Bourgogne 2004 Matthieu de Brully
I am sitting here idly watching a football match. It is Euro 2008 and I am watching with aggressive disinterest because my team (England) did not qualify. Players from the other teams I am, by ancestry or marriage, entitled to support - Scotland and Ireland, are also sat on a beach somewhere spending their “hard-earned” footballers’ wages on pina coladas.
Like Euro 2008, my world tour of Pinot Noirs has had plenty of representatives from across Europe but not one from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. So much for global warming.
This one came from the spiritual home of Pinot Noir, Burgundy. Part of the ancient footballing nation of Gauls. And in the religion that celebrates this fickle red grape, whether or not worshipping les bleus, the Cathédrale Notre Dame is the Cote D’Or.
Delivered via the Sunday Times Wine Club in a “Pure Pinot Noir” case for £69.99, this is a basic Bourgogne AOC from 2004, but still well priced at just over £7 (about a gallon of gasoline for US readers).
I found it tasted of gooseberry, redcurrant, blackberry and damp logs with a little earthiness thrown in as if to acknowledge the religious origins of my argument. Slightly on the acidic side but very nice and I’d definitely drink it again. I would recommend serving it fairly well chilled – give it at least an hour in a household fridge before opening.