2017 Meursault, Les Vireuils, Camille Giroud, Burgundy

This is a very characterful wine. Carel didn’t cool the must too much before fermentation, looking to retain more solids which adds more of a pulpy texture to the resulting wine. This has quite a traditional feel, with weighty fruit and a finish of apricot stone and hazelnut. Drink 2022-2028.

With a range that spans both Côtes, Carel observed that the red vintage is about pretty, balanced, fresh fruit. The reds south of Beaune are generally lighter than the north, where there is better phenolic intensity. Carel puts the whites on a par with 2014, but the raw material is healthier and so the wines are purer. He rates 2017 as one of the best white vintages in the last decade. Stylistically, Carel’s preferred direction for reds is towards whole-bunch and he confesses he would always do 100 percent if he could (and this year he often has).