Wow. Not only do this fabulous Domaine have a world-class, ancient vine Grenache Noir from one of the named terroirs for the cepage in Chateauneuf du Pape at the pinnacle of its range, Dominique also have the 'Grenache Vieilles Vignes 2023 La Reserve Saint Dominique' at the entry point - talk about dreams coming true for Grenache lovers such as us at CWM! This cuvee wowed our senior buyer initially, and later when presented to the team at a staff forum - jaws hit the floor once again. Beautiful 100% Grenache from a single clay and gravel-marked vineyard of only 0.95ha planted in 1966 on the plain. The vineyard is presently in conversion to 'Organic'. Whatever Eric Bonnet is doing in the vineyard, you can certainly feel the magic in the glass! Glorious lift of red fruit with a touch of dark cherry - the wine is floral and pleasing. The glorious mouth has similar styled fruit keeping things focused, pure, varietal and interesting with its lovely weight, mineral focus and outstanding length. What utter class as this price point. One to fill your boots with and enjoy this spring when the flowers are beginning to bloom. A real treat. Grenache heaven. Oh, and it’s not only us here at CWM who think so: "The Réserve Saint-Dominique Grenache Vieilles Vignes 2023 has been awarded a rating of two stars, which corresponds to an 'Outstanding Wine'". This wine was rated such in the 2025 edition of the Guide Hachette. Certainly a weighty accolade for a wine at this price.

Vicentini is a family business where Agostino works with his wife, Teressa, and their children Emanuele and Francesca. Based in San Zeno, a village at the mouth of the Val d‘Illarsi which resides inside both the Soave and Valpolicella DOCs, but is outside of their respective Classico zones. But don't let this last point cloud your vision to their outstanding wines produced in two distinct and great terroirs. The first terroir is on volcanic rock within the Valle dei Ciliegi, here the land is largely responsible for their "Valpolicella" and "Soave Casale". The second terroir is on limestone in the commune of Terrelunghe, where Garganega and Trebbiano di Soave are grown for the 'Terrelunghe' Soave. Beautiful, direct wine with tension and intense, spicy stonefruit and citrus fruit which is tangy, salty and stony. Brilliant, brilliant wine. The Casale vineyard is outside of the Classico zone, but consistently produces one of Soave’s most heralded and best loved wines. The fifty year old vines on volcanic soil give very low yields producing a wine of great balance and real interest. The grapes are hand-picked, sorted and de-stemmed before being fermented in temperature-controlled steel vats. Winemaking is hands off and the fruit speaks directly of this wonderful, carefully worked site. Outstanding stuff.

A new cuvée here from Basket Range - a juicy, fruity, delicious chillable red blend. From Sholto Broderick at Basket Range Wines: This wine is comprised predominately of Merlot and Petit Verdot from our vineyard. These were macerated with the use of whole bunches and with gentle handling, which gives lifted fruit and a spice from the stalks. The components were then blended with small amount of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. This makes for a red wine with gentle tannin and a lifted mid-palate. The Bantam is a dynamic wine that showcases juicy soft plums, white pepper, and graphitic tannin, with a savoury, highly drinkable quality. Designed for earlier drinking, it's best served cooler, at about 12c.

"Intense with a luminous ruby colour and garnet nuances, the nose reveals elegant notes of ripe black fruits and fresh red fruits, notes of black cherries and raspberry. Complex spicy notes and fine mineral smoky touches, a light and elegant infusion at low temperature. The palate is soft and light, the fruity and gourmet flavours dominate. Mineral and smoky touches bring freshness and highlight beautiful tender and perfectly integrated tannins. The result is balanced with a persistent long finish. " Dominique Laporte, Meilleur Sommelier de France, Meilleur Ouvrier de France Sommelier De-stemmed harvest - Natural vinification without the addition of sulphur - Very light extraction - Infusion, at low temperature - 15 days maceration before pressing - Only the free-run juice is kept. Soil type: Gneiss. The Commune: Cassagnes, Roussillon Aged in concrete eggs for 9 months.

