Our next and final appointment on Monday dictated that we continue our voyage of discovery north, this time through the rolling hills of mist and vine, towards the magical Mâconnais.

The JN team and I had our course set for Maison Joseph Burrier – Château de Beauregard, situated in the Pouilly Fuissé Appellation. The Burrier family have been living in the south of Burgundy for 500 years, and have owned Château Burrier for 6 generations.  This intrinsic knowledge of land and wine is tangible upon tasting their many beautiful wines, all framed within the lens of southern Burgundy.
 
Our host, export director, Bértrand Ody has worked with the Domaine for many years and his knowledge and passion for Pouilly Fuisse and the surrounding appellation is infectious.  We were there to taste the 2018 vintage – a vintage that was met with the approval of many of our stellar Burgundian producers, as it had gifted a large and healthy crop, devoid of issues that plagued the previous years.

The so called, entry-level domaine Pouilly Fuisse that Beauregard craft is year-on-year a best seller at JN.  The wine always shows precision, minerality, judicious use of oak with a real elegance and freshness that other wines, from this region sometimes misplace.  The 2018 wine displayed honey, citrus and the finish was both complex, balanced and persistent.  Bertrand believes this 2018 vintage to be the most successful since 2009.
 
We tasted through barrel samples of their single vineyard expressions, including the luscious ‘Vers Cras’ and the most opulent, aromatically powerful and enchanting - ‘The Grand Beauregard’ only 12 barrels a year are made of this rarefied wine and although expensive, it is an absolutely sublime example of what the Chardonnay grape, combined with the best ‘Terroirs’ and 500 years of winemaking know how can produce.
 

Burgundy and indeed Beaujolais may be a complex tapestry of producers, difficult vintages and hard to remember villages names; but at its core, it is the spiritual heartland of wine in France.  Take some time, speak to your local wine merchant and sip some of the fruits of our travel labour, then let the majesty unveil.
View the Range from Chateau de Beauregard