WINE & SPIRITS LIST

Filter the categories on the left or browse some of our latest recommendations below.

Layne Montgomery is a charming, colourful character and a very talented winemaker. He sources the grapes for this top cuvée from the historic Soucie vineyard. Here he works 3 acres of the...(more info)

Our 2015 own label claret once again punches far above its weight in both price and quality. Loaded with plum and blackcurrant notes, the wine has lovely weight and concentration. Opulent, silky...(more info)

An amazing, proper old vine Zin from one of our favourite Americans. These vines were planted by 'Uncle Rolland' in 1930. Richly layered with blueberry, blackberry and fragrant plum, all undercut...(more info)

Delightful, elegant and smooth Pinot Noir from Monterey in California. A broad mouthful of fleshy red fruit, a little chocolate and spice, wrapped up with nicely measured acidity.

We destem and crush the grüner and do a 24 hour cold soak on the skins with some stem inclusion to increase aromatics. After a gentle pressing we then ferment 30% of the juice in acacia barr...(more info)

The 2017 Condrieu Les Ravines has a hint of grey/pink in its color and offers more white peach, honeyed minerality, and white flowers in its medium-bodied, supple yet crisp style. As with all the...(more info)

Lovely sweaty nose, herbal anise and wild flowers. Leesy, creamy texture as well as zesty acidity. Fresh and vibrant with structure and poise. Well made with a rounded mouthfeel that still mainta...(more info)

Nose of enticing fruit with a hint of smoke. Defined ripe green fruit. Acidity is less obvious - the juice is soft and encompassing. Some broadness and power. A lovely way to kick off a long list...(more info)

Lydie's 2018 has immediate impact with good weight on the palate. The fruit is really quite intense. It is a Montagny with the volume turned up! This is gently spicy with some good tropical notes...(more info)

Another great effort. It was a long dry summer in 2018 and although there is a lot of ripe stone fruit aromas & flavours. This wine has a wonderful elegance and minerality to it that is empha...(more info)

Good clean sweeping attack. This is clean cut yet broad and enveloping. Weighted but bright. Interesting. I really like the spice hit of ginger, the soft 'pain d'epice' note. This does does fan o...(more info)

Christophe and Dominique Lafon share the fruit of this fabulous vineyard in the heart of the Maconnais. On the nose a lovely and intense, firm, yellow fruit hit jumps out. There is a lovely tensi...(more info)

Tasted again when looking at the 2018s in tank in October 2019, and this is in a very different register, much tighter and more classical - the very model of a village Chablis. Bottled in April 2...(more info)

In such a warm vintage the Boudin family have done a great job here presenting a fresh and nicely clipped Chablis. As ever their trademark soft fruit and weight is in there but delivered brightly...(more info)

We tasted a range of Aligotés this year on our travels across Burgundy and this Bouzeron from Marie Jacqueson really stood out. Fresh and bright as you would hope but backed up with textur...(more info)

Cépages composed of Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Muscat, Gewurztraminer and Sylvaner. Wine without chaptalisation, neither structural changes for acidity. Pale yellow colour, intense...(more info)

An old favourite on these pages is this crisp, fresh Sancerre, with a long, intense flavour. A superb all-rounder, perfect with goat’s cheese and white meat. (or your Christmas smoked salmon - Ed...(more info)

More floral, an almost rosé-style nose. Immediatley there is more fruit here than the 2015 which was firmer and more terroir led. But there is good intensity too. Not sappy but good drive...(more info)

A blend of Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, with about 10% Chardonnay to give a dash of elegance. Considerably better than some widely available cheap Grandes Marques, and very consistent in quality...(more info)

Really nicely weighted Gamay fruit. There is a depth to this, dark plum-flesh and some strawberry too - but this is not sweet nor tart, just a brilliantly balanced, highly enjoyable glass of red....(more info)

This superstar estate is making wines that are simply a joy for canny Beaujolais lovers. The estate predates the creation of 'Fleurie' as an app appelation and proudly carries the same label from...(more info)

This estate continues to fire on all cylinders, and their 2017 Gigondas Tradition is a gem of a wine. Based on 74% Grenache and 26% Syrah that saw a touch of stems and aging in tank and older fou...(more info)