Drinking beautifully. Resolved, lifted and nicely complex. "65% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 5% Mourvèdre. Concentrated and bold with a core of sweet raspberry and cherry fruit with some warmth, finishing with exotic Provençale herbs and a slight stoniness. Has some evolution". 89/100 Jamie Goode, wineanorak.com

Vicentini is a family business where Agostino works with his wife, Teressa, and their children Emanuele and Francesca. Based in San Zeno, a village at the mouth of the Val d‘Illarsi which resides inside both the Soave and Valpolicella DOCs, but is outside of their respective Classico zones. But don't let this last point cloud your vision to their outstanding wines produced in two distinct and great terroirs. The first terroir is on volcanic rock within the Valle dei Ciliegi, here the land is largely responsible for their "Valpolicella" and "Soave Casale". The second terroir is on limestone in the commune of Terrelunghe, where Garganega and Trebbiano di Soave are grown for the 'Terrelunghe' Soave. Select bunches of Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara from the steep terraces in the valley of cherries. Macerated and wild fermentation takes place at controlled temperature for nearly three weeks with gentle pump overs. Softly pressed and put to tonneaux for 18 months. In bottle a further two years before release. This is really fine Valpolicella. The volcanic soils in the vineyards help produce a rich wine with elegance, purity and finesse. Cherry, dark red fruits with hints of cedar and dried fig are interwoven into a beautiful expression. Utterly wonderful.

From Sholto Broderick at Basket Range Wines: This wine is the evolution of the style my father made using the same fruit; Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. These vines were planted first in the early 1980s and at our new adjacent vineyard in 2001. Growing these varieties and making them into wine, I see the quality of the site and concentration of the fruit. Each block sits at a northern facing aspect on loamy clay over sandstone. The wine shows ripeness of tannin, structure and balance, while having energy and elegance. A reflection of an excellent site for these varieties. This is a Cabernet Sauvignon predominant blend (75%) with Merlot (19%) and Petit Verdot (6%). Each component was fermented in 2000L vats and matured in French barriques for 10 months. The 2022 Estate Cabernet is a pretty special wine for me. The 2021 Estate Cabernet was awarded the "Best Cabernet Trophy" at the Adelaide Hills Wine Show in 2022. I feel the 2022 vintage release is the best job of it I have made so far. Only 230 dozen produced. From Mike Bennie in The Wine Front: "From the Basket Range, of course, and a blend of 75% cabernet sauvignon, 19% merlot, 6% petit verdot. Sholto Broderick guides the process here, a young fella with a lot of clever stuff going on in his head, and a steady hand on the idea of legacy for the family estate. This feels like a very mature human made it. So even, so precise, so balanced, so serious yet so drinkable. Succulent texture, a freshness in the mix, dark cherry, faint mocha, liquorice, clove, blonde tobacco, alpine amaro characters in bouquet and palate. A web of emery board tannin shapes things nicely, the persistence is notable with graphite and crushed rock minerality finishing things in the distance, with a lick of clove spice there too. So wonderfully poised and offers concentration yet lift throughout. It’s decidedly serious. It’s fabulous". 94/100 The Wine Front

A limited edition wine from Gayda that changes with every vintage. And the 2023 is an exciting new take indeed! Beautiful Rolle (Vermentino) and Viognier from the Minervois are picked when perfectly ripe then pressed slowly in whole bunches, with very gentle racking and seeing careful vinification without sulphur, at low temperature - ageing on lees - the Rolle in stainless steel vats, and the Viognier in a mixture of concrete eggs and stainless steel tanks. This is SPARKLY BRIGHT and DAZZLING with good richness also. The pale yellow colour is elegant and brilliant. On the nose, a discreet subtlety reveals notes of Granny Smith apple, lime and fresh almonds, characteristic of the blend of Rolle and Viognier grapes. On the palate, the wine is full and generous, supported by a lovely acidity and a slight, attractive bitterness on the finish. A mineral touch adds fascinating depth also. The flavours of fresh pear, acacia flower, almond and white peach unfold harmoniously, offering you a refined, beautifully balanced treat of a wine. Unique and utterly, utterly marvellous. A LOT of wine for the money.

Pale yellow colour. Expressive Riesling nose typical from limestone origin: citrus, light mineral notes, stony flavours, honey. Vivacious palate, crisp, amazing acidity and freshness. This is a very classic Roche Calcaire that finishes bone dry with a lacy texture. This wine will still need some time to open up and it is highly recommended to decant it in the first years after bottling.

