Organic and Biodynamic

89-91 points Jeb Dunnuck "the 2013 Maury Sec Bastoul-Laffite is a blend of 80% Grenache and 20% Carignan that’s brought up all in barrel. Offering lots of plum, chalky minerality, chocolate and violets, it’s medium to full-bodied, has excellent purity of fruit and fine tannin"

89 points Wine Advocate "a blend of Syrah, Grenache, Carignan and Mourvèdre that was brought up all in concrete tanks. It has a classic, slightly earthy style in its leather, sweet black and blue fruits and peppery herb aromas and flavors. This gives way to a plump, sweetly fruited, mouthfilling red that's ideal for drinking over the coming 3-4 years."

Winemaker Vincent writes "For this 2016 vintage, the quality of our Cabernet Franc was outstanding. During the fermentation process one small batch in oak tank was so pure that we extended the maceration, more like an infusion, to see how the wine would develop with prolonged contact with the grape skins… This experience resulted in an infusion lasting 180 days (normally 20 to 30 days) with eventual pressing of the grapes on the 10th April 2017, during the Easter full moon! "

Succulent, off-dry Chenin Blanc with ripe peach and red apple fruit, good weight in the mouth, and an elegant dry finish.

Floral. Violet. Bright and almost tropical. Minerals galore. LOTS going on. Possibly THE GREATEST white wine value in the Roussillon. This is a rich white, but with a real linear focus and immense freshness (but never to crispy). Ideal with chicken and meaty fish. You really need to explore this cuvee if you’re getting bored with the classics and want a flavour shift. Its like a brilliant cross of the most elegant Rhone whites with a fine Riesling with great tension. But really, what you have here is a very special cuvee that is equal parts Grenache Blanc, Grenache Gris (rare), Carignan Blanc (super rare) and Carignan Gris (off the scale rare!) from a single, co-planted site in one of the most beautiful vineyards in the world in the greatest and hardest working hands in the Roussillon, the hands of Daniel Laffite, DO NOT MISS.

Cherry jam and blackberry aromas, notes of vanilla and chocolate. The balanced mouth or the sugar does not dominate is prolonged with cocoa notes. Great with chocolate desserts.

The Guimberteau family has owned the Château Franc-Baudron estate since 1923. This is a vineyard on a human scale where each generation has left its footprint on the family heritage. Since 2010, the new generation of Château Franc-Baudron has embarked on an environmental approach by converting the entire vineyard to organic farming. The area hosts bee-hives, uses plants for treatments (horsetail, nettle and ferns) and seeds flowers to encourage biodiversity of wildlife in the vines. They have begun implementing new winemaking techniques by using minimal inputs to express at its best the nature of the grapes and the type of soil. Most of the family’s plots of Montagne Saint-Emilion are located on a clay-limestone plateau. Bright and intense in colour with aroams of blackcurrant, blackberry and oak notes.Well balanced, powerful and velvety.

Possibly the best value expression of Gewurztraminer in the world. Simply beautiful.

A classic dry estate Riesling from Olivier Humbrecht. Mineral and taut to start off with, this wine really opens up in the glass. Fresh, floral, peachy, exciting.

"Planted in 1905. Fresh, vivid, stony and gravelly with lovely lush black cherry fruit held in savoury tension with notes of minerals and tar and blood. There’s very little clay here, and the result is tannins that are almost brittle: the opposite of a clay soil wine. Has a bracing, fresh tannic structure. Delicate and fine for a Carignan". 94/100 Jamie Goode wineanorak.com

A blend of Grenache, Syrah, Carignan and Cinsault, spent close to 12 months in concrete prior to bottling. It's a big, powerful wine that's not overripe or overextracted. Brandied cherries and hints of garrigue spread easily across the full-bodied palate, showing ample length on the finish. Drink it over the next 5-6 years.

"A lovely, delicate iteration of Crozes-Hermitage" writes Richard Hemming of jancisrobinson.com. Yann's wines continue to evolve in a more sophisticated trajectory, His single vineyard Le rouvre comes from 50 year old vines and offer 'a screaming deal' according to Wine Advocate.

Monthelie is a sleepy appellation just outside Meursault, famed for good value wines. This example accords to the Prunier-Bonheur style of silky/creamy texture and nuanced savouriness. Delicate, evolved, charming, hints of nutmeg and orange peel. No need to decant or aerate, a ready-to-drink treat. Organic.

