Burgundy

Burgundy beguiles. Burgundy beckons. Few could deny the beauty found in a great bottle of Burgundy, nor the sheer enjoyment to be had from a well-made Bourgogne. For so many, the wine journey ends up here, the complex terroirs offering endless variations of grower and vintage to keep one’s interest keen.

It is a region steeped in history, where the earliest records of vineyards date back a thousand years or more. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are peerlessly suited to growing here, both capable of producing wines of such sublime harmony and complexity that to taste them is to transcend one’s everyday notions of what is possible in a glass of wine.

No other wine region in the world has risen to such commercial and qualitative heights over the last twenty five years as Burgundy. Once viewed as hugely inconsistent, with swings of style from vintage to vintage, Burgundy is now a much better understood and trusted wine region thanks both to a plethora of established Domaines at the top of their game and the crop of exciting, young, wine-making talent who have joined them.

Not easy for the beginner, Burgundy offers a complex labyrinth of vineyards and producers to choose from. However there is no finer demonstration of the impact of terroir than in this historical wine region – this, the complexity of the wines and their delicate intensity are what so thrill the growing band of Burgundy lovers across the globe.

The dramatically and consistently rising prices have lead to renewed interest in outer-lying, less expensive areas where new generations of producers have helped quality soar. The Maconnais is one such region - Domaine de la Chapelle and many others are showing just how complex and rewarding Pouilly-Fuissé can be, whilst the likes of Heritiers Lafon and Talmard are proving just how good Macon Villages and Vire-Clesse can be.

The Chalonnais is another such area, the revived Domaine de la Folie is now making outstanding examples of red and white Rullys, offering a finesse and quality that would go for double the price were they grown 10km further north. Moving to the quality heart-land, the Cote d’Or, there are bargains to be had from Bachelet-Monnot in Maranges, Remi Rollin in Pernand-Vergelesses, Thierry Pillot in St Aubin and Ch de Marsannay in Marsannay.

For those wanting the best of the best, the choice has never been greater, though the bottles are getting harder to track down. It won’t be long before the revived Chateau de Meursault are equalling the brilliant quality of benchmark Domaines such as Comte Lafon. Another relative newcomer is Domaine Genot-Boulanger who is snapping at the heals of the more established Sauzet and Leflaive Domaines.

For the reds, alongside hallowed names such as d’Angerville, Domaine du Comte Liger Belair, Mugnier, Rousseau and Roumier you now have fast-rising pretenders to the throne in Cecile Tremblay and a revitalised Bruno Clair.

The region has never been so exciting and we are delighted to be one of the UK’s biggest importers of fine burgundy, importing from over 55 Domaines.