We're gearing up for a rather special Burgundy offer later this spring (if Spring ever arrives, given the amount of snow we've had recently). Watch this space for a 2008 vintage special later. So it's perfect that we're now working with Caviste in Hampshire to select some amazing wines from some incredible producers for you. What Mr Caviste doesn't know about Burgundy isn't worth knowing.

Yesterday, a three-strong buying team left the UK by EuroStar for a two-day tasting tour of the region. They've just sent me their first update, and already I'm jealous of some of the wines they've been tasting! Especially as it's just been announced that this is officially our coldest winter since 1978, so a good hot cuppa seems rather more appropriate! Although it's funny how life always seems better after a glass of a stunning Mersault or Montrachet.

Mr Caviste, though, insists that they're working hard to sniff out the best wines at the keenest prices. Here's his first update, sent by one of the team from the back of a moving car driven by a grinning and very happy Mr. Caviste...

Earlier this morning we were treated to a showing of the wines from Bruno Colin. Bruno's wines demonstrate an incredible purity of fruit and are so elegant. The whites have a real mouth tingling acidity and are wonderfully fresh. The Chassagne Rouge 2008 was the pick of the reds for me with lovely ripe fruit and an alluring smoky, vegetal nose.

We've just finished a tasting at Bachelet Monnot where the brothers (see picture) have been producing exceptional quality Burgundy for the past 6 years. These young guys are incredible: their wines improve with every vintage and we were all blown away by their 2008's. Across the board their whites are rich, very concentrated wines with layer upon layer of rich, buttery almost tropical fruit characters. They also have a terrific acidity which gives them a streak of lemony freshness.

We all love these wines and are looking forward to showing them off to all our customers later this year.

Next up are Rene Lequin Colin and Vincent Bouzereau. Then a dinner in Puligny Montrachet tonight with many of the growers we met today.

We're focussing more on red Burgundy from the Cotes de Nuit tomorrow...

Saturday was a very busy day for Caviste. Some of Burgundy's finest producers joined us at Ashe Park in Hampshire for the 2nd Caviste Burgundy Festival. Over 100 people turned out to enjoy the lovely May weather and taste some stunning wines.

But there was one table that may have surprised Burgundy lovers. It belonged to Ruud Maasdam and Dorien Vermaas of Staete Landt winery in New Zealand. This Dutch couple emigrated nearly 2 decades ago to create their dream of fine boutique wines in one of the world's most productive wine-growing areas. So, we  sat Luud and Dorien down and asked: so, why did you choose the Blenheim area?

Caviste Burgundy Festival: Staet Landt

http://www.staetelandt.co.nz/

The Saturday newspaper round up at Surf4Wine...

Financial Times

Red and white go green, Jancis Robinson
Jancis Robinson has been running a campaign against extra-thick, extra-dark and extra-heavy bottles whose manufacturing and transporting costs are far more than those of regular bottles... [More]

 The Independent

Great burgundy vintages are usually thought of as red. But in 2007 the whites are better than the reds, Anthony Rose
'I wasn't going to comment on the latest burgundy arrival because the word on the grapevine wasn't sufficiently enthusiastic to justify it. That was before tasting the wines, and while I still don't believe 2007 is a vintage in which to sink your life savings, it merits attention for unexpected reasons. A great burgundy vintage is usually thought of as red, as in 1999, 2002 and 2005, and red wines and laying down are synonymous. 2007 is about the whites...' [More] 

 The Times

The Telegraph

 Bargain wines from Aldi and Lidl, Jonathan Ray
Aspirational thrift is the new byword among cash-strapped wine lovers

'Of all the supermarkets that crowd our streets (and I have half a dozen within five minutes walk), the credit crunch seems to have been kindest to Aldi and Lidl. "Our wine sales are up 40 per cent on last year," says Danny Gibson, wine buyer at Aldi. "We have just 65 wines on our list and I try to give as broad a range as possible. Some of our customers will only spend £3 a bottle and I have to get the best in that price range." .... [More]

The Guardian

Looking for a choice down under, Victoria Moore
There's more to New Zealand than sauvignon blanc.

"New Zealand," said a friend with the air of someone pleased to know what they're talking about. "They make good sauvignon blanc. Gooseberry tasting. Very delicious." And? I was subjected to another moment of preening. "Pinot noir. Delicious. Good enough to rival burgundy, and better value." Anything else? There was a pause and then, in a halting voice, "Something else white?"...  [More]

Early start in the office today, then a dash to catch train to London to taste 2006 Burgundies from Jean-Claude Boisset and Jaffelin.

I was interested to read Jamie Goode's Blog yesterday about Burgundy 2006 and cheese - today's tasting was at the Cinnamon Club near Westminster Abbey and lunch paired white and red Burgundy with modern Indian cooking. This might have seemed a bizarre idea at first, but I have had some very successful pairings of good Indian food with wine, particularly big reds without too much tannin. So, I was almost as eager to see how the food/wine pairings worked out as to taste the latest vintages from two of our favourite producers.

The Burgundy 2006's on show, some 37 wines, showed good style - typical of what I have come to expect from Jean-Claude Boisset winemaker Grégory Patriat. Grégory is on record as saying 'As a rule, I like atypical wines which fly in the face of tradition and conventional wisdom. My Pommard Premier Cru wines have a rather feminine, lacy character, while the Savigny is rather rustic, with ripe, tightly-packed tannins. That's the way the terroir gave them to us, so let's not try and change the style ! Although it's true that I have a preference for fruity, rounded wines, I also like them to be able to last over time.' We were lucky enough to welcome Grégory to Oxford twice in the last two years to showcase latest vintages, and so we have got to know his style well and it is good taste the wines of a new vintage to see how he has worked with what nature gave him.

Those with infinitely more knowledge of Burgundy than me have often written that Burgundy is as much, if not more, about the producer as the vintage. Find a good producer and stick to him. Burgundy can be a nightmare with a myriad of producers, villages and vineyards. So finding a good producer that can produce the best a vintage can each year is a must and that is what we have done, I think, in working with Jean-Claude Boisset. Jaffelin is part of the Boisset group (which is huge and J-C Boisset is only one small part) and we brought a couple of their wines on board last year - so I was looking forward to tasting a greater range today. At Surf4Wine we do not pretend to be Burgundy specialists or experts, but I do love good Burgundy, so wanted to have some benchmark wines on our list - we have, in my opinion, found those with Boisset, and also, now, Jaffelin.

I'll blog about some of the individual wines in another post, but what about the wine and Indian food? Well, it kinda worked. There was a lovely lightly spiced Salmon starter that worked very well with the St. Aubin 'Sur Gamay' 2006 - this was largely because the Salmon wasn't too spicy and the St. Aubin was rich with a touch of spice, working well on that best of food and wine pairing notions - partner like with like. Sometimes extremes or opposites work but the other, lighter white Burgundy (I even forget which other white wine they choose, so unfriendly was the combination!) was overwhelmed by even the mildest spice.

The main course was Squab Pigeon , which was a tad too hot for me (I love Indian food, but not too hot. I like the spice flavors and combinations, but not too much heat from the Chilli). This needed a 'big wine to work with it rather than be blown away. The Gevrey Chambertin I brought in from the tasting room worked pretty well with touches of spice and some rich, ripe cherry flavours to match up to the richness of the food.

All in all, a fascinating wine tasting, and some more than interesting food and wine combinations that if just seen on paper might well have not been believed. All goes to prove that the proof is in the eating (drinking!).

See our full range of Jean-Claude Boisset wines.