This is a richer, full bodied and more complex white wine with minerality and almonds. Tbh this wine is so special that it’s difficult to describe. Although it’s a heavier white, it can also taste light and even sometimes a little floral. It’s contradictory. And that’s why I love it. Serve it only lightly chilled. This is a heavier white so it can take on some heavier white meat dishes. But as Piemonte is the home of Risotto, we think a really simple cheese, pumpkin or saffron risotto is a great pairin Timorasso is one of Italy’s rarest grapes. It’s only grown in a tiny area by a few winegrowers. It’s spectacular, though. The Italians call it the ‘White Barolo’ and you know how obsessed everyone is with Barolos.

Here’s something you don’t come across everyday…a Nebbiolo/Cabernet blend that is fermented and aged in concrete egg. The choice of fermentation vessel aids circulation during teh ferment which imparts depth, volume and texture to the resultant wine. This fabulous wine not only has a cool, egg-shaped label, but drinks beautifully, showing bright acidity and a lovely balance between sweet blackcurrant fruit and something altogether more savoury and herbal. The finish is clean and multi-layered. It has a purity of fruit that allows the drinker to experience the flavours of BNebbiolo without the normal oak influence tasted in Piemontese versions.

Classic, cool Cabernet Franc. Herbal aromas with blackcurrants, oak, cream and brambly fruit and lively acidity combine in a wine that is ready to drink. An emblematic property of Anjou, the Château de Fesles and its wine estate were built in the 11th century at the top of the 4th highest point in the Loire Valley. Its exceptional geographical position as well as its proximity to the Layon river allow it to produce wines with a distinguished and complex character.

The label used for the 2022 vintage refers to the dictum of Pliny the Elder, a Roman philosopher of the first century: ex Africa semper aliquid novi (“something new always comes out of Africa”). So Aliquid Novi (’something new’) quite naturally presented itself as very fitting description of the wine. Nobody's been bottling Pinotage longer than Lanzerac and this wine shows a wealth of experience with this proudly South African variety. With 5 to 10 years' maturation this wine will start to acquire the velvet density and luxurious chocolate and caramel flavours of its very early Lanzerac predecessors. A full-bodied, complex wine with a beautiful balance between fruit and wood showcasing a good tannin structure that will allow it to age extremely well.

Chateau Fargueirol is on great form and offers traditional Chateauneuf du Pape at a superb price. Ripe and garriguey nose with impressive concentration but a nice easy going texture and ripe tannins that means it can be enjoyed young or after 3-10 years of cellaring.

Fermented in steel or concrete tanks. Aged 12 months in barrel, 20% new. Deep cherry red and an impression of freshness in the aroma. Still lots of pure dark fruit, stony cassis and a hint of oak. On the palate, this is refined in texture, fresh in a warm year, with a touch of chocolate sweetness on the finish that seems to be from the oak. Elegantly structured by the tannins, tightly wound even with that chocolate smoothness on the finish. Needs time and should age thanks to the balance between fruit and structure.

Closerie des Bories is a second wine of the excellent Château Puygueraud. The property was acquired by George Thienpont in 1946 and he subsequently replanted it with vines towards the end of the 1970’s. Since 1983 his son, Nicolas, has been responsible for the winemaking. Chateau Puygueraud has since become the benchmark wine for the Cotes de Francs and a reference for the renewal of this still little-known appellation. Closerie des Bories, based on Merlot only, is a modern wine, built on the fruit.

The 2021 Pinotage boasts an excellent deep colour, ripe berries and plums, smoky eucalyptus and gentle leather on the nose. Intensely ripe brambles and brioche with a good mouth-feel and lingering aftertaste. Lovely. And will improve. Great value for money. Nobody's been bottling Pinotage longer than Lanzerac and this wine shows a wealth of experience with this proudly South African variety. With 5 to 10 years' maturation this wine will start to acquire the velvet density and luxurious chocolate and caramel flavours of its very early Lanzerac predecessors. A full-bodied, complex wine with a beautiful balance between fruit and wood showcasing a good tannin structure that will allow it to age extremely well.

Fine and very expressive, there are citrus and white flowers, on the nose, with vanilla from some nice oak. On the palate, there is complexity, ripe fruit and a pleasant freshness. It is a very aromatic wine with notes of citrus fruits. The whole wine is well balanced between body, freshness and oak. The Château Bonnet Réserve comes from a selection of a few hectares, among the 120 of the estate's vineyard, producing white wines in sustainable viticulture. The grape varieties selected are Sauvignon and Sémillon.

