Southern France

From the coolish slopes near the large Etang de Thau and just a stone's throw from the Med comes this cracking, crisp Merlot and Cabernet blend, with a touch of Carignan for spice. it is a light and eas...(read more)

As Victoria Moore wrote in the Daily Telegraph when describing an earlier vintage - this is a '...French malbec from the region around Cahors, not fat and punchy as you know it from Argentina, bu...(read more)

Excellent house-style red. Good solid Cabernet fruit, wonderfully soft, and a great price. Made by the super winemaker Edwige Thuillé, a glamourous lady who runs the state on behalf of the Lafon...(read more)

Bright purple colour and simply delicious meaty notes with a generous, spicy black fruit. There's an oak spice element which seems superfluous to me, but overall it’s a super value easy drinker w...(read more)

A very consistent performer over the years, this vintage is spectacularly good, shapely and filled with spiced woodland fruits, plums, blackberry and a good whack of garrigue. Svelte and ripe on...(read more)

95% Malbec, 5% Merlot. 2014 was a tricky season in the South West, but thankfully the team at Chateau du Cedre were saved by a hot, late burst of summer which dried everything out and got the grapes up...(read more)

Quite open nose of plum, boysenberry and blackberry, nice freshness with subtle herb and spice. The palate is elegant with nice ripeness, plum, blackberry, aniseed, spice and decent length. Not t...(read more)

70% Syrah & 30% Grenache. Tighter tauter nose of liquorice, blackberry, dark cherry and spice. Good fruit weight on the palate, woodland fruits, spice, earth and liquorice once more, delicious.

Another terrific red is the 2015 Côtes du Rhône La Dame Rousse, which has serious polish and elegance for a Côtes du Rhône. Black cherries, raspberries, garrigue and licorice all emerge from this...(read more)

Blackberry, plum and black cherry, polished with spice and dark chocolate. Structured, quite taut, with rich black fruit, spice and earth on the finish.