2008 Montagny, 1er Cru Vieilles Vignes, Domaine Stéphane Aladame, Burgundy, France (£170.40, Goedhuis & Co. tel. 020 7793 7900 & sales@goedhuis.com). I attended a brilliant Goedhuis & Co. Burgundy tasting the other day and was mightily impressed with the wines on show. Verticals of Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru from Laurent Ponsot and also Clos de Lambrays Grand Cru were not only very delicious indeed, but also very popular with the mesmerised crowds. Reds from Fourrier, Géantet-Pansiot, Sérafin and Hudelot-Noellat kept me entranced. Droin Chablis, Fichet Meursault and Nicolas Potel’s new wines from Roche de Bellène were also utterly memorable. But the one wine that I bought, without hesitation, was this gripping Montagny from the delightful Stéphane and Cécile Aladame, with whom I dined later that evening. This dramatic, crystalline and invigorating white wine is exactly what I adore about the great Chardonnay grape. Drinking now, but with a good four years ahead of it, this is sheer beauty and poise in a glass. With the texture of a balletic Chablis, and the crisp finish that marks Montagny’s finest wines, there is no invasive oak or clumsy alcohol here – just breathtaking serenity and joy.