100% Grenache (1920s) from sandy, clay-limestone galet stone soils on Pignan (N-E), destemmed, 5 week vinification at up to 28°C, cap punching and pumping overs, steel vat raised 18-20 months, unfined, unfiltered, 4,000 bottles produced. **** 2022 John Livingstone-Learnmonth on Drink Rhone "Quite a full red; the nose carries spice, with a crushed red berries core, a gentle floral grace. The palate is finely tuned, very true to its place, has an elegant coating that clads it in a supple texture all through, gives a true portrait of its sandy soils from this excellent lieu-dit. It gains a little correctly increased depth into its very calm finish, is well tuned. The finish brings in blood orange, iron notes. There is complexity to be accessed here over time. From 2027 or so to 2047-49". Tasted Oct 2023 "Tasted blind. Some bacon and meaty notes of reduction on the nose. Rich and weighty mid palate and chewy tannins. Good concentration of fruit and a lively red-raspberry finish. An attractive, savoury note alongside the raspberry notes. Elegant and fine, with a saline note creeping in on the end. Sculpted and elegant". 17/20 Alistair Cooper MW on jancisrobinson.com When to drink 2030 - 2040 Date tasted 5 Oct 2023 "An elegant and smooth style of Châteauneuf, ripe but not overly concentrated, with balanced (if gently warming) alcohol and acidity, some sandy mineral notes and precise berry fruits. The super-fine tannins are pure and expressive. It’s not a powerful style, but an intense one, with a long finish. Pure Grenache from vines aged more than 100 years old, from the sandy soils of Pignan nord; all aged in stainless steel". 95/100 Tasted by: Matt Walls for Decanter Magazine Drinking Window: 2027 - 2035 95-97+/100 Jeb Dunnuck 94/100 Vinous

Interestingly made from Merlot and Semillon grapes and made in the traditional method employed for all Cremants and Champagnes. A lovely pale lemon colour, with notes of lemon, melon and green apple, this has a fine streak of acidity and tangy citrus. With its lifted citrus flavours and its fresh aftertaste, it is ready to drink now.

A blend of Clairette 70% and Grenache 30%. 80 year old vines are planted in mixed soils of red sand, clay and round pebbles. Grapes are hand-harvested and vinification takes place in 100% old wooden casks. The wine is matured in large ‘demi-muid’ barrels for 6 months on the lees. Domaine La Lôyane was voted Winemaker of the Year in 2018 by the Guide Hachette, France's wine bible. La Lôyane refers to the place where the estate is built, a place formerly occupied by wolves! The estate, founded in 1994, is located in the south of the Rhône Valley, near Avignon in the Lirac cru. The Dubois family has been cultivating its 20 hectares of vines there for 4 generations! And the last, with Romain Dubois, has cnverted the estate to organic farming. An extremely precise estate, which is constantly moving upmarket and producing wines from vines that are sometimes more than a century old!

England's top winery's top wine. Named after their entry in the Domesday Book in 1086. Easily the equal to the best of luxury cuvee Champagne.

Bright pale-yellow colour. Discreet nose which is slowly opening on fresh citrus fruits and light smoky aromas, a characteristic often found on this grape variety. This is almost a Riesling like nose with lots of precision and tension. Palate is dry and is supported by a ripe acidity. The finish shows an enjoyable velvety and elegant mouthfeel with again fresh white fruits flavours. The Windsbuhl character shows strongly in this wine and will allow for a nice evolution over the next few years.

Laure Dubois runs this excellent estate with her husband Romain and has fully converted to Organic farming. The wines they produce are consistently good and elegant, mainly from the Lirac appellation, north West of Chateauneuf-du-Pape but also this Cotes du Rhone from just outside. The 2022 is the third year in five vintages that the wine has won a coveted Coup de Coeur top award in the Guide Hachette, the 'bible' of French wine. Charming, 'irresistible' and ready to drink it also offers outstanding value for money. Domaine La Lôyane was voted Winemaker of the Year in 2018 by the Guide Hachette. La Lôyane refers to the place where the estate is built, a place formerly occupied by wolves! The estate, founded in 1994, is located in the south of the Rhône Valley, near Avignon in the Lirac cru. The Dubois family has been cultivating its 20 hectares of vines there for 4 generations! And the last, with Romain Dubois, has converted the estate to organic farming. An extremely precise estate, which is constantly moving upmarket and producing wines from vines that are sometimes more than a century old!

