Julien Sunier Régnié

And while Burgundy puts itself out of the running with outrageous prices for its wines, neighbouring Beaujolais to the south of the region produces wines of beautiful complexity and full of character, especially from the region's top cru. Their key feature? While they are sufficiently "serious" to move stylistically to the extremes of an excellent Burgundy they give a more immediate satisfaction to the one who consumes them. There is no better wine to embody this immediacy and pleasure than Julien Sunier's Regnie. Think of a red Burgundy as the equivalent of a posh French restaurant with white linen tablecloths and Regnie as a relaxed, restaurant-style palate-pleasing dish like Lyon's famous Bouchon. Its fresh red fruit "blossoms" into aromas of lilies and roses with exceptional elegance and finesse on the palate.