer white burgundies and Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, Charmes 2004 Meursault (£45.63 A&B Vintners) is most impressive for its combination of openness and lovely freshess. Pierre-Yves is the son of Marc Colin, ex winemaker at Domaine Marc Colin and married to the daughter of Jean-Marc Morey – hence the name Colin-Morey (got that?). He has set up his own negociant operation (one sometimes wonders who hasn’t) and acquired this fruit from a parcel of vines very close to the great Meursault Perrières vineyard. Not cheap, this wine is already showing very winningly and was delicious and already complex with seared tuna.
The particularly opulent Maison Deux Montille, Grands Charrons 2004 Meursault(£23.75 Genesis Wines of London SW1) is a little lighter but also drinking beautifully at the moment, an early product of the negociant set up by the brother and sister who played such memorable roles in the film Mondovino. A little nervier is Vincent Girardin, Le Limozin 2004 Meursault (£20.99 Waitrose) from a much bigger, more established negociant operation obviously benefiting from its expanded premises in Meursault. This is a wine that displays the textbook hallmark of wine quality, real persistence of flavour.
It is quite possible to find delicious Côte d’Or whites under £20 a bottle however. Another Colin and her husband produced Lequin-Colin, Les Charrières 2004 Chassagne Montrachet (£17.95 Stone Vine & Son of Twyford) which has notes of liquorice and lemon cream as well as real raciness. I had thought of David Duband as a red wine producer but David Duband 2004 Bourgogne Hautes Côtes shows that he can make excellent white too. Even though from vines at higher altitudes than the most famous vineyards, this one has classic Côte d’Or savour and density – although also apparently a deposit in bottle that has made Oddbins remove it from their shelves rather than sell it in selected stores at £17.99.
The Mâconnais region to the south, land of Pouilly Fuissé, is pressing increasingly hard on the heels of the classic Côte d’Or however with a host of white wine specialists such as Daniel Barraud, the Bret Brothers, Corsin, Ferret, Guffens Heynen, Merlin, Thévenet and Verget making better and better wines each year. (Berry Bros and Lea & Sandman have a particularly good range.) These producers have been paid the ultimate compliment of such stars as Comte Lafon of Meursault and then Domaine Leflaive of Puligny-Montrachet venturing south to start enterprises in the Mâconnais too.
The excellent Domaine Cordier’s wines are easier than many to find. They may not be cheap but are more satisfying and complex than many a Côte d’Or white. Domaine Cordier, Les Vignes Blanches 2003 Pouilly Fuissé (£19.95 Lea & Sandeman around London) is positively exotic with its aromas of bittersweet orange peel and the richness so typical of this vintage. Domaine Cordier, Les Crais 2005 St Véran (£17.49 Majestic) is full, golden, sweet and consoling offering a broad mouthful of rich flavour with enlivening hints of lemon and lime.
From another fine Mâconnais producer, Domaine Saumaize-Michelin, Les Hauts des Crays 2004 Pouilly Fuissé (£15.50 Montrachet of London SE1) has rewardingly bright fruit and should drink well over the next couple of years while we wait for the 2005s. Nor is there any hurry to drink Domaine Robert Denogent, La Croix 2004 Pouilly Fuissé (£15.69 Bibendum) which has equally exciting bright fruit as well as a slightly smoky nose.
Verget, the hugely successful negociant business set up by Jean-Marie Guffens-Heynen, has been on a roll recently – not least thanks to its adoption of screwcaps which seems to emphasize the house’s trademark of carefully delineated fruit. Farr Vintners of London SW8 have a good supply of Verget wines by the case (back to 1995) but Oddbins have managed to acquire quite a range of them to sell by the bottle. A tasting of a selection suggested that examples stoppered by screwcaps are much fresher than those under synthetic corks. Verget, Vergisson – La Roche 2004 Mâcon (£10.95 Lea & Sandeman) is particularly lively, and as refreshing as a cold shower.
Verget’s range of Mâconnais wines is complemented by some first class examples of the racy, nervy, slow-maturing wines from Burgundy’s northern outpost Chablis too. Verget, Terroirs de Chablis 2004 Chablis (£14.49 Oddbins special parcel) positively glistens with excitement. Like most good Chablis, it should continue to develop for many a long year in bottle but this is already a good, very classic drink.
William Fèvre, the substantial Chablis operation owned by Bouchard Père et Fils, is another excellent Chablis address whose wines are relatively easy to find. Inevitably, the Chablis vintages currently on sale (mainly 2004 and lesser 2005s) tend to be too young to drink in an ideal world. The Domaine William Fèvre, Les Preuses 2004 Chablis Grand Cru (£30 Majestic), for example, is wonderfully promising but not nearly ready. Chablis from the hot 2003 vintage on the other hand is maturing much faster than other vintages and Domaine William Fèvre, Montmains 2003 Chablis Premier Cru (£15.99 Wimbledon Wine Cellar) is a particularly open example worth seeking out.
Once part of the J Moreau operation and still owner of the family vineyards, Christian Moreau, helped by his oenologist son Fabien, is an exciting new domaine in Chablis. Domaine Christian Moreau Père & Fils, Valmur 2004 Chablis Grand Cru (£25.45 Haynes Hanson & Clark of London SW1) is just starting to drink well whereas Domaine Christian Moreau Père & Fils, Clos 2004 Chablis Grand Cru (£26.60 HHC) should be cellared for at least three years but is probably an even better buy.
For hundreds more tasting notes on white burgundy see tasting notes list and for international stockists of these wines see www.winesearcher.com
Once part of the J Moreau operation and still owner of the family vineyards, Christian Moreau, helped by his oenologist son Fabien, is an exciting new domaine in Chablis. Domaine Christian Moreau Père & Fils, Valmur 2004 Chablis Grand Cru (£25.45 Haynes Hanson & Clark of London SW1) is just starting to drink well whereas Domaine Christian Moreau Père & Fils, Clos 2004 Chablis Grand Cru (£26.60 HHC) should be cellared for at least three years but is probably an even better buy.
For hundreds more tasting notes on white burgundy see tasting notes list and for international stockists of these wines see www.winesearcher.com