Yes I know, I wasn’t going to comment on the latest burgundy arrival because the word on the grapevine, wine merchant hyperbole apart, wasn’t sufficiently enthusiastic to justify it. That was before tasting the wines, mind, and while I still don’t believe 2007 is a vintage in which to sink your or anyone else’s life’s 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.

Unlike bordeaux, where white is of secondary interest, burgundy splits neatly between pinot noir and chardonnay, and when the whites are better than the reds, this tends to get overlooked. In 2007 they are better. Without the residual sugar that builds structure into ageworthy sweet whites, a good white burgundy should have enough structure in its spine of acidity and fruit to continue to develop for a good five years, sometimes longer. The 2004s for instance are just coming into their own nicely now.

2007 is a patchy vintage for reds, with some charming and even good wines to be sure, but it’s more often a finer vintage for whites, even in instances the equal of 2004. After a miserable summer, the harvest weather was bright and sunny, resulting in ripened chardonnay grapes, whose main features are fruit purity, elegance, refreshing acidity and the elusive mineral quality that transcends grape variety. This bodes well for the future and there are some good value white burgundies that will unquestionably repay keeping for five years plus.

The wines of southern burgundy’s Mâconnais are improving enormously. Find a good grower and it’s hard to grown wrong if you’re looking for an affordable ‘house white burgundy’ for drinking over the next two to three years. The St.Véran of Domaine des Vieilles Pierres, £90, J&B, is a case in point, well-crafted and succulent, ditto Comtes Lafon’s Macon-Milly, £105, J&B, and Clos de la Crochette, £126 - £130, BBR, J&B, for their zip and appley purity and freshness, and the strikingly appetising, bone dry Petit Chablis from Dauvissat Camus, J&B £100.

Buying a good bourgogne blanc from a recognised producer can be a better bet than an apparently superior wine from a well-known appellation. The pure chardonnay fresh pear qualities of Pierre Morey’s Bourgogne Blanc, £120, J&B, the attractive mineral qualities of Comte Armand’s Bourgogne Blanc, £54, 6-bottle case, HR, and the complexity of Domaine Roulot, £138, HR, make all these far more interesting than the apparently humble appellation would have you believe. In St.Aubin, Hubert Lamy’s intense, lees-derived premier cru Clos de la Chatenière, £228 - £249, BBR, L&W, is superbly aromatic, nutty and incisively fresh.

Is it worth paying more? You can pay £1000 a pop for a case of Bâtard Montrachet if you want but I wouldn’t advise it, even if you did have the cash to splash. Much better I think are a handful of village and premiers crus that will repay five years keeping. For chablis, the premier cru Vaillons, £103, 6 bottle case, HR, is excellent, its grand cru, Vaudésir, £525, Jero, £239, 6-bottle case, HR, unquestionably exquisite.

The Côte de Beaune brings its own seduction in the crafted qualities of Vincent and Francois Jouard’s Chassagne Montrachet, £90, 6-bottle case, HR, Paul Pernot’s complex and sexy premier cru, Les Folatières, £186, 6-bottle case, HR, the complexity and textures of Jean Noël Gagnard’s Chassagne Montrachet Les Chenevottes, £265, J&B, Pierre Morey’s classic, Cornish creamy and lightly toasty Meursault, Le Tesson, £425, J & B, and the elegant lightness of touch of Fontaine-Gagnard’s Chassagne Montrachet premier cru Les Vergers, £360, L&W. This much drinking pleasure is impossible to ignore, hard to resist.

J&B = Justerini & Brooks, London SW1 (020 7484 6400, www.justerinis.com )
HR = Howard Ripley, London SW18 (020 8877 3065; www.howardripley.com)
L&W= Lay & Wheeler, Suffolk (0845 330 1855; www.laywheeler.com)
BBR = Berry Bros & Rudd, London SW1 (01256 340123; www.bbr.com)
Jero = Jeroboams, London N1 (020 7288 8858; www.jeroboams.co.uk)
Wines are ‘in bond’ with duty and VAT to be paid on delivery mostly later in the year.

Something For the Weekend 7 February 2009

Under a Fiver

2003 Ramon Lopez Murillo Rioja Reserva

Made from pure tempranillo in the heart of the Rioja Alavesa, this is typical, traditional reserva, the ageing in mall oak barrels bringing smoky vanilla undertones to the attractively softened , leather armchair fruit qualities, all nicely balanced and awaiting your attention. £4.99, Aldi.

Under a Tenner

2007 Via Collina, Dolcetto di Diano d’Alba.

This is a deliectably pure, handsomely presented, unoaked dolcetto from the rolling hills of the Langhe area of Italy’s north-western region of Piemonte, whose pure cherrystone and mulberry fruity quality is thirstquenchingly juicy and savoury; just the foil for pasta and grills. £5.49, down from £6.99, Waitrose

Splash Out

2007 Sancerre La Moussière, Alphonse Mellot

Mellow by name (and a very good name) but not by nature, the only such feature of this stylish sauvignon blanc from the Loire’s upper Sancrre is the fragrant flinty, elderfloral bouquet, while the fruit itself has that appetizing granny smith snap and mineral dry finish vouchsafed only to the best dry whites of this appellation. £14.99, Sainsbury’s