Martin found a friend in 2012 in the Morgon from Jean Foillard

To pick just one wine as my star from 2012 is hard work. It goes without saying that bottles are regularly opened, discussed and written up. At home corks are pulled and wines enjoyed in a slightly different way. Wines socially are very different animals to those taken through their paces in the laboratory like conditions at work and in the cellar, complete with discussions of PH level and viticultural techniques. At home, thankfully, these situations, though essential, become simply distant memories. For this reason alone I have selected my star wine of last year.

A wine which is still to let me down and certainly a wine which I have purchased time after time, again and again through my Bancroft staff account. It is as reliable as Billy Bremner, although unlike Billy Bremner is as delicate as an English rose! In work and in play, it has been a star performer.

Jean Foillard’s Morgon Cote de Py 2010 is not just my star wine of 2012; it is also a friend to me. It seems to have been there, time and again this last year, when I’ve needed it; it seems to have been in my rack, waiting for me. It has become my partner’s favourite wine, too. In so many ways I have lots to thank Monsieur Foillard for, not least for reminding me that Beaujolais isn’t just that bubblegummy stuff that finds its way onto supermarket shelves in mid-November every year, but when handled properly, is simply divine and very serious. Beaujolais was always considered a region of Burgundy until relatively recently. This 2010 Morgon really does set a standard and several Pinot Noirs from further North should be taking a good look at themselves. This wine surely leaves many a Nuits-St-Georges blushing in its wake...