Beaujolais tasting, 16th April

On Thursday evening I set forth for the wilds of zone 2, all in a good cause i.e. the opportunity to drink some top notch Beaujolais. The tasting was run by the Burgundy Portfolio and held in a venue I hadn't visited before, the Lisa Norris Gallery. It was a pleasure to meet Lisa and her husband and the format was the one I most enjoy, where we sit round a big table munching on cheese and charcuterie while ACC tells us colourful stories about the wines we're tasting and fields questions.

First up was the Cote de Vaux 2013 from Jerome Balmet which first appeared at last spring's tasting. Baron McG and I split a case between us which arrived recently and I've been enjoying it - it's light, fruity, relatively low in alcohol and very gluggable.

The rest of the wines were from Domaine Benoit Trichard and we tasted them in pairs. Apologies for my somewhat sparse notes due to scintillating conversation and the presence of an enormous and tempting cheeseboard close at hand.

The first two wines were from 2013: the Cote de Brouilly (not to be confused with Brouilly itself) and a Moulin-a-Vent "Mortperay" which was a cask sample. The Moulin-a-Vent was generally preferred among the attendees with its dark black fruits, but I'm a follower of the Cote de Brouilly and in fact already added some to my cellar back in January.

The next pair was the same two wines but this time the 2011 vintage. These were easier to assess with some maturity on them, and this time the general preference was for the Cote de Brouilly, which had an engaging hint of liquorice. I've been steadily working my way through a case of this and it's a very enjoyable week-night wine, good with sausages.

Finally, we tasted a 2007 Cote de Brouilly against a 2011 Moulin-a-Vent "Cuvee l'Exception". The 2007 was quite earthy, gamey and savoury, and excellent value at £12.50 a bottle. But for me, the Cuvee l'Exception was the wine of the evening. I'm a big fan of this wine and a magnum of the 2009 is sitting in my wardrobe as we speak, but hadn't tried the 2011 before. It was rich and delicious, and built to last. I succumbed to a case and will try not to guzzle it too quickly as I suspect it may get even better with time. At £20 a bottle it costs barely more than a bourgogne rouge these days, and it is certainly worth it.

An honourable mention must go to the cheese-procurer - some wonderful Epoisses was produced towards the end of the tasting which delighted Baron McG and myself. Merci beaucoup to ACC for another excellent evening.