The very best Burgundy wines, such as Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, may be out of reach for many casual wine appreciators, but there are many alternatives available that put a taste of the good stuff within reach.

Writing for Bloomberg, John Mariani said he sampled a Mersault 2009 and a Morey-Saint-Denis 2009 on Father's Day this year, both reasonably priced wines of "enormous refinement".

"Morey-Saint-Denis wines are generally less expensive yet express the same lush virtues of the best pinot noir grapes," he said.

As well as setting the bar for novice Burgundy drinkers to judge future chardonnay and pinot noir by, wines such as these serve to remind old converts of why they loved the region in the first place, Mr Mariani went on to say.

Recently, Decanter reported that the problem of oxidation in white Burgundy, which has affected some vintages from the 1990s, appears to be tapering off in bottles from the 2000s.