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

Pithy lemon and white peach combined with vanilla pod and butterscotch. The palate has a fleshy texture, flavours of ripe apricot crumble, a hint of cinnamon. Leading to a toasty finish, underpinned by subtle woodsmoke and fresh acidity. Whole-bunch pressed and only the ‘heart’ of the free run used, the juice was then fermented in new French oak barrels. Following fermentation the wine was matured in barrel for 18 months, with around 50% seeing weekly bâtonnage. The wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered in March 2024. Made from some of the best Chardonnay fruit we’ve ever seen, picked in 2022 by hand from Martin’s Lane in the Crouch Valley, Essex. It was a hot, dry year, so yields were low, but ripeness was exceptional.

CWM Ranking Fist Class: 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Cabernet Franc, 15% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc. This estate is on a roll following a sale in 2019 to an Insurance company that has leased the vines to the Hellfrich family. Dark ruby. A ripe complex nose leads to a well constructed palate that is full bodied, ripe, intense and long. Inegrated oak, long and fine finish.

Gold colour, intense flavours of apricots, melon, grass, quince, honey, butter, oak, mushroom, earthy, salt, minerals. Off dry with high acidity, full body and a medium finish. Has ageing potential. Founded in 2006 the Breitenbach winery is nestled in the heart of Hungary's Tokaji wine region. With just 6 hectares of 40-80 year old vines their focus is on the native grapes Furmint and Hárslevelu?. Viticulture is done by hand and the mission is quality not quantity which is evident in their wines.

This winery makes Noble One - the top Oz sweetie for many years - so it’s no surprise that this cheeky half massively over-delivers on quality, winning many trophies for best value dessert wine. Loads of juicy tropical fruit.

The 2021 Pinotage boasts an excellent deep colour, ripe berries and plums, smoky eucalyptus and gentle leather on the nose. Intensely ripe brambles and brioche with a good mouth-feel and lingering aftertaste. Lovely. And will improve. Great value for money. Nobody's been bottling Pinotage longer than Lanzerac and this wine shows a wealth of experience with this proudly South African variety. With 5 to 10 years' maturation this wine will start to acquire the velvet density and luxurious chocolate and caramel flavours of its very early Lanzerac predecessors. A full-bodied, complex wine with a beautiful balance between fruit and wood showcasing a good tannin structure that will allow it to age extremely well.

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.

50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 48% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc. Spicy new oak amid bright red fruits. Smooth and sweet berry fruit, with a high kick of spice.

Ch La Fleur Lauga is a special cuvée made by Ch de Lauga, an Haut-Médoc Artisanal property. The palate is medium-bodied with light tannin, pretty and rather earthy red berry fruit with a tart, peppery finish. This is easy-drinking but well made Saint Julien.

Voted world's best 20yo Tawny. Decanter 98/100. Waves of dates, dried figs, brazil nuts, toasted almonds. Single vineyard, 80yo vines.

The 2013 ‘Brut Millésimé’ blends 57% Pinot Noir and 43% Chardonnay, sourced from 10 Grand and Premier Cru vineyards. Following a freezing winter and spring, the short-lived summer heat waves of 2013 led to a phenolic maturity that, although late, was much higher than average. The autumn-like conditions at the end of the maturation process postponed harvest until mid-September, creating an expression that stands out for its elegance, freshness, and complexity.

Rolly-Gassmann is a domaine like no other and has a unique style. It is located at Rorschwihr, a sleepy village on the northern rim of Haut-Rhin. The vineyards are located in Rorschwihr and the neighbouring Rodern and Bergheim. The wines are small masterpieces with very good definition. They all carry the signature of Rolly-Gassmann, a certain shameless, velvety sweetness. The fruit is rich and manages to balance the fruit with a vibrant acidity to form wines that melt on the palate.

"The medium lemon-colored 2021 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc is full-bodied and rich. Swirling the glass unfurls enticing spring flower, yellow apple, orange peel and white peach aromas with a tropical splash of melon. This oily-textured 2021 is framed by moderate levels of bright acidity, keeping everything balanced. It shows superb purity and concludes with a complex finish." [Nicolas Greinacher, 29/06/2023]

Made from two lieu dits, high up on the slopes overlooking the majestic Rhone. The wine has classic Viognier nose of peach, apricot, toasted spice and honey. Medium-bodied with good fruit and texture and shows a more mineral character than the richer Le Chatillon Condrieu cuvee.

Jasper Morris MW87-90/100 Also quite a pale colour. The bouquet is a little more pronounced in fresh raspberry fruit, pleasing rather than massive. Very stylish, with a good fruit acid balance. A fine and balanced Savigny without rusticity. Drink 2024 - 2028 Jasper Morris MW, InsideBurgundy.com (January 2023)

Le Général is a suitably serious, even patrician blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot and 8% each of Malbec and Petit Verdot from the cooler Jonkershoek Valley. Framed by 40% new French oak, it has ample colour and concentration, damson, blueberry and blackcurrant fruit and a firm, brooding finish.