An unusual, but terrific, blend showing the spiciness of Gewurz; the grapiness of Muscat; the body of Pinot Gris; the backbone of Riesling; and the refreshing character of Sylvaner. The resulting wine is fresh and characterful. Vegan

Jancis of the 13 "Relatively dense and sweet. Lots to get your teeth into here. Lots of charm. Definitely Côte d’Or and really Very Good Value" All the classic notes of nut oil, vanilla, dry honey. Very classy. Famed organic Meursault grower. Monthelie is just yards from Meursault.

This Syrah blend with soft black fruits and spice has been shaped by the sunbaked rocky soils of the unmistakable and very definate Faugeres terroir. A herbal, spicy bouquet is followed by youthful red cherries and supple mineral character derived from the schist rich soils. One of our greatest value wines.

The soils of Goldert Grand Cru and Jurassic limestone marl, the same as in southern Jura. This is a stunning wine. Floral, pretty, aromas at first, then a hint of peach yoghurt, and a final menthol, eucalyptus whiff. On the palate alongside these explosive flavours there is some charming toastiness and salinity. This salinity goes hand in hand with the acidity to create a wine of precision and balance. The Goldert Muscat has remarkable ageing potential. We were lucky enough to taste the 1964 at the winery. An intriguing, dry, salty wine, but charming all the same. The nose was complex with petrol-like characters, wormwood, orange pith, polish, camphor, and sweet spice. The palate was bone dry, and though the fruit had faded, the wine still had great persistence with a gentle acidity swathe of acidity running all the way through. Tasted at the Domaine March 2020, AA

Tasted at the Domaine March 2020 "Slight rosiness to the colour. A very different wine. Meaty, savoury aromas. A broad, fleshy palate, yet precise with no oiliness. It’s almost beyond any Pinot Gris I’ve ever tasted. A touch of florality on the finish brings the wine back in to line. Refreshing and foody." AA

100% Carignan that was brought up all in concrete tanks. Notes of leather, black cherries, plums and savory herbs all emerge from this medium-bodied, fresh, lively wine.

Offering pretty notes of black and blue fruits, violets, pepper and hints of leather, it's medium-bodied, fresh, focused and tannins that emerge on the finish. Organic.

Mineral, taught. Fine and long. One of the unsung whites of the Roussilloin. A blend of Grenache Gris, Grenache Blanc, Carignan Gris and Carignan Blanc. Outstanding wine. Ages gracefully for 10++ years. Beautiful vineyards that are beautifully worked.

2nd Wine of Ch Laroque, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classé. Made of 96% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc from vines more than 50 years old, the medium to deep garnet-purple colored 2016 Les Tours de Laroque opens with pretty raspberry coulis, black cherries and warm plums scents with underlying fungi, black loam and cracked pepper hints plus a touch of beef drippings. Medium to full-bodied, elegant and fresh, with a firm line of grainy tannins, it delivers a graceful, earthy finish.

Rangen de Thann is one of the most Southerly vineyards of Alsace. Volcanic soils, and vertiginous slopes. This site is so difficult to work it requires that estate to employ four full time staff for just 5.5ha! This wine fermented to full dryness in just 3 weeks. No MLF. Elegant, floral, charming. Savoury, smoky, bright. Hot, and dormant.

Rangen de Thann is one of the most Southerly vineyards of Alsace. Volcanic soils, and vertiginous slopes. This site is so difficult to work it requires that estate to employ four full time staff for just 5.5ha! "Very closed. Smoky, lees-y, saline. The fruit is very reserved right now and lacks some density. There’s texture, tannin, and heat. These vines produce very small, tiny berries giving a greater ratio skin to pulp, hence the sensation of tannin on the palate. This wine is all structure at the moment." Tasted at the Domaine, March 2020 (AA)

Planted 1972-4. 1.2ha just below Hengst Grand Cru. Touch of bottle shock. Broader, more concentrated aromatics. Slightly savoury spice and musky flowers. Rather like a Gruner Veltliner. Saline and savoury on the palate, but with some plump fruit too (8.2g/l RS). The fruit concentration seems to be in a crescendo. Brooding. Tasted at the Domaine, March 2020 (AA)

As the name indicates, all the vineyards are located on the poor granitic soils of the Brand hillside. It is in fact the second wine of the Grand Cru Brand. These precocious and warm granitic soils produce wines that have a vertical structure, always expressive at a young age and never shy on their aromatic potential. Tasted at the Domaine March 2020: "Fruit from Brand Grand Cru. Pretty much a declassified second wine. Soils here are biotype pink granite. This wine comes from seven parcels: two planted 1947-49, three planted in the early 1980s, and two planted about 20yrs ago under biodynamics. New release. It seems like there’s a bit of bottle shock here. It’s rather muted at the moment. There is some fleshier fruit on the palate, and it is absolutely bone dry. Bitter fruits. Pithy. Smoky finish. ." AA

