Quality in a name...

Once a playground for the well-heeled, Burgundy is becoming a firm favourite for Brits moving across the Channel seeking a new life in the sun and some French joie de vivre.

And if you want to produce your own wine, you really have to live in the Mconnais.

Not in the crowded Grand Cru acres of Chambertin and Musigny, not even in the white wine meccas of Puligny and Mersault; no, you want to up sticks and use your life savings to bid for any land you can lay your hands on the villages of Chaintr, Vergisson, Solutr and Fuiss.

This is the home of Pouilly, Fuiss the star of the Mconnais (yes, you did see a coma, they're two different villages), and, I am pleased to say, a dry white wine that is still affordable from the vineyards of these five villages in one of the loftiest wine regions in France.

The maxim that "it's not what you know, but who you know' is just as true in Burgundy as it is in any local government.

What dictates the price of a burgundy is depressingly often the words on the label rather than any inherent quality in the wine.

Another problem that often stops people from asking for this wine is that the difficult pronunciation scares so many away.

Go into any marginally swish restaurant from Keswick to Kensington, and if you want to buy instant sophistication and a submissive bow from the wine waiter, you must steel yourself to perpetrate one of the more bizarre mispronunciations which afflict the French vineyards and say: "I'll have the Pwee Fweesay".

You could say "I'll have the Poolly Foos" (that looks just as silly), but it wouldn't have nearly the effect, and you'd end up having to order by the number on the wine list.

Made from 100 per cent chardonnay grapes, Pouilly-Fuiss comes from the mini-regions mentioned above around the village of Pouilly.

Two other villages, Loch and Vinzelles, have hyphenated their names to Pouilly with reasonable effect but are rarely seen on the regional shelves around the UK.

Pouilly-Fuiss is the best white of the Mcon area and at its best can be excellent - but all too often in the past, over-priced.

When on its game' the result is wine of character and individuality buttery, nutty, the fruit full of lemon tinged peach, pineapple, melon, even banana with gentle wood-spice, clove and cinnamon and, if you're lucky, just a splash of honey with gently drying mineral/chalky notes on the finish.

These wines can be delicious at two years old, but often age beautifully for up to ten and are best bought domaine bottled.

To see if that real affordability exists I asked our regular participating stores to send me a sample at any price level.

There wasn't much about but there's not a bad drop among them!

Plato Harrison Pouilly-Fuiss Cuve L'Ancienne 2001, 13%, £10.99.

France Burgundy/Mconnais.

Fresh buttery lemon and mild nutty' young pineapple scents lead to sprightly refreshing lemon tinged flavours of just ripe peach and pineapple that linger to a silky honey edged mineral finish.

A wonderfully polished balance of all the classic' ingredients. Delicious!! 5+ Stars.

Morrisons Pouilly-Fuiss Domaine Carrette 2003, 13.5%, £9.99.

France Burgundy/Mconnais.

Tangy buttery aromas of peach, melon and lime with a light nut and mineral backdrop delivers delicately balanced wood and buttered fruit flavours before a slatey mineral finish and belated burst of spice.

A real cheeky' little drop. It has everything it should have in all the right proportions and in all the right places with an extra freshness and vitality of youth. 5 Stars.

Majestic Pouilly-Fuiss Cave Co-op de Prisse 2002, 13%, £9.99.

France Burgundy/Mconnais.

Ripe buttery fruit and nut aromas with a mineral and spice sprinkle offers silky, buttery lemon fruit flavours with light chalky notes on the finish.

A fine balance of buttery fruit and freshening acidity that will flow easily over appreciative gums.

(Buy two save £1 = £9.49 per 75cl)

Please Note - Majestic sells wines and spirits with a minimum purchase of 12 bottles, mixed by any style or price. 4+ Stars.

Windermere Wine Stores Pouilly-Fuis Andr Simon 2001, 13%, £12.99.

France Burgundy/Mconnais.

Ripe, floral peachy aromas with distant soft buttery scents offers up lemon tinged almond flavours that roll on to a lingering mineral edge on the finish.

Gentle mix of fruit and nut with classic mineral notes. 4 Stars.

Oddbins Pouilly-Fuiss 2002, 13%, £9.99.

France Burgundy/Mconnais.

Buttery aromas with delicate wood-spice and distant scents of lemon, honey and nut all come together in a fresh lemon backed butter and bitter almond mouthful before a mild and drying chalky finish.

Just beginning to show hints of those lucky' honey aromas and may develop on the palate over the next couple of years. 4 Stars.