Burgundian Bliss

 

I’ve always enjoyed working in the wine trade, there’s no secret there but I enjoy days when my Outlook calendar tells me that there’s a Marketing Meeting in the morning and a staff tasting in the afternoon. Once a quarter we have a review when all the Yapp team convene at our HQ in Mere so this presented an ideal opportunity for us all to brush up on our Burgundy. With 17 wines on our tasting sheets we set off to revisit the spiritual home of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir – but also taking in some Aligoté and Gamay along the way.

 

 

Burgundy is a complex but rewarding region for oenophiles and is probably one of the areas that everyone could quote if asked to name a French wine growing region (I’d wager Bordeaux would be up there too). Looking at my notes from the tasting, Bordeaux has 57 different appellation controlées whereas Burgundy has over 600 and produces just 45% of the volume of wine that Bordeaux puts out there (this includes Beaujolais that makes up the lions share).

 

 

Armed with the knowledge that there’s barely been a bad vintage in Burgundy since 1984 (although 1991 wasn’t great) we started with a flight of 7 whites to taste through. We revisited some Yapp staples: The Chablis: Domaine Christophe Camu 2012 and Stéphane Brocards Pouilly-Fuissé: 2012 and Meursault 2011 were all as dependable as I’d hoped. We were also let loose on some other great Burgundian whites – personally I was quiet taken with the more rustic Santenay, Edmond Monnot 2010.

 

 

As we motored along on to some reds we again went home and away with some Yapp staples alongside some wines sourced by our Burgundy expert Jackie Dyer - who regularly resides on the Côte Chalonnaise. We compared, side by side, François Gay’s Beaune Premier Crus ‘Les Teurons’ from the 2009 and 2010 vintages and then repeated this with Gevrey-Chambertain ‘Aux Corvées (Domaine Henri Richard) 2010 (a Village wine) against their Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru 2008. We rounded off the tasting with an archive bottle of Nuits Saints Georges 1er Cru 'Les Murgers' 2002 that was rather a treat – we do currently sell the 2009 incarnation should you want to explore further yourselves!

 

 

It was a great chance to become acquainted with wines that I knew and some that I didn’t – as I drove home I did however wish I’d taken a steer and grabbed a bottle to round off the day in style! Should you want to experience some Burgundian Bliss – here’s a cracking mixed case from our current Spring offers, or you can browse our range of Burgundy wine here.
Santé!