The optimist's downfall

Optimism is a good and frequently necessary thing. I should know - just ask any other Manchester United fan in light of our current predicament. In the wine world, too, optimism is something of a driving force. Optimism is what made the early pioneers of New World wine take cuttings from Europe and see them thrive in previously unexplored environments (although it is arguably also responsible for experimentation in South Africa and the resulting godawful Pinotage grape). Optimism is what has ensured the success of many retailers and producers, small and large, since the global financial crisis of 2008. And when the mercury is hovering just above freezing as the delicate new shoots begin appearing on vines in the springtime, optimism is what reassures the best winemakers that they will still produce an outstanding end product. So, on the whole, optimism is a good thing.

However, even I thought I was overegging the optimism when I recently bought a bottle of the attractively-packaged Montagny 1er Cru 'Les Millières' 2010 (priced at £9.74 at Majestic) and wrote in my cellar notes: 'Do not touch until 2018'. How could I resist? A classical white Burgundy from a very good Côte Chalonnaise vintage, properly corked and at under a tenner? As sure as United will finish outside the top four this season, this wine would certainly be drunk before my suggested date.

That's not to say I approached the wine too early, however; I normally find a drinking window of between 3-10 years after the vintage for good white Burgundy is a solid rule of thumb. The tasting notes also suggested the wine was perfectly drinkable: Majestic's own description reads thus:

"A delicious, fresh Chardonnay which has been fermented and matured in stainless steel tanks to preserve the pure peach, pear and acacia aromas. Soft and rich on the palate."

The Telegraph's wine correspondent Susy Atkins also noted the wine's freshness, adding "well balanced, still tasting youthful, [and] lightly buttered" (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/wine/11147329/Wine-Review-Wines-to-serve-with-squid.html).

Personally, as a red wine drinker, it's often a pleasant surprise when whites announce themselves boldly in terms of weight and texture, and this example from the Vignerons de Buxy certainly fulfils that criterion. The wine is alluringly pale gold in hue with a translucent rim, and a soft bouquet of apricots and peaches, intertwined with a suggestion of minerality. The mouth is filled with more fleshy fruits (nectarines and pears) with the slight savouriness of green bell pepper and a not unpleasant lactic quality, whether butter or more animalistic. The wine is impeccably structured, with the acidity well-integrated with the clean, focused fruits, and is pleasurably medium/full on the tongue. In terms of a food match, white fish and seafood are the suggestions that most often crop up with a cool-climate Chardonnay such as this; however I cannot think of a more divine match than a white meat-based roast dinner. I slurped away happily on this wine with my Sunday lunch: the Montagny has enough texture and savouriness to match roast chicken, the lactic element and good acidity were perfect with roast potatoes, and the lively fruit notes really helped to accentuate the freshness of assorted veg.

This Montagny, then, represents a brilliant example of a well-priced classical European Chardonnay, which will reward those who hold onto it as well as the impatient drinkers like myself who approach it early in its life. Next time I arrive back from Majestic with a bottle in hand, I shall cellar it immediately and furiously underline the 2018 cellar note (for wouldn't this be an absolute pleasure with cold cuts of ham on a warm summer's day?). I think it would also be a perfect bottle with which to toast United's rampant dominance and eventual Premier League-winning season in May 2018. Although perhaps that's a tad too optimistic.