Burgundy 2006 from bottle - Day 2: Beaune, Volnay and Pommard.

Saturday morning started with two flights of Beaune followed by two of Volnay and a single flight of Pommard.

When tasting the 06's in November 07 it became clear that those Côtes de Beaune vineyards south of the Paris / Beaune motorway had received substantial rainfall pre-harvest. This was confirmed at this most recent tasting in that the wines of the southern Côtes de Beaune are of a different structure to those in the north.

The flights of Beaune showed elegance, charm and will make for relatively early drinking - now and over the next three years. Pinot Noir purity, sweet ripe fruit and a uniformity in quality was more evident in the second flight which included Beaune Greves and Beaune Clos du Roi. Tollot Beaut's Clos du Roi was in my top three followed by the Beaune Greves of de Montille.

The two flights of Volnay showed wines of greater variance in style and quality of wine making. Some nicely structured, others showing green and dilute qualities. The run away winner was the Santenots du Milieu from Dominique Lafon. Last year his 2005 was a close second. 'Not bad for a little Meursault grower ' was his reaction. His 06 success will no doubt be equally modestly acknowleged.

The Pommard Rugien's filled the top two places in my scores with Etienne de Montille's 06 showing power and brooding dark ripe fruits; one for the long term.