The invitation read:  “I’ve got a lot of old Burgundies and don’t know whether they are still drinkable, so can you come to dinner and we will see”.  This was from Roy Richards, partner in Richards Walford, one of the key importers and wholesalers of wine in the UK, dealing only in the best family-owned estates, where wines are still hand-made in a manner that pleases the owner.

I first met Roy when he was a student of wine, food and life in Paris in the early 1970s, followed his career as a restaurateur in his local Lincolnshire, where the depth and quality of the wine list matched his simple, yet great cuisine, and have tasted regularly the Richards Walford wines, many of them ending up in my own cellar, since he and Mark Walford formed the company in 1982.

They have the best list of Burgundy domaines in the UK and since three years Roy himself spends half the year at his splendid townhouse, purchased from Roland Remoissenet, one of Beaune’s most provocative negociants, which lies just on the boulevards of the town.

There were ten of us for dinner, the most illustrious guest being Jasper Morris MW, who too spends half his life in Burgundy in the little village of Bouilland, and whose recent book “Inside Burgundy” (published by Berry Brothers and Rudd) is a treasure trove of the region’s history and the nearest you will get to a private conversation with the people who produce it.

The aperitif was a magnum Le Mesnil 1985, 100% Grand Cru Chardonnay, still fresh and creamy with ten years in front of it.  Then, with Roy’s subtle fish stew, came the whites:  Corton-Charlemagne 1970 Tollot-Beaut, amontillado coloured, rather like a dry Barsac but still vigorous;  Meursault-Genevrieres 1934 Louis Jadot, bright amber, nutty and very concentrated with almost searing acidity but the fruit still dominates;  Montrachet 1973 Louis Jadot, pale amber-gold, rich and almost sweet after the Meursault with balancing acidity, very good indeed;  finally, Montrachet 1929 Marquis de Laguiche took our breath away:  vibrant amber, marvellous orange blossom bouquet, terrific vigour, rich with an exotic freshness, truly great.

The reds, with a perfectly (under) cooked roast rib of beef (Roy has kept the same butcher for 30 years) began with the oldest:  Romanee-Saint-Vivant 1906 Negociant in Mercurey, pale watery red but a taffeta/roses bouquet, still fragrantly present;  then (I told you they were old) Clos de Vougeot 1919 Chateau de la Tour, still firm red, sweetness of fruit dominating the acidity, youthful, pure and memorable;  Corton-Grancey 1923 Louis Latour, mid-red, slightly browning, warm nose and earthy fruit, great richness and length from another fine vintage;  the Nuits-Saint-Georges 1926 Dufouleur Freres was dismissed by Roy as “too Moroccan” and indeed it was rather coarse and sweet, but set us up for one of the stars of the evening:  Latricieres-Chambertin 1934 Jules Regnier, still deep red, vibrant richness and smoothness, an impressively beautiful wine;  Aloxe-Corton Clos de la Vigne aux Saints 1934 Louis Latour (this vineyard being later elevanted to Grand Cru) described as having a nose of creamed peaches, was still sweet, exotic with lifted spice;  Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru 1937 Grivelet showed hardly any age with a very true, slightly earthy concentration, a great wine;  from the same vintage came Pommard-Rugiens 1937 Clerget-Buffet, clear mid-red, hardly any age, very Pommard with terrific structure and purity, perhaps the most precise wine of the evening.

Finally, served blind, was a fabulous Echezeaux 1978 Henri Jayer, which the group thought was 1993 at the oldest.

There was one bottle to go, a Vintage Port, which we were asked to guess the year, Roy saying it had not moved from his cellar for 30 years.  I guessed 1977 and was 50 years out, it being Sandeman 1927, with 1934 one of the two great vintages from that time.

Some of us met up for lunch in the local town the following day for Chianti and pizzas.