I’m so glad I’m not you when it comes to choosing a red Burgundy without tasting it first. Would I choose a Premier Cru from a great producer in an average vintage or a Bourgogne Rouge from a great producer in a great vintage or a Village Cru from an average producer in an average vintage? And that’s before you start thinking about the age of the vines or the producer’s decision to add whole bunches that year or the percentage of new oak. And you have to do all this in the face of the price too, which could be affected by quality, rarity, reputation or the winemaker’s need for a new sundeck. Good luck!

We are occasionally in the very fortunate position to be able to taste hundreds of red Burgundies side-by-side (the wines, not Lucia and I) and it’s the quickest and most effective way to determine which wines exceed the expectations of their price tag and we found this Gevrey-Chambertin standing out like a sore poppy/tall thumb at a tasting of over one hundred red Burgundies, flanked on one side by a Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru (£250) and a Gevrey-Chambertin Clos de Combes (£80) on the other. It was one of those moments when we both went weak at the knees, but luckily we were standing side-by-side, so we held each other up. It has all of that magical, ineffable Burgundian perfume that takes you to a mystical market somewhere where the aromas of fresh strawberries, sweet paan, oudh, gulkand, pomegranate syrup and dried orange peel fill the air and the palate makes you feel like you are tasting molten rubies. 13.5% alc. The lieu-dit 'Aux Corvées' lies close to the village, a stone’s throw away from the Grand Cru, Mazis-Chambertin, vineyard. Drink now-2036.