I have had three bottles of Michel's Chablis Montee de Tonnerre 1997 in the last few months from my own cellar. Two were, I think, a little dull compared to bottles (from the same case) I had a year or more ago. One was very clearly oxidised in that curious way of what I used to think of as the "1996 disease" - deep-coloured and rotten rather than just gracefully maderised as aging wine can be. This is the clearest case I have yet had of this malady in other vintages. I think in future I shall refer to these wines as "pox-ridden" ("pox" being short for "premature oxidation") - I remain very reluctant to buy white Burgundy post-1994.

One hears people saying that white Burgundy is just not meant to last beyond a few years. A 1988 Meursault Blagny from F. Jobard that I drink as I write this gives the lie to that notion: it is absolutely lovely, completely fresh and very much at peak.

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