I’d never heard anything quite like it, and despite there being (still) several minutes of the morning left, I decided to get out of bed and check.

In the garden was this very pretty and wonderfully vocal zebra finch.  I presume it had escaped from its cage and would not be long for a world without hand feeding – even in summer – but it made (the last few minutes of) my morning…

How to balance your pig-in-a-blanket with your Dom Perignon…
I expect the marketing department at Moet will love these 😉

Bruce provides us with something just that little more elegant, but they are no pig-in-a-blanket solution!

People I’ve asked have been polarised about the style of this domaine, so time to check! Very nice presentation, even a half length capsule that shows the end of the cork – in this case it’s more than cosmetic as the cork shows the wine and vintage in small text at it’s base. I guess it’s unlikely that Thibault’s Hautes Côtes will be the focus of counterfeiters, but maybe his Richebourg…
2005 Thibault Liger-Belair, Hautes Côtes de Nuits La Corvée de Villy
Medium, medium-plus cherry red colour. The nose starts with quite a dose of high toast oak, but over an hour this moves more into the background to show a little bacon and slight reduction – even after a couple of hours I didn’t get to the fruit. In the mouth it’s ripe and sweet and the oak is very much in the background. Medium-bodied with largely hidden tannins and very nice acidity. The length is excellent and far from woody. Despite the oak style being my least favourite and the nose missing a little dimension, this is a delicious wine that’s nicely pinot.
Rebuy – Yes

Why not follow a Monts Luisants blanc with a Monts Luisants rouge?
2006 Jean-Claude Boisset, Morey St.Denis 1er Monts Luisants (Blanc)
Medium-plus cherry red. The nose is soft, heavy with cherry-red fruit that’s accented by faint white pepper. Fills your mouth with ripe red fruit that widens into the mid-palate and takes on a slightly savoury element. The acidity is perfectly balanced, lingering in the mouthwatering finish. Understated concentration and intensity. Very primary for sure though accomplished and tasty.
Rebuy – Yes

Ultimately meaningless, but I rather like the interpretation of this webpage as a graph!

There’s an old saying that goes something like:

Opinions are like ********* – everyone has one!

Well when it comes to burgundy, here are my standbys:

• What YOU like is what you like
• Be Curious
• Avoid Artifice – i.e. too much of anything, e.g. oak, ripeness, concentration, dilution etc….
• Enjoyment is 90% about timing

I thought this note might be about ’10 Burgundy commandments’ but I ran out after 4 – though I thought it was a good 4! Certainly ‘commandments’ is anyway the wrong word, but any more ideas from the stalls?