On Monday evening the doors of the Caledonian Club were opened with a typically ebullient Scottish welcome for Justerini & Brooks’ ‘Red Burgundy by Village’ tasting. More than 150 guests, some old friends, au fait with the riches of our Burgundy portfolio, some uninitiated, joined us to taste over 60 wines arranged by commune.
It was wonderful to see so many enthusiasts enjoying the superb wines on display. Giles, our Buying Director, had carefully selected a range of wines to show off the breadth and depth of our offering. Despite Burgundy being flavour of the month, a label it has proudly worn for several years now, we were still able to showcase a multitude of gems from our stocks. Many samples hailed from 2007 and 2008 – harvests that were not without complication. However, these unsung vintages ably display the skill of our winemakers and the strides that Burgundy as a region has made in the past decade or two. They are also years that are rather flattering to drink right now! In some cases, discerning collectors had already relieved us of our 2007 and 2008 examples, so 2009, 2010 and 2011 stepped into the breach. The 2009s and 2010s are still displaying their youthful, fruit characters and are clearly class acts. The 2011s showed brilliant purity and silky textures and promise to be very fine drinkers in years to come.