Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru, Les Saint Georges, Domaine Taupenot-Merme, 2012

To our mind, Burgundy 2012 is like 2009 Bordeaux – not as classic as 2010 but richly hedonistic and at their best hugely promising.

Romain Taupenot continues to oversee the inexorable clime of this fantastic domaine, now indisputably in the Premier League. With an exciting array of vineyards, Romain crafts wines of structure, definition, authenticity and complexity, and the wines are high class examples of their appellation.

His 2012s are terrific and built to last and we are very lucky to have an exclusive UK allocation of 1er Cru Les St Georges which Romain made for the Hospices this year. Described by one critic alluringly as “crepuscular crimson with a hint of mauve” – almost defining Tom's dress sense, The Les (one of the appellation’s top crus) is spicy and wild, muscular but sleek.

The wines of Nuits Saint Georges is sometimes overlooked in favour of Gevrey Chambertin or its even nearer neighbour Vosne Romanée, but the wines are extremely rewarding, full-bodied and intense often with more charm than Gevrey and more humour than Vosne. This is a cracking Burgundy which nobody else will have at their dinner table – unless they were also sensible enough to grab a case from us...