The relative advantages of the Cote d’Or vis a vis the Macon in this vintage are brought home by the high quality of even the generic Verget 2006 Bourgogne Terroir de Cote d’Or, 70% barrel-fermented, and incorporating as usual fruit from Meursault, Puligny, and Chassagne. Peachy fruit, toasted nuts, and luscious pineapple and red berries inform a softly-textured yet juicy and refreshing palate and a finish of considerable length. This good value should remain lovely at least through 2010. In the Macon, at least, Jean-Marie Guffen is convinced that in 2006 “you had the choice between picking too early or picking too late. I chose the former. The sugar levels were high in either case, the acidity was low, and grapes were beginning to rot.” Guffens ran his picking crew ragged between the Macon, Cote d’Or, and Chablis, with more felicitous results in the two last-named sectors. (For notes on the 2006 Chablis at Verget, please consult my report in issue 179.) In the Cote d’Or, Guffens was more successful this year than in 2005, a vintage he thinks is in general over-rated and unlikely to stand the test of time. He was sparing with batonnage in 2006, and as always highly selective in pressing and in retention of lees (meaning he had fewer to work with).A Peter Vezan Selection (various importers), Paris; fax 011 33 1 42 55 42 93