Pinot Noir is highly responsive to minute changes in climate and soil type making the red wines of Burgundy amongst the most fascinating to explore. In fact you can never stop learning about burgundy. Much of the pleasure of a good red burgundy lies in its aromas which is why it is important to serve them in a more bowl-shaped glass than you might use for claret. The colour and the density of the wine is probably lighter than some people remember from the days when blending in a bit of ‘southern sunshine’ was more normal practice! What may have been lost in guts is made up for in the most wonderful, pure fruit flavours. The more affordable wines come from the Côte Chalonnaise, the southern villages of the Côte de Beaune and the flattish area just to the north of Beaune. The very best red burgundies hail from an area of hillside just a few miles long stretching between the villages of Vosne-Romanée and Gevrey-Chambertin.