Omnium Gatherum December 2009

A near perfect white burgundy

I have been on a sugar-free diet since the beginning of the month (which sadly precludes alcohol) but I allowed myself the luxury of sharing a bottle of white burgundy with friends this weekend. I should point out that following a sugar free diet means that my taste has changed and become much more sensitive to sugar.  Anything with sugar tastes very sweet indeed (thank goodness I have not had to taste any basic Aussie Chardonnay) and for some reason that I haven't fathomed out red wines taste slightly bitter. Anyway this wine is properly dry as it should be.

A White Burgundy that did not disappoint

Chassagne Montrachet, Grande Montagne 2005 (Louis Jadot)

I am always rather nervous about broaching some of my finer bottles of white burgundy having had so many costly disappointments in recent years, mostly from vintages in the late 1990s and early noughties. On New Year's Eve thankfully this wine did not disappoint:  mid-straw to gold; rich, ripe honeyed aromas with smoky complexity; rich on the palate, almost to the point of sweetness, honeyed fruit yet minerally too, very fine now with the capacity to keep and develop over the next five years.