2009 Côte de Nuits-Villages, Terres Nobles, Domaine de la Douaix, Burgundy, France (£24.50, reduced to £21.95 by the case, Lea & Sandeman tel. 020 7244 0522 & www.leaandsandeman.co.uk). I went to a brilliant Lea & Sandeman wine tasting the other day focussing on only three reds grapes – Pinot Noir, Nebbiolo and Sangiovese. It was a rare treat to be allowed to concentrate on such a tight bunch. Rather than blurting out a shopping list of my favourite wines I thought I would limit myself to just incredible one today – this very special red Burgundy. A new Domaine to me, Douaix is owned by a Belgian father and son team. Keen Burgundy fans, Mark and Gilles Moustie, have rented a gîte for many years in the hills behind the town of Nuits-Saint-Georges. They finally realised their dream of making their own wines when they bought two beautiful parcels of vines in Corgoloin – one with thirty-five year old vines and the other whose are over sixty. Son Gilles is on site and Mark slaves away as a management consultant, presumably paying the bills. They must be very proud of their work because this delicious 2009 is finer than any CdNV I have ever tasted. Poured blind I would swear it was an established well-known Domaine’s wine from a redoubtable vineyard and with a price tag nearer fifty quid not twenty. As the great Stuart Hall would say, ‘Here come the Belgians’.
