Life is too short to drink bad wine

This is decent generic red Burgundy for less than 200NOk (or 15€) by Manuel Olivier. Ruby red colour and a rich smell of ripe red fruit. The taste has a nice balance with smooth tannins, enough fruit and a fresh acidity. Try with poultry or game. Bourgogne Hautes de Cotes de Nuits 2012 Vieilles Vignes Manuel Olivier Ca 15€

In connection with Burgundy tasting of Rion wines we ended the session with this great 100% Grenache from a small area close to Priorat in Spain. Alfredo Arribas is the producer of this wine which is only produced in 1985 bottles. This was bottle nu 762. The nose has a fantastic intense and clean fruity smell. Red fruit, vanilla, with an amazing intensity. Super delicious taste with an elegant sweet and ripe fruit (bit like Zinfandel). Super soft wine with a long aftertaste. A truly great wine for only 400 NOK. Tros Negre 2011 Alfredo Arribas Montsant

A bit of flyfcuking in Burgundy the other day. All Pinot Noir of course and all produced by one of my favourite producers, Patrice Rion. We started off with the basic Chambolle Musigny 2009 which we would probably regret, but as the others were expected to have more body and substance we felt it was the right thing to do. Chambolle Musigny 2009   was just a delightful experience with a super elegant nose filled with red berries, smoke and some pepper. The taste was just pure velvet with a wonderful length and balance. Just a superb basic Chambolle that is drinking beautifully right now. A bit of cherries on the taste as well. Nuits St George 1er cru Clos des Argillieres 2007 , a totally different ball game with more ripe fruit, more meaty flavours on the nose, also much more dark fruit than the previous one.A bit like ripe dark cherries as well. More body than the Chambolle and less acidity, but a big Burgundy although with less finesse and elegancy than the Chambolle. Nuits

Looking for a deep dark red wine with lots of muscles? Look no further, this Cornas (Rhone) has it all and all you require is an entrecote or pepper steak to control the wine. The colour is deep dark red with purple rim. On the nose there is a solid attack of pepper and dark fruit! Unmistakable for a solid Syrah! The taste is supersolid with lots of dark fruit, plenty of energy, bit of pepper and spice...sort of dying for food. Surely no meditation wine. It's screaming for foooood... Cornas "Chante-Perdrix" 2012 Delas Ca 330 NOK or 30€...a bit pricy for Cornas

White Burgundies are expensive stuff. For the basic village wines we are looking at more than 300kr or 25€. This one though by Henri Boillot has all the ingrediences that you look for. Most of the grapes I understand comes from the Meursault region. Delightful discrete smell of lime and butter with a beautiful balanced taste. This is splendid stuff indeed if you have the patience not to drink it too cold or too fast. Bourgogne 2012 Henri Boillot Ca 280 NOK or 20€

A white top class Burgundy at around 20€ or 240 NOK is quite a rarity. The up and coming Manuel Olivier has managed to make a pin point Burgundy with discrete lime, butter and spicy notes. Lovely fruit and a beautiful minerality and oh so easy to drink. Great stuff in a very good year. Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits Manuel Olivier Ca 20€  

Rose Champagnes are a bit like Blancs de Noir as they are made from the red grapes Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. This leads to a bit more fullbodied taste and with the lovely colour it makes a nice combination. This Rose by Clouet is very easy drinking and reasonable at the same time.Normally you pay a bit more for rose Champagne but not for this one. Delightful pink colour, lovely small bubbles and a fruity balanced taste that could match quite a bit of food. Andre Clouet Champagne Ca 25€

Reasonable and good red Burgundies are difficult to obtain. This one from Beaune itself provides good value for money and gives you a touch of the real thing. Medium red colour with aromas of fresh red fruit and hints of flowers. The taste is nicely balanced with lots of red fruit and a firm medium long aftertaste. A decent Burgundy from a good but difficult year. Beaune Clos de la Maladiere 2012 Domaine Cauvard ca 220 nok or 15€