Wine Club: an offer for Burgundy-lovers to get stuck into

So, here we are again in the Last Chance Saloon. After a couple of tricky, uncertain years, prices have rocketed, chaos reigns and we find ourselves scrabbling for scraps we can ill afford. The future looks decidedly bleak.

Sorry, what? Liz Truss and the trashed economy? No, silly, I’m talking about Burgundy, where capricious weather, tiny vintages and soaring demand have combined to price wines of any quality out of the reach of most of us.

The 2021 vintage will be released in January and merchants are out there now tasting it. The initial whisper is that it’s pretty decent although nobody wants to big it up too much because there’s so little of it.

Oy vey, what’s a Burgundy-lover to do? Get stuck into this offer from Mr Wheeler, that’s what! If you love classic Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, then these wines are for you. Prices are only going to go up (if you can find any of the stuff in the first place) and I strongly suggest you get some in for Christmas. We’ve even added a tasty, top of the range, once-it’s-gone-it’s-gone treat.

The 2020 Domaine La Belouse Mâcon-La Roche-Vineuse (1) comes from a 50-year-old estate in the Mâconnais commune of Berzé-la-Ville. Produced by the appropriately named Cedric Chêne, the wine is aged in oak and is fresh, clean, lively and lemony with a faintly honeyed nose and a long dry finish. In short, it’s textbook entry-level Mâcon Chardonnay. £14.75 down from £16.95.

The 2019 Louis Latour Pouilly-Vinzelles ‘En Paradis’ (2) could hardly have finer provenance, coming as it does from one of the great names of Burgundy, founded in 1797 and still family-owned.