2018 Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits Le Prieure

The 2018 Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits Le Prieuré is fleshier and richer than its 2017 counterpart, offering up aromas of cherries and raspberries complemented by hints of peonies and cinnamon. Medium to full-bodied, layered and textural, its ample core of fruit is underpinned by lively acids and fine, powdery tannins.

Aurélien's father was one of the first (from 1971) practitioners of organic viticulture in Burgundy, this domaine based in the Hautes-Côtes in Arcenant. Producer of a pink 2007 wine of the week . Hautes-Côtes are really coming into their own as summers on the Côte d'Or get hotter and hotter. Transparent crimson with a very pale rim. This needs to be served fairly cool. Not light- but mediium-bodied and it's those perfumes that need to be preserved – by fairly low temperatures. Correct, Nuits-like flavours with a floral overlay and quite a bit of fine tannin underneath. This is a real bargain: a hint of the Côte d'Or for under £15. Much better value than many a New World Pinot. Youthful and not amazingly complex but offers admirable purity, and neat persistence, for the money. VGV (JR)

Burly, bloody nose with ripe blackberry. Pretty firm tannins, but these are a long way from the rusticity often found in ‘lesser’ appellations in Burgundy. Medium-long and giving plenty of pleasure. GV (TJ)