The estate is seeing a dry Pinot Gris renaissance at the moment - terroir driven, versatile wines, but not as high acidity or ‘intellectual’ as Riesling. The Roche range really does represent remarkable value. The fruit for the Roche Calcaire wines comes from young vines in Clos Windsbuhl. But at Zind Humbrecht when they say ‘young vines’ what they mean is an average age of 35-40yo vines, rather than 85-90yo! In many other regions this wine would be classed Vieilles Vignes! Only just released, this Pinot Gris was quite closed when we tasted it. Pinot Gris ferments quickly making reduction more likely. There are notes of bitter almond and apple skin. On the palate the wine is fleshy, with an fine underlying acid structure. At the moment it may seem a little austere and difficult, but this wine still has a long way to go. Tasted at the Domaine, March 2020 (AA)

The Roche Volcanique range is younger vines from Rangen de Thann. This wine has 9.6g/l residual sugar. An immediate whiff on gunflint hints at a touch of reduction. The palate is soft at first, with pure ripe fruit to the fore. It tastes floral. There’s reserved acidity and slightly lifted alcohol. The lightly acidic soil makes wines with higher pH. It’s moreish, charming, long, and thoroughly enjoyable now. Tasted at the Domaine, March 2020 (AA)

Fruit from Goldert Grand Cru. Not the typical overt Gewurztraminer style on the nose but the fruit absolutely explodes on the front palate. It’s forward and tropical but then there is some pleasing smokiness and reserve on finish. Totally different. Vibrant, varied, and flamboyant. Tasted at the Domaine, March 2020 (AA)

Instant Gewurztraminer appeal. Pure, punchy, and perfumed. Pink grapefruit and wet stones. Lifted and round with a wonderful linear backbone of acidity throughout. No oiliness. Rather intangible on the finish. Upfront but then reserved. Remarkable. Tasted at the Domaine, March 2020 (AA)

Rangen de Thann is one of the most Southerly vineyards of Alsace. Volcanic soils, and vertiginous slopes. This site is so difficult to work it requires that estate to employ four full time staff for just 5.5ha! A golden pinky colour. Very savoury on the nose. Washed rind cheese. Floral, honied, advanced. Very tertiary. Burnt acacia honey, membrillo, yellow apple skins, peaty medicine. Suddenly there is freshness, length, and depth. Hugely layered. Less rich then 2012, but more than 2017. Pure, crystalline, developed. Plateauing. Tasted at the Domaine, March 2020 (AA)

Deep golden colour. Well developed and well aged whilst also seeming clean and fresh. Unctuous botrytis balanced by bright acidity. Fragrant and smoky. Not cloying at all. Tasted at the Domaine, March 2020 (AA)

Phenomenal aromatics. Honied, polished, savoury, smoky. So layered. Like the freshly spat out stones of super ripe lychees. Not the fruit, but the stone. Then there’s a note similar to high acidity coffee or cacao. Musk, almond kernels, and something animal. Intensely long. Moreish. Stunning. Tasted at the Domaine, March 2020 (AA)

Grand Cru Brand overlooks the village of Turckheim where Dom. Zind-Humbrecht are based. These are special steep granite soils. 2014 was an absolutely phenomenal vintage for Brand. A wine of opulent aromas - white fruit, acacia, and a whiff of smoke. The wine coats the palate, revealing great depth, complexity, and length. Racy and dry on the finish. For keeping.

Deep purple, almost opaque in colour with an expressive nose of black fruits, pepper, cinnamon, spice and violets. A seductive palate of dark hedgerow fruits, very open and welcoming with an explosion of fruit and spice. Mineral undertones.

Natural, Organic, Biodynamic Macabeu, fermented and aged in barrels, racy and minerally with soft texture and generous fruit.

Old vine Grenache grown on limestone, that produces something amazing. Ethereal, sublime and surprisingly fesh, this achieves a level of finesse akin to fine red Burgundy. Remarkable, special, very good.

Yann Chave is a young man who today creates some of the best and most elegant wines of the Northern Rho?ne

Yann Chave is a young man who today creates some of the best and most elegant wines of the Northern Rhone