Burgundy & Beyond

PREVIOUS TASTINGS ARCHIVE – FEBRUARY 2021

No wine region on the planet inspires such a fanatical following as Burgundy. Famed mostly for its Chardonnay whites and Pinot Noir reds, this area in the east of France stretches from close to Champagne in the North, down to close to the Rhône Valley in the South, covering a sometimes bewildering array of appellations, climates and terroirs.

Over the two sessions Tom will introduce Burgundy, its regions, wine styles and classifications. The tasting will feature two classics: a crisp, elegant and unoaked Chablis from the far north of the region, and a red Hautes-Côtes de Beaune from much further south, explaining what makes these terroirs so special and Burgundy’s expression of Chardonnay and Pinot such a compelling model for the world. To explore that further, we’ll taste a Chardonnay and Pinot of a similar price, vintage and style, but coming from other places, to compare and contrast what each can offer: a premium unoaked Chardonnay from California and a superb Pinot Noir from a perhaps unlikely hot-spot, Germany.

Completing our line-up are a white and a red chosen on the theory of “if you like that, try this.” Burgundy is an expensive region, so Tom has chosen two slightly less expensive wines, not made from Chardonnay or Pinot, but made in a similar style and from grape varieties that Tom thinks could appeal to lovers of Burgundy’s two great grapes.