Winter warmer burgundy and boeuf bourgignon. A fantastic evening hosted by Stuart Grostern.

Round 1:

• Jean Chauvenet Nuits St Georges Les Damodes 1er Cru 2001
• Jean Chauvenet Nuits St Georges Les Damodes 1er Cru 2002

The 2001 was a little oxidised, either a faulty bottle or past its best, the 2002 fresher.

Round 2:

The hearty bourgignon was served with a Louis Jadot premier cru Savigny les beaune les vergelesses. I’ve tried this yearly since what I thought was a disappointing start. This was beginning to open up and reveal the benefits of being patient, something I don’t possess in abundance, as Kiran kept reminding me!

Round 3:

• AC Bourgogne Olivier Leflaive with a premier and grand cru
• Drouhin-Laroze Chappelle Chambertins Grand Cru 2002
• Nicolas Potel, Clos de la Roche, Grand Cru 2003
• Hubert de Montille Pommard Les Pezerolles 1er Cru 2003
• Ghislaine Barthod Chambolles Musigny les Chatelots 1er Cru 2004.

For me, this evening demonstrated the unpredictability of burgundy. You may have something knockout with an animalistic almost hormonal quality you can’t put in words. It may be fresh, fruity, raspberry, black cherry. It may be pure horseradish or tinned asparagus. Mushrooms/earth,compost, wet mouldy cloths, moss.

I suppose that’s the beauty of it .