What to drink this week

Burgundy 2015: the whites

The 2015 red Burgundies, as I wrote last week, are everyone’s favourite debutants of 2017. The 2015 whites, by contrast, have suffered not just in comparison with the brilliant reds, but also with the exceptional whites of 2014. However, the 2015 white Burgundies, although not as consistent as the reds, are pretty good and, in some cases, quite special.

Some of the lesserknown names are a real treat–harry Eyres shares his secrets

Why you should be drinking them

The early talk was that the 2015 white Burgundies had soaked up too much sun and warmth and therefore lacked the acidity, perfect poise and tension of the 2014s. This turned out to be an over-simplification. Some of them may be a bit heavy and clumsy, but others, where growers picked early enough, have even more acidity than the 2014s (which, by the way, is a good thing).

What to drink

An advantage with the 2015 vintage across the board, whites as well as reds, is that lesser appellations are often as successful as top names. There are some super wines from the Mâconnais. Mâcon-bussières Les Clos Joseph Drouhin 2015 (£14.95; www.dbmwines.co.uk) has lovely golden colour, a generous, flowery and full bouquet and excellent acidity. Mâcon-uchizy, Les Maranches 2015, Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon (£23.50; www. bbr.com) carries an aristocratic name and is certainly not cheap for a Mâcon, but the quality is exceptional: there’s chalky terroir character and fresh acidity to go with the Muscaty ripeness. Pouillyfuissé En Carementran, Bret Brothers 2015 (right, £186 per dozen bottles in bond; www.bbr.com) has even more in the way of exotic complexity and is a fascinating wine.