I have been too busy to blog of late: not just launching Inside Burgundy, but also preparing January’s Grand Burgundy Offer which is heading off to the printers even as I type. Several weeks of intense tasting, hard work but enjoyable, then the writing up of the tasting notes which soon drives home the paucity of my vocabulary compared to the subtle distinctions between one wine and another.

I have been trying to find the right balance between enthusiasm for the new vintage and not going over the top in ‘hype’. The rich, ripe soft fruit might easily have reminded me of 1959 had I been old enough to taste them at the same stage. Like ’59 I think 2009 is really exciting in both colours. After all this in depth immersion in Burgundy I am going to take a break and enjoy some old Bordeaux in the next few days. Among the treats tonight will be a Danish bottling of Château Pavie Macquin 1947, discovered while I was signing books in Copenhagen last month!