Fine Wine

A small family grower in the famous village of Cumieres in the Marne valley. Pinot-dominated (like most wines from this village), it shows a deep copper/gold colour and is gorgeously aromatic. The palate is wonderfully peachy and lush whilst being bright and explosively juicy! The extended bottle-ageing of this wine (6-8 years) is rather longer most NV Champagnes and lends the wine its weight and character. But it's also fresh and lemony, making for a great combination. Judges on a Decanter tasting panel were particularly wowed by this Cuvée when tasting it blind with other Grower Champagnes in 2017, ALL giving it 98/100 points and the wine also went on to regarded as one of Decanter’s very favourite bottles of the year. We love it too and have been shipping it direct from the Bertrand family since 2008.

With its subtle and gourmet aromas, this cuvée is a reference point amongst rosé champagnes. It will be a pleasant companion to your happiest moments with its sparkling colour, its amazing finesse and its great intensity. At the March 2022 Taste Champagne (300 wines) I have to say this stood out as one of the most delicious "drinking Champagnes" on show - and there were some very Showy wines on show that day. A huge success for us, easy to forget just how gorgeous it is - firstly it is so very savoury, forget the cherry fruits, it's more like Xmas cake, rhubarb, forest floor, nettle and nutmeg. When the glass is empty the aromas persist. This is Grand stuff, the stuff of deluxe cuvee, truly epic. And a dinner wine too. A cunning counsel for you - don't serve it too cold, err on the cellar-temperature side. March 2022. Of course the whole Billecart range is exceptional and impressive but the 'basic NV is a STEAL! Seriously, super-tight with Silex and citrus, grippy and bracing. On best-ever form.

A crisp, well balanced champagne with citrus hints on the nose overlaid with touches of brioche and yeastiness. The palate is fresh, clean and lively with a creamy mousse and long finish.

Energy is a word used a lot by the finest Roussillon growers. We don't think there has been a finer example than this extraordinary wine from the freres Danjou. The 2020 is more 'Cote-Rotie' than the 'Crozes like' 2018. A thrilling wine.

A blend of Genache Blanc, Gris and Noir, from ancient 90 year old vines in the ancient and quite amazing 'C|os des Escounils' that the brothers are developing and working on re-establishing it's other potential vineyard areas. This is beautiful, racy, elegant wine that is softly textured and very ‘modern’ in its freshness and balance.

Old vine Grenache grown on decomposed black schist with a limestone sub soil with some quartz, that produces something amazing. Ethereal, sublime and fresh, this achieves a level of finesse akin to fine red Burgundy. Remarkable, special, very good indeed.

It's here, the 'Coulsh-Rotie". Simon "The Coulsh'" Coulshaw's fabulous take on this iconic wine. "I put this glass of wine to my nose, and had I not been firmly anchored to a chair, would have taken five steps back. The aroma swept me off my feet. Indescribable. Wild. One Thousand and One Nights distilled into a glass. Heady and exotic and riddled with rose petals and spice and coiled with riddles and one sniff of this is poetry and myth and folklore and kitchen table and campfire and someone's cigarette stubbed out at 3 am in lonely finality. Garrigue-spiced aromatics spiral through rock, plant, seed, flower with dazzling complexity. One moment it's rose petals, so delicate you could brush a baby's lips with it; the next it's hot tar, underground angry, rocks shifting deep in the cracks of the earth. This is a velvety, cocoa-dusted, amped-up-then-restrained, dark-horse beauty. Vertical, dark, slub-silk fruit with overtones of tamari and dark chocolate, crushed coffee beans and sweet forest-floor earth. Long and the kind of wine that coils around you slowly, sinuously, sensuously. Worth every penny. You'd pay three times this for a Rhône of this stature". (TC) 18/20 jancisrobinson.com When to drink 2023 - 2035 Published on 29 Nov 2021 Date tasted 29 Nov 2021

This is the most grown up Cornish Point yet. It has all the classic components (vibrantly fruited, voluptuous and rounded mouthfeel...), but with a structural complexity we have rarely seen before. Indulgent but serious tannins demand a thoughtful conversation in this 15th rendition. Baritones and altos all in harmony leading to a crescendo of a finish.

Old vine Grenache grown on decomposed black schist with a limestone sub soil with some quartz, that produces something amazing. Ethereal, sublime and fesh, this achieves a level of finesse akin to fine red Burgundy. Remarkable, special, very good indeed.

