When "люди люблять вино" members, likely following the unofficial motto "When in doubt, choose Burgundy," convened once more for a Burgundy-focused evening, there was no feigning surprise. Eight bottles stood concealed: five Pinot Noirs playing hide-and-seek with three Chardonnays. Participants, armed with their palates and a splash of intuition, dove into the blind tasting. Everyone knew the bottles in play, but the real game was rating them and declaring favourites. As the final curtain lifted, the evening was less about unveiling the bottles and more a jovial nod to the fact that, indeed, Burgundy is always a good idea.

Domaine des Monts Luisants Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru Les Genavrières 2017

This wine secured the 🏅 4th place in our wine tasting lineup.

Charming bouquet of cherry confiture, red flowers, wet wood, earth and pomegranate. Delicate and jammy palate with notes of bay leaf, tomato paste and mushrooms. The aftertaste is long and ephemeral. With time it gets even more animalistic and earthy. Despite the medium level of acidity, this wine is a quaffable and juicy beauty.

Le Grappin Savigny-lès-Beaune 2020

This wine secured the 🏅 8th place in our wine tasting lineup.

It was harsh and a bit vulgar. Although I tasted it blindly, the list of possible wines was open. Like a jammed vinyl record, my brain repeated only one phrase - please don't tell me it's Le Grappin, please don't tell me it's Le Grappin, please don't tell me it's Le Grappin, please don't tell me it's Le Grappin, please don't tell me it's Le Grappin… After all, it's one of the producers I was a bit familiar with. And Le Grappin was different in my memory.

Tough luck, they say. Black fruits, black currant juice, chocolate candy filled with cherry and liquor. With time it gets more interesting thanks to notes of pepper and leather. Honestly, I started to think that someone tricked us by bringing a bottle of Rhone. Tannic, powerful, crowd-pleasing and not interesting. Maybe it will become better in the future. And while I sound negative, the wine is not bad, just not my style and an unfortunate outcast of the evening.

Pierre Naigeon Mazys-Chambertin Grand Cru Vieilles Vignes 2012

This wine secured the 🥇 1st place in our wine tasting lineup.

A fistful of red fruits forgotten under the sun, sunflower seeds combined into a necklace, your everyday canned tuna, mushrooms, black tea and my old hiking leather boots (I really should get rid of them as they are falling apart). Delicate palate (unlike the aforementioned boots), elegant and stylish. Easy-going and quite complex at the same time. A pure bliss. Especially thanks to notes of dried fig covered in milk chocolate and Cognac notes (duh).

Sylvain Pataille Bourgogne Rouge 2021

This wine secured the 🥉 3rd place in our wine tasting lineup.

Attaboy! My sincere bet was on Le Grappin. And at this point, I am not so sure if it's a compliment for Sylvain Pataille or I just don't know what I am betting on. I bet on a mix of both.

Look, this mix of hibiscus and red berries (barberry, pomegranate, sour cherry) is just charming. It's delicate, flowery and beautiful. Good tannin and acidity. Just a wonderful, quaffable and beautiful wine. My score might be a bit too high as this wine lacks complexity and it doesn't like being aerated for too long. But it was a blind tasting and this is my score.

Frédéric Cossard Morey-Saint-Denis Les Champs de la Vigne Qvevris 2018

This wine secured the 🏅 5th place in our wine tasting lineup.

Qvevri version. In this lineup, it was easy to guess Cossard. Not bragging, I think. A beautiful bouquet of red flowers (they always got me), spoiled berries, strawberry compote, blood and hibiscus (red flowers again???). A bit too sweet yet fresh, round and delicious. Complex and narrow, it feels stressed, someone needs a massage.

Domaine Derain Saint-Aubin 2018

This wine secured the 🏅 7th place in our wine tasting lineup.

A mix of spoiled fruits, stones covered in seawater (salty, you know), butter and shells. Definitely, the bouquet wins over the palate. Delicious yet somehow it felt heavy and not fascinating. Even simple? It focuses on the exterior leaving little inside. And it's jumpy like headcrabs.

Philippe Pacalet Chassagne-Montrachet 2015

This wine secured the 🏅 6th place in our wine tasting lineup.

As much as I enjoyed Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Chaumes 2016, this bottle is a bit disappointing even in a blind tasting. Baked apples with cinnamon, nuts, butter, a bit of Jerez, wet cellar and citrus. With this wonderful nose comes a soapy, diluted and short palate. Good acidity, though.

Château de Béru Chablis Clos Béru Monopole 2017

This wine secured the 🥈 2nd place in our wine tasting lineup.

Now this is charming and delicious. Complex and inviting. Nice oak influence. Butter, nuts, yellow fruits, citrus, chalk and sea breeze (maybe I just forgot it). Fresh, salty and playful.

Raw scores