Burgundy

Nothing compares to red Burgundy’s epic synthesis of brambles, berries and cow shit. At its best it’s powerful yet weightless, rustic yet refined, as aromatic as lying under a hedge in a well-manicured garden with a bonfire close by. Chase the ultimate highs in the great crus of Vosné-Romanee, Chambolle-Musigny and Gevrey-Chambertin, or search out value in Burgundy’s humble, and much improved, outliers (Marsannay, Maranges, Hautes Côtes de Nuits…). White Burgundy, the king of white wines, is made of 100% Chardonnay, a blank canvas that also adapts to soils and micro-climates. The ultimate expression is grown in Le Montrachet vineyard and, according to Alexandre Dumas, should be “drunk on bended knee with head bared”. Puligny-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet, St Aubin, Meursault, Corton-Charlemagne, Chablis, Champagne, the Côte Chalonnaise, and the Mâconnais foster other interstellar examples.