This Claret is fresh and balanced. The blend is Merlot-based and the wine is aged in French oak barrels for 12 months, giving a nice aroma of spice and wood smoke. The palate is fleshy with a hint of plum, the tannins fine and firm, leading to a generous finish. Drink now to 2036

Tasted blind at the 10-Year On Tasting in Sauternes. The 2005 Château de Fargues has a rich and intense bouquet with layers of honey, dried peach, beeswax and acacia that soar from the glass. The palate is powerful and authoritative: intense botrytis-rich honeyed fruit with compelling mineralité underneath. It fans out in glorious fashion – a stunning de Fargues that is now beginning to show its talents. As I remarked a couple of years ago, just afford it a couple more years so that it can fully absorb the vestiges of oak. Drink 2018-2045. 95 pts Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (219), June 2015

This Amontillado Muy Viejo has more than 30 years of ageing in oak barrels giving it an intense concentration and complexity. Dry in taste with hints of cedar, leather, walnuts and a lingering, nutty finish. It is a great partner for roast beef, hearty casseroles, game or mature Cheddar cheese. “Aromatic and intoxicating, offering toasted almonds, caramel, dried figs and coffee bean. Dense and rich yet tight and precise. Extraordinary.” IWC 2019 Gold

A new cuvée for 2020 from our favourite Champagne House, and created by new MD Benjamin Fourmon who says, 'from the start I set out to create an extra-pure, sugar-free and very expressive champagne. We chose the exceptionally fresh 2013 vintage and aged it for 72 months to produce roundness, power and perfect balance. 35% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Meunier. Reserve wines constitute 24% of the blend, Dosage 0 g/l. Disgorged '2020'.

Intense nose of real concentration. Vibrant and jewelly – like essence of Central Otago but with a drier finish than many. Still very youthful and savoury. Great stuff! 2020 Vintage Jancis Robinson MW

100% Grenache from 130+ year old vines. Complex floral aromas. On the palate the fruits, such as raspberry and morello cherry, are crunchy and fresh. There is also a very strong stony/mineral feeling. The finish is long and pure. A vibrant wine.

The small A-rated Madalena vineyard provides the principal component in "declared" Smith Woodhouse Vintage Ports. Rich opulent Vintage Port. Berry fruit aromas, hints of chocolate and mint balanced by fine and elegant tannins. Very long and complex.

Tom Stevenson - Top Ten Best Bargains "Lovely biscuity fruit and excellent acidity are the key to this cuvee's consistent quality and impressive potential longevity. One of Champagne's best-kept secrets."

Natural, biodynamic and vegan. Grenache, Carignan and now (for the first time) Mourvedre from 80 year old vines, Made without filtering or fining. Pale but gorgeous mid red colour. At first on the nose, you are like "What even is that?". Whatever it is, you know that you like it. Elegant, subtle fruit is intermixed with gentle herb, earth and savoury charachters. Deep and wonderful. On the palate the wine is elegant and deep again, but not heavy in the slightest. Ruffled fruit and savoury notes with minerality and real finesse. These wines are like no other from the Roussillon. Outstanding. Magnum sized.

Properly serious food wine, a Michelin-star classic! Parker 92 Aromas of almond paste, green orchard fruit, citrus oil and pastry cream introduce the latest example of Billecart's NV Brut Sous Bois, a bottling that's based on the 2009 vintage. The oak influence is much less pronounced than was the case with some of the early renditions of this cuvée, and it's really going from strength to strength, revealing a medium to full-bodied palate that's broad-shoulder and structured, with lively underpinning acids. Jancis 17/20 This new cuvee is all vinified in oak but hasn't a hint of obvious oak on the nose. Lovely quality of fizz. Brooding and intense. There is marked density here and excellent balance and persistence. As usual, we are not told on the back label how old this blend may be, just that it is 'respectfully composed' of the three Champagne varieties. But it's impressive wine and I suspect it will not be cheap. Recommended. Edge of green on the nose here. Steady bead. Really quite rich and intense. Quite a meaty nose – but then food smells are coming in from the 67 Pall Mall kitchen! Mathieu Billecart suggests Tete des Moines or Comté as a food match or mushroom risotto ‘but the mushrooms have to be in season’. Lots of impact.

On the nose, this wine exudes citrus fruits and apricot fruits with a touch of hazelnut. On the palate the wine is lively, mineral and ripe, and retains a pretty, slightly smoky fatness. Great value white Burgundy!

100% Carignan Gris that was raised in older barrels. It offers that classic cold steel-like character I always find in Carignan Gris, as well as plenty of citrus blossom, bright apple fruit - steely and penetrating. A real one-off. Utterly beautiful wine.

Kopke Colheita White 2003 reveals an intense golden-yellow colour. On the nose, it is discreet and delicate, laden with notes of dried fruit, cherries in syrup and subtle molasses. Vivid and rich in the mouth, it shows excellent structure and assertive vigour. Its elegance lingers into an unctuous and distinct finish

100% Carignan from 80 year old vines. Complex floral aromas. On the palate the fruits, such as raspberry and morello cherry, are crunchy and fresh. There is also a very strong stony/mineral feeling. The finish is long and pure. A vibrant wine.

International Wine & Spirits Awards (IWSC) 2010 Sherry Trophy winner. Gonzalez Byass is also the 2010 IWSC Winemaker of the Year. “Mid amber bronze in colour. Arresting scents of damp woodlands, earl grey tea, bitter orange, dried cherry and caramel. Classic Palo Cortado dry style with a hint of sweetness which shows how this can be easily become a superb dessert wine.” IWSC 2017 Gold