When Zind-Humbrecht acquired the Clos-Saint-Urbain vineyard on the Grand Cru Rangen in 1977, about half of the land wasn’t under vines and needed to be planted. This very steep vineyard requires a lot of hard manual work and some surfaces were left abandoned in the middle of the 20th century. Most vintages, the vines planted in the 70s and 80s are separated from the very old vines that qualify as Grand Cru. This wine clearly show all the originality of a volcanic geology which is unique in Alsace. They are also cultivated the exact same way as the older vines (ploughing with a winch for example). The biggest difference would be on the crop size. The Roche Volcanique is made with low yields, but the older vines produce even less! For these ‘younger vines’ they aim for very healthy grapes (no noble rot) in order to achieve a dry wine. Bright pale-yellow colour. Expressive fruity and smoky nose (smoked ham, grilled hazelnuts). The palate has a velvety texture, lots of depth and length without too much power. Gentle balance showing a saline acidity on the finish. Very easy wine to enjoy today. Dry, but with a certain softness due to a good dry extract that brings volume on the palate. Obviously Rangen in taste…

Escaravailles rare top end white we are very lucky to see an allocation of. Even with a hot, short vintage Madeline has produced a very fine, elegant, juicy long and fine Rhone wine.

This is an astonishing and almost perfect expression of Gewurztraminer; floral, smoky and spicy, then terrific concentration and balance and length, with some juicy sweetness detectable and adding to the enjoyment of the whole. Very, very fine. The sedimentary limestone geology, mostly located on the Vosges mountains foothills in Alsace, has always been the prime choice for producing long lived and structured Gewurztraminer wines. The presence of clay, more or less important, brings a cooler element in the soil, slowing down the ripeness process and preserving better acidity. The presence of limestone influences the aromatic profile and texture of the wine. They become more spicy, less floral, with a recognisable tighter tannic structure so crucial for the balance of the wine. Gewurztraminer, more than any other in Alsace, requires an accomplished skin ripeness. Failing so can end up in an over aromatic, not complex and bitter wine. The quality of the terroir will help greatly, but so does harvesting later! Since the acidity is naturally low, harvesting later isn’t affecting the wine as much as other grapes that would suffer more from acidity loss. All the grapes going into this wine are sourced from the estate's top single vineyards or Grands Crus, where they use the 'younger' vines. Pale yellow gold colour. The nose is very expressive showing intense exotic fruits aromas (litchi, mango, passion fruit, grapefruit…). It sounds like a cliché, but the wine is actually elegant and racy. The palate is fresh, quite tense and vibrant. Nice sweetness on the finish very well balance by ripe tannins. This is a classic medium sweet Gewurztraminer that shows that it originates from good vineyards. It can be enjoyed young but will develop more complexity (spiciness) with age.

Red and dark purple wine colour with bright reflections. Pleasant nose, with orange peel and rosemary aromas. The palate is elegant, smooth and well structured, with blueberry paired with soft spices, cloves and Timut pepper

Fresh notes of citrus fruits and pear with light hints of white blossom. Cantina Bortolato Emanuela is one of the leading family-owned wineries in Italy. Established in 1986 by the Pizzolo Family; Giorgio (Managing Director) and his three brothers, Augusto, Giuliano and Floriano. The main production facility is based in Calmasino near Lake Garda and boasts one of the most modern facilities in Europe.

Frédéric Julien farms 15 hectares of vineyards in Rasteau. As there is no Rasteau Blanc, the appellation is not so relevant for white wines so this is declassified to Vin de France to allow maximum expression. 50 % bourboulenc, 50 % Clairette. Vinfiied separately partly in oak and partly in tank. After 7 months the wine is blended. This has good fruit but better acidity, making it nervy and racy. Brilliant wine.

The Saumur Champigny appellation covers red wines made in the 8 communes closest to Saumur. The name Champigny supposedly derives from the Latin campus igni (field of fire), named for the area’s exceptionally warm microclimate. 100% Cabernet Franc, this Saumur Champigny sees no oak giving a light, fresh style with abundant red cherry fruit. This is from the same producer as our superb Crémant.

Pale gold coloured wine with light green reflections. Elegant and precise nose of white peach, pear and then honey and pine kernel. Pure and flavourful palate with a contrasted balance between Mediterranean roundness and fresh finale. 100% Clairette Rose whole-bunch pressed, from sandy, galet stone soils on Pignan (N-E, 0.8 hectare, 1979-80) & Bédines (N-E, 0.2 hectare, 1982, 1984), Saintes Georges (N-E, 0.2 hectare, 1960s), 50% steel vat, 50% 1-year 228-litre oak cask fermented at up to 17.5°C, raised 5-6 months, 1-2 lees stirrings a week, malo blocked, 1,000 bottles only.

Delightful pet nat from Gramiller. So fine, fruity, fresh and elegant. 50% Clairette and 50% Ugni Blanc. Pear, white flowers and cut grass on the nose. The palate unfolds with these flavours whilst being juicy but oh-so fresh and very fine and elegant Pet Nat. An outstanding effort.