It will soon be my 40th Burgundy vintage with Justerini & Brooks this autumn, but for now I look back on the Burgfest review for the 2011 white wines tasted earlier this year. 

Last Tuesday Justerini & Brooks welcomed Julie and Baptiste Guinaudeau from Château Lafleur to London. Our charming guests hosted a masterclass tasting in our Mayfair premises followed by an exclusive dinner in our private dining room in St James’s.

Baptiste Guinaudeau led the masterclass tasting. We began with Château Grand Villages reds from 2008 and 2009, along with a Château Grand Villages white from 2013. For those not au fait with the Guinaudeau’s home property in the commune of Mouillac, these wines offer incredible value for money and plenty of class. The new and exciting Champs Libres Blanc followed - 100% Sauvignon from Sancerre clones, grown on pure limestone and made in tiny quantities – it showed tremendous breed and complexity.

Clos Vougeot

Two full flights of Clos Vougeot were tasted, 17 wines in total. What we saw was a little inconsistent with many falling short of their Grand Cru status. The easy winner on the day was the stellar Anne Gros example - masculine, broad shouldered packed with blueberry and bramble, real Grand Cru depth of fruit, densely textured with outstanding length and complexity . Other good Clos Vougeots were also from members of the Gros family, Micheal and Bernard and negocient Jadot.

Gevrey Chambertin: To cover the Premieres and Grand Crus of Gevrey ten flights were tasted. In no other village is the interpretation of the same terroirs so diverse. The modernist black coloured, high extract styles were still represented but with fewer extreme examples than in previous years. On the other hand, whole bunch ( with stalks ) fermentation is becoming widespread, throwing in another dimension for the tasting team to take into account.

Corton: When tasting Corton at such events it’s worth remembering that the Hill of Corton lies several kilometres north of Beaune whereas Pommard and Volnay are equidistant south. 

In a secluded location in Beaune over the late August bank holiday the most recently bottled vintage of Pinot Noir was put under the microscope.