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.

Final assemblage: 55% Syrah, 35% Carignan & Cinsault and 15% Grenache Noir. Organically grown on schist, basalt and grés (sandstone) that yielded beautifully balanced fruit but at a very low 15 hl per ha. Manual harvest into small caskets. The Syrah and Grenache were both destemmed and vinified separately in 2yr and 5yr old 500l barrels (Saury). The Carignan was vinified on stems and in steel tank. The Cinsault was destemmed and vinified in steel tank. Natural yeast (no inoculated yeast used). Breeding took place in 2yr and 5yr old 500l barrels (Saury) for the Syrah and Grenache, and in steel tank for the Cinsault and Carignan, for a total time of 32 months with no batonnage. Bottled without fining or filtration. Bottled with a very, very low addition of sulphites (no sulphite additions at any point previously). No other additions at all. The wine has interest, complexity and depth, it is beautifully resolved - an elegant and pretty red-fruited wine with delightful freshness and length. With this quality and with the wines age, it’s a very nice offer indeed. The wine was selected (with one of the very highest scores) as one of 80 ‘Coups de Coeur’ by Guide Gault & Millau for the year 2020 Review below - "The colour appears black, intense with purple reflections. The nose presents an elegant maturity with predominantly fruity cherry and blackberry punctuated by spicy notes (pepper, cinnamon). In the mouth, the cherry is very present with other stone fruits (plum, prune). The leather and cocoa prolong a very fresh and digestible finish. The texture is dense and velvety. A complex and racy wine that evolves beautifully without losing its beautiful tension".

Famously delicate and sexy pink 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.

Established in 1446, Etienne Parahy is known as the first owner of the vineyards and the estate 'Puig Parahy'. In those near 600 years, the estate has passed through 19 generations to current owner and vigneron Georges Puig (the first son of each new generation is named 'Georges'). Nestled in Les Aspres region, a wonderful mixed-soil and fresh terroir of the Roussillon which is found between Mt. Canigou and the Mediterranean sea. The estate has a rich history producing outstanding rancio sweet wines that develop and live for decades, sometimes even centuries. Bottles from the 1800s are still available today. The estate was replanted in 1878 after phylloxera wiped out all of the vineyards. Many of these vines are still producing wonderful old vine fruit of outrageous quality that is carefully and naturally handled to produce a great range of dry table wines and VdNs of many styles. This is special wine. Ancient vines of Carignan, Grenache and Mourvedre and native, wild yeasts from this historic Roussillon estate have produced this pale, bright and gorgeous mid-red coloured wine - looking exactly like a current hipster favourite. The nose is alive with prickly bright fruits intermixed with beautiful secondary and tertiary aromas of old books, furniture and childhood memories of churches and other magnificent and curious things of wonder. The palate is equally as interesting and as equally sparkly bright and refreshing. But so rewarding, resolved and complex. An utter marvel from this unsung fresh terroir in the magnificent Roussillon.

One of Australia's greatest Shirazes, from a vineyard first planted in 1912. "The classic Edelstone aromatic profile - sage, bay leaves, pepper both black and Sichuan. Blacker fruits on the palate, rubbed sage and fine cedar too. There’s a lovely momentum to this, an elegant flow across the palate finishing with the gentle grip of fine brick dust tannins. A spectacular Edelstone, one of the greats." Nick Ryan. The Australian. May 2021 Comes in a presentation box.

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.

Special Cuvée is composed of over 85% Grand and Premier crus of the three main Champagne varieties: 60% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay and 15% Meunier. It is cellar aged for twice as long as required by appellation regulations with only a moderately dosage or between 7 and 8 grams per litre, to keep it as taught and crisp as possible. A golden colour with very fine bubbles. There is a beautiful aromatic complexity with ripe fruit and spicy aromas; hints of roasted apples, compote and peaches. A subtle combination of structure, length and vivacity; bubbles like velvet; pear, brioche and spicy aromas, notes of fresh walnut.

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.

Honeyed, cedar, orange peel with notes of spiced fruit, lemon marmalade and a lingering sweet finish. Heavenly!

This Brut Rosé is made almost exclusively from Pinot Noir grapes from the Montagne de Reims region, and from Premiers Crus and Grands Crus. Just 10% of Chardonnay from the Cotes des Blancs rounds out the blend. Seriously fruity.

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

60% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Meunier. Full bodied and powerful. Toasty, nutty and biscuity with light citrus notes and complex creamy mouthfeel. Excellent with smoked fish dishes.

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.

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.