50% Corvina, 30% Corvinone, 15% Rondinella, 5% Oseleta Very intense ruby red color, the nose reveals an enticing range of steeped cherry and fig cake flavors with accents of dried thyme, pomegranate and espresso. In the mouth it is creamy and with lightly firm tannins and acidity that’s just at the right level to accentuate and perpetuate the flavors. The whole tasting is embellished with a very pleasant tannic texture, which fades towards a spiced finish of excellent persistence.

The Rutherglen Muscat is typically tawny red in colour with aromas of rose petals, raisins and dried fruit. These characters carry through to the palate, balanced with fresh acidity. The wine is unctuous and rich yet zesty and balanced. This classic Rutherglen is made in the traditional manner using a range of different oak barrels. Each wine is aged as a single vintage and vineyard parcel until blending.

Slight copper hue, spicy, ripe fruit, crème brulée, full-flavoured but delicate & charming. Fine persistent mousse. Totally enjoyable and quite typical of the black-grape dominated Montagne de Reims style.

Expressive nose - cream, lees, baked lemons. Layered, phenolic grip on the palate. Youthful, fruity, and yeasty with bright acidity and a juicy finish. This estate gets better and better and I was impressed by the relative value owner and winemaker Chlotilde still offers.

Kanonkop's Pinotage comes from 63-year-old unirrigated bush vines grown on the estate. Bright ruby-red hues. A textbook Stellenbosch Pinotage with aromatic and spicy aromas of mulberry, raspberry and cinnamon. Muscular, well-integrated tannins add great structure. Flavours of bramble, violets, plums and black berries are balanced by scented new oak. An elegant wine with savoury notes on the lengthy finish, and a lifting underlying freshness.

"A wine that has changed in style in recent vintages, with less reliance on oak and greater fruit focus, this combines grapes from Gualtallary, Los Chacayes and Villa Bastías. Pear and lemongrass flavours are complemented by a hint of cream from 10% malolactic." Tim Atkin MW, 91 points

Vermentino di Maremma from Tenuta di Belguardo estate is a medium bodied dry wine, made by 100% of Vermentino white grape. The caracteristic of this wine is its minerality, which is massive thanks to the sea breeze that flows between the bunches in the vineyards , and the limestone soil where the vines grow. Since 1997 Tenuta di Belguardo is owned by Mazzei family, historacally devoted to winemaking. Maremma is a particular zone where probably Vermentino gives its best in Tuscany and the result in this case is a limpid white wine with vanilla and yellow peach notes , all kept fresh with a seam of textured minerality.

The wine is deep red with youthful violet hues, with a nose that offers an intriguing mix of cherries, raspberry sweets and pink pepper. The palate offers wild cherry, blackberry and a hint of balsamic balanced by spicy oak. This wine has a high level of natural acidity, well-balanced by the fine, rounded tannins.

Decanter Review: "Four Stars, 16.5 / 20. Ripe Pinot fruit, a hint of spice, incisive, Chardonnay-led freshness. More precise thanks to a lowered dosage of 8g/l. Exemplary." Michael Edwards July 2011.

Golden-brown with reddish hues. The nose is intense and rich, with notes of syrup fruit, spices, and dried fruit. Other notes include walnut, hazelnut, and a hint of coffee. A blend of dried fruit (like fig and apricot), caramel, and nutty notes (like almonds and cashews) dominate the delicious flavours, with hints of citrus that provide balance. Delicate, balanced, and velvety palate, with a good interplay of sweetness and acidity. Long and appealing finish

The wine is deep red with youthful violet hues, with a nose that offers an intriguing mix of cherries, raspberry sweets and pink pepper. The palate offers wild cherry, blackberry and a hint of balsamic balanced by spicy oak. This wine has a high level of natural acidity, well-balanced by the fine, rounded tannins.

Jasper Morris MW87-90/100 Also quite a pale colour. The bouquet is a little more pronounced in fresh raspberry fruit, pleasing rather than massive. Very stylish, with a good fruit acid balance. A fine and balanced Savigny without rusticity. Drink 2024 - 2028 Jasper Morris MW, InsideBurgundy.com (January 2023)

A full-flavoured yet finely structured Cabernet of great appeal: black berries, dried leaves and fine gravelly tannin, reflect an outstanding year.

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."

A port style wine, red purple colour of medium intensity, with light brown hues due to its ageing. Immensely concentrated, ripe plums, black fruits, marmalade, dried figs and nuts with final spicy notes like cinnamon, toasted almonds and leather.