I have managed to rope in a colleague to write a post about a wine that they like so here it is:
I recently had the delight of tasting a Mercurey Premier Cru 2005 white wine, and it truly was a wine of the Gods. Situated below Rully and above Givry in the Cote Challonaise, Mercurey is named after Mercury – the Roman God of trade, profit and commerce, and is also ‘The Messenger’ of the Gods. Mercurey is the largest wine producing area of the Cote Challonaise, and was previously considered as one of the best wine producing areas of Burgundy, until Phylloxera destroyed its vines. It seems that after this devastation Mercurey never fully got its reputation back, however, I rate the white wines of this area up there with the best Pommards and Côtes de Beaune. The appellation produces far more red wine than white, approximately 10 bottles produced for every white. Subsequently, the whites are fairly rare, and thoroughly brilliant.
However enough of the history and mythology, and on to the important part – the drinking! First thing is first, the wine is made from one hundred percent Chardonnay. The wine had a brilliant rich gold colour, and an nose that was full of white peaches and pears, with a really subtle but intriguing element of oak. On the pallet the oak came across as a really pleasant almost cake spice taste. The oak is mild, and accompanies great fruit flavour, adding brilliant balance and depth. Furthermore, the wine holds a great minerality, and hints of vanilla, cream and hazelnut. This a wine of subtlety and elegance, that will complement white meats, or good chesses (or both).
So, go out and try to get a hold of one of these rare whites, and enjoy!
For other good blog posts check out the Majestic Wine Blog