Savigny-les-Beaune 1er cru La Batailliere Aux Vergelesses 2005, Albert Morot

This premier cru Savigny, a monopole, came from the same auction, along with a couple of premier cru Beaunes.

I had the privilege of visiting this domaine in February 2007 with ACC and H. I remember this trip quite vividly because we missed breakfast that day as the domaine is on the outskirts of Beaune and we had to allow time to find it. I hadn't had any coffee, it was a freezing cold morning, and the chateau initially appeared to be deserted. Not a good start.

But then our host (the impressively named Geoffrey Choppin de Janvry) turned up with his dog in tow and gave us a very classy tasting using Riedel glasses - I've never been to a tasting before or since where they used those! We tasted our way through various 2006 and 2005 premier cru Beaunes and my impression was that these were tannic wines which would need some time to come round, but there was one in particular where I recorded that it was too good to spit out, so I waited till Geoffrey's back was turned and then glugged it, in breach of all tasting etiquette.

So I had high expectations of this wine. We decanted it about half an hour before we drank it, and it had a lovely dark purple colour. But whereas the cask sample of 2006 Savigny which I tasted in 2007 had cherries and raspberries on the nose, here we detected chocolate, blackcurrant and roast meats - more of a claret nose!

On the palate, it was not what I was expecting at all. Savigny is normally quite silky and smooth and relatively fruity, but this was not like that at all. It had monster tannins and not enough fruit to balance them. We had it with a steak, and not even that could make this a wine which was enjoyable to drink. I found it a struggle, and wished I was drinking the village Savigny from Maison Champy instead. I find this very strange, as in the words of the great Anne Parent, the 2005s were wines that "made themselves" and at the tasting I liked the house style.

We looked up the domaine in Clive Coates' book on Burgundy and found that he said the wines were not rich enough for the oak. Now I'm wondering what to do with my two Beaune 2005s - I think they will need to be tucked away and we will have to come back to them in 5 years' time and hope that the tannins have softened by then. I'm not going to write this domaine off just yet.

Domaine Leflaive Bourgogne Blanc 2007

I've been a fan of Domaine Leflaive's bourgogne blanc for a while, and one of my first en primeur purchases was a case of the 2002 which we drank in 2008-09 and which gave great pleasure to all who tried it. So I was thrilled to pick up a case of the 2007 at a recent auction. One tends to think of bourgogne blanc as entry-level stuff, but in the case of Domaine Leflaive this is misleading. This wine puts many premier crus to shame but sadly is priced accordingly - it's going for roughly £35 a bottle according to Wine Searcher. Very nice to get it for considerably less than that!

It turned up in a wooden case which I shall be adding to my collection. Although it's a bit early to be drinking it, we couldn't resist a bottle to see how it was getting on. I was in charge of opening it and narrowly avoided dislocating my shoulder getting the cork out, thereby avoiding a trip to the local A&E. (Time to get a new corkscrew, hint hint G.)

We decanted it about half an hour before drinking. It was a light gold colour. We immediately recognised it on the nose - it's one of those wines which has a unique and distinctive smell, quite lemony and oaky. On the palate, it was lovely - well-balanced, elegant and precise but with considerably acidity. Very Puligny in style, which is to be expected as Domaine Leflaive are one of the top producers in Puligny.

I doubt whether I'll ever be in a position to buy their higher end stuff - a quick check of Corneys website shows that the only wine they have from Leflaive at the moment is a 2008 premier cru Meursault which is going for £60, ouch, so it is a real privilege to drink this. It's the kind of wine that makes me sit there with a silly smile on my face. If it were a premier cru, it would be a high 9, verging on a 10.

It's beginning to drink now but if I have any self-control I ought to pace it over the next 5 years. No more than 2 bottles a year then, for special occasions. Definitely not to be drunk on a Monday night just for the hell of it! But then I would never do anything like that.

Sunday lunch, 6th June

Last Sunday we went over to the Roti in South Kensington for lunch, an establishment which focuses, wisely in my view, on roast chicken. It's under new ownership but I was pleased to see that the fundamentals remained the same - in particular the fact that they do a great deal on corkage.

We were celebrating G's birthday so ACC brought along a couple of fine bottles and G brought along a couple he'd found in Paris. I didn't bring anything but I did pick up the bill.

First up was a bottle of white Cote de Beaune, La Grande Chatelaine 2006 from Giboulot. G got this in Paris and was understandably excited, as Gibbers is top notch booze. I've had the privilege to visit the domaine in Beaune, with ACC and it was one of the best tastings I've been to. He's passionate about his wines, which are biodynamic and made in tiny quantities - there's a sense that they're his babies (similar to Anne Parent) and they have an incredible purity to them. We've only been put off because they're relatively expensive, which is understandable, and being biodynamic you need to decant at least an hour before drinking which is somewhat inconvenient if you come home in need of something NOW after a hard day at the office. But I'm getting to the stage now where I'd rather splash out on something wonderful than have more of something pedestrian.

G's second bottle was a red Santenay from Jean-Claude Belland, Clos des Gravieres 1er cru 2003. ACC told us that Berrys used to sell Belland's stuff, so the fact that G got this in Monoprix did not count against it. It was impressive for a Santenay - not a highly regarded appellation - and a reminder to self that I like the 2003s now (I didn't like them at first but am prepared to admit I was wrong)!

ACC then produced the 2007 Ladoix from Domaine Parent. I was favourably impressed - I liked the jammy fruit - and could be tempted to get some of this in due course.

Finally, ACC wheeled out this Bonnezaux which is a sweet wine from the Loire from Domaine des Gagneries, 1999. He told us that he got this at a very favourable price some years ago and we were privileged to drink the last bottle. Smashing stuff, with good acidity. We didn't have pudding in the end (despite the attractive menu) and it didn't matter as this wine was fine by itself. We agreed that it was a better lunchtime wine than a Sauternes would have been. I haven't had much Bonnezaux but this was a reminder that it's a style I find very appealing.

After this we wandered down the road to the gelateria and then made our way to Carluccios for a digestif (grappa for G, Frangelico for me, and a dodgy Italian brandy for ACC). An great end to an excellent lunch!