2009 Monthelie, Roblet-Monnot P & F, Burgundy, France (£19.50, Domaine Direct tel. 020 7837 1142). With the Glorious Twelfth just around the corner I thought that you might like to indulge your palate this week. Pinot Noir is the definitive grape variety to combine with epic, flighted game and I have found one of the most seductive and great value wines imaginable. As you know I am a Pinot freak and quite a few pop up on this page, but this Domaine has never graced MoneyWeek’s column and this is because, although Roblet-Monnot is a cult winery in France, it is little known over here. But not for long I venture! Pascal Roblet is a sensational winemaker with a velvety touch and his wines have amplitude on the palate which is gained by depth of fruit and not by oak or excessive concentration. In short, they are aromatically heavenly, ethereal and seductive – everything that red Burgundy should engender. Roblet lives in Volnay and his St-Francois cuvée is a dreamboat that I buy every year. The trick with my chosen Monthelie is that this lesser-known postcode doesn’t attract the big price tag which his Volnays do, so here you manage to get some change from a twenty!
