Red burgundy tasting

On Wednesday I went to the red burgundy tasting at Edward Parker Wines HQ in Battersea, which complemented the white burg tasting a couple of weeks ago. It was well-attended and it was good to see some familiar faces including my brother and sister-in-law. Once again the tasting offered wines from 2007 and earlier which are drinking now, in order to give a picture of what their 2008 en primeur equivalents might be like in a few years' time.

First up was a red Mercurey from Domaine Pagnotta who are based in Chagny. I've had a fair bit of this wine and generally find it to be relatively light and perfectly pleasant but not thrilling. G who arrived late expressed an unfavourable opinion and I wonder if his glass came from a different bottle from mine, as I've noticed some bottle variation before now.

After that we had a Bourgogne Rouge La Chapelle from Domaine Nudant who are based in Ladoix. I'm a big fan of this wine and have some sitting on my wine rack as we speak, but it is only a Bourgogne Rouge and has an elegant, understated light style. It was overshadowed on Wednesday by the blockbusters that were to follow.

The Chambolle-Musigny from Domaine Henri Felettig was a real crowd-pleaser. It was soft and charming and just utterly delicious. I already knew that G rated Felettig highly as he got to visit the domaine last year, but on Wednesday everyone agreed that this was a fabulous wine. Their Vosne-Romanee, a blend of grapes from three different premier cru vineyards, was also very fine but clearly not ready yet and therefore not as delicious (yet) as the Chambolle.

Then came a Santenay from Domaine de la Choupette. This is another domaine which I missed out on visiting last year but from all accounts are lovely to work with and their wines are very approachable and succulent, and well-priced. They are definitely on my "buy every year" list.

After that we tried two wines from Domaine Alain Guyard. The Vosne-Romanee Aux Reas 2006 was an absolute corker. It had everything you want from a cote de nuits red - power, finesse, elegance, lovely fruit. Just wonderful. ACC had been raving about it when we were in Burgundy in January and now I could see why. Again everyone loved it and I've promised my sister-in-law that we'll have some at Christmas one year, it's that kind of wine. Not everyday drinking! Resist that thought!

We also had the Gevrey-Chambertin 2005 from Guyard but next to the Vosne, it paled in comparison. Next up was the Savigny-les-Beaune 2004 from Domaine Michel Martin which was respectable, but not a showstopper, and not quite as exciting as its white equivalent which was arguably the wine of the evening at the whites tasting. After that, we had the Ladoix 2004 from Anne Parent, which had savoury black fruits (G said tar), is almost the same price as the Savigny and which I'd go for every time.

Finally we had two unexpected treats, a Bourgogne Rouge from Pacquet, which is a recent find and which will probably come into its own in the summer, and a white Meursault 1er cru Les Gouttes d'Or from Moret-Nomine, which was delicious and the style of big fat Meursault that I adore, but very young. Fortunately G has bought half a case so I didn't have to!

All in all, a very impressive range of red burgundies at all levels, with several absolute gems. I really think this was one of the best wine-tastings ACC has ever done, a real treat for a pinotphile. It says something that I am able to write all this from memory, as I left my tasting notes behind!