We go out to Burgundy each November to evaluate the wines from the previous year’s vintage. The week is hugely intensive and could easily be limited to tasting the marvellous wines of the Côte d’Or, drifting from Leflaive to Sauzet to Lafon in a haze of momentous flavours. However, we push on rushing up to Chablis, down to the Macônnais and back through the Côte Chalonnaise trying to find you those marvellous white burgundies that have all the style of the most famous villages, but not the price tags that go with them. And we are successful; here they are below, together with some lovely wines from the hill villages of the Côte d’Or... Auxey-Duresses, Saint-Romain and Pernand-Vergelesses.
2003 has produced concentrated wines with low acidities. In 2002 this was one of Europe’s most successful regions with balanced, concentrated wines. 2001 is a good vintage, the best being well balanced with good fruit. 2000 is a very fine vintage in the Côte d’Or. 1999 saw excellent wines in Chablis, the Côte de Beaune and the Mâconnais from the best growers. 1998 is a good vintage with forward concentrated whites for the mid-term. 1997 produced opulent wines reminiscent of the 1992s. 1996 whites were good especially in Chablis. 1995 saw reduced yields combined with a perfect ripening season produce the best wines of the decade so far.
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