The clues were there. Fewer big gun proprietors stood behind the tables at this year’s Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux tasting. Some château regulars to Covent Garden were missing completely. And the braying roar of excitement from the trade that accompanied the 2009 and 2010 in-bottle tastings was missing here, replaced by a low, gentle, pinstriped murmur, ‘What on earth are we going to do with this vintage?’ I’m exaggerating a little because there were some good Bordeaux reds from 2011 on offer at the tasting, though relatively few set the pulse really racing. The real joy in this vintage is amongst the whites, particularly the sweet wines of Sauternes and Barsac, and the dry whites from Pessac-Léognan, though that’s not much consolation for a region mostly concerned with red wine production.

2011 white Burgundy has a lot to recommend it. There’s freshness, life and zest here, and typicity too. Olivier Lamy, at the helm at St Aubin’s consistent over-achiever Hubert Lamy, was happy with the vintage. Despite the early harvest, the whites retained their acidity because of the cool July. Olivier sees lots of freshness and life in the wines and these are great value bets as ever. His St Aubin Les Frionnes has a roundness and delicacy common to Chassagne-Montrachet and the Clos de la Chantenière is a dead ringer for serious Puligny in the appellation next door.

Lay & Wheeler’s tasting of growers’ Burgundy 2011 last week showed a set of forward, fresh and elegant white wines and a vibrant, sappy bunch of reds. Overall they reflected complex terroir of this fascinating part of the world very nicely. On the basis of the thirty-odd growers represented at the tasting generally it seems a vintage worth considering for early and medium term drinking.

Overall Pomerol has produced some very vibrant wines in 2011 despite a tricky growing season. Maybe the clay soils that the region is famous for helped guard against the early drought and heat spikes. September rain too undoubtedly affected some and rot would have been a concern. There is variability here, however, particularly among the less well known estates. Some display under ripe characters, others have over extracted, some, it seems, are green and extracted. It’s the usual 2011 story then, here ,as elsewhere. Making the best wines needed laborious work in the vineyard, the grapes required strict selection at harvest and the resultant wines suited a gentle hand in the cellar.