Last week a group from the BBR Fine Wine Team visited Burgundy to taste the 2007s, which we will be offering next January. Some may say hard work, others a treat: in truth it’s both. 364 wines in five days is a test, but the pleasure one gets and the insight one gains into the wines and the characters of this beautiful region is something that I am happy to beg for each year.

The wines were a joy. The whites are excellent across the board; I’d say a 2004-style vintage with extra muscle and acidity. Pure, focussed wines that are more athletic than the fat and rich 2005s, and more poised than the pretty 2006s. A vintage for purists, as Patrick Javillier remarked.

The reds are slightly more heterogenous. The hallmarks of the vintage for me were purity, elegance and delicacy, and what was clear to me was that the growers who saw the potential for some ethereally pure Pinot expression have made some outstanding wines. A marathon tasting of 36 wines chez Nicolas Potel was the perfect example of this, and also showed what a “terroir” vintage this is: Gevrey tastes like Gevrey, Vosne like Vosne and the difference from vineyard to vineyard is quite, quite clear.

Burgundy remains my favourite place in the world and my favourite wine. I can only compare the plethora of different styles and terroir that express themselves through Pinot Noir with music or poetry. This is what wine is all about.