A very fresh and lively Lirac with ripe red plums and raspberries. Some boysenberries, too. The palate has such smooth and lively tannins and delivers a bright, juicy impression. From organically...(more info)

Great aromatics from the start on the Cuvee Ghany, cracked black pepper, dark cherry and plum fruit. The palate is richly textured with fleshy plum fruit, some lovely cooked meat notes, undergrow...(more info)

Intense black fruit with a touch of bitterness on the palate, and simple spices that prevent this being too one-dimensional

This was an absolute joy and stood out in quite a long line up of options at a recent tasting. Real freshness and purity, elegant with great delivery of plum and cassis fruit, complex tobacco and...(more info)

Just touched down we're delighted with this very smart Medoc, a steal for the price. 2015 was such a generous vintage it is admirable when restraint is clear. With this brilliant wine the balance...(more info)

This classic Gevrey is drinking well now with a fine red and black fruit, almost floral nose, and supple silk-velvet feel in the mouth and a nice combination of volume, elegance and freshness.

From vines ten kilometres west of Nuits, on white marl and limestone. Quite a rich and fleshy nose, with more weight than the other Hautes Côtes cuvées. Vines that face straight sout...(more info)

Like the Morey, the nose is remarkable for its delicate precision, the palate is as floral, fresh and pure as the nose, with just a kicker of tannin on the finsh to show the old vine intensity.

Very harmonious nose with a touch of cherry-stone ('Burlat cherry stone', says Virgile, showing how the French just know more about varieties of fruit and veg than anyone), and very fine tannins...(more info)

From Petits Puits. Mostly on hard limestone - 'calcaire d'entroques'. Really quite expressive, the limestone seems to reflect a brightness of tone in the fruit, a good level of richness and a cer...(more info)

Joël has absolutely nailed it once again with this. It smells youthful, but the palate is impressively intense. The fruit is nice, pretty, 'just' well-ripened. Red berries. Good lick of acid...(more info)

After the Chassagne VV this comes across mostly as juicily expressive, still with decent weight, a bit of saline minerals, fresh, interesting, long.

50% whole bunch fermentation. Quite pale. Floral fruit - cherry bright. Very precise. Very supple tannins. Lovely, lovely balance and purity. The balance is such that you just want to gorge on it...(more info)

Lap up this spicy and structured organic 2018. Bursting with black raspberry and redcurrant, it’s tailor-made for honey-baked ham.

From vineyards high above the village of Arboras, where the heat of the Mediterranean meets the cooler heights of the Plateau de Larzac. Mostly Grenache (with some Cinsault and just a touch of Sy...(more info)

Blueberry and boysenberry fruits, really quite perfumed delivery. The palate is saturated with gorgeous black fruit, sleek and mobile in the mouth, juicy, bold and beautifully balanced.

The 2015 Tassinaia is a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, now with an element of Syrah. The wine is fermented partly in steel and partly in oak and brings a breeze of spice from the get-go....(more info)

2014 is a vintage that really drove the cream to the top! Tough conditions meant that even top terroirs had to be brilliantly worked to get top quality fruit. Here at Monteti a crazy selection wa...(more info)

The nose here is hugely inviting. A broad sweeping aroma of soft red flesh and some leafy notes too. Yet so 'together' - so complete and so enticing. This generous feel extends to the palate - wh...(more info)

The Fuligni 2014 Brunello di Montalcino is a beautiful wine. To my mind, it represents one of the best interpretations you will find from this difficult vintage that caused so much unease. The Fu...(more info)

Amazingly fragrant spices, sage, star anise, black Cherry and black berry, cardamom? A wild fruit feel. Mouthfilling with bright acid drive, richly textured black fruits, spice, earthy, balsamic...(more info)

This wine is only produced in the best vintage years and then held back by the estate so that on arrival it is optimum drinking. Our customers (and ourselves) adored the 2010 and there was natura...(more info)

Poggerino's 2016 Chianti Classico is gorgeous. Aromatically lifted and juicy on the palate, the 2016 has much to offer. Black cherry, plum, tobacco, new leather, licorice and spice are pushed for...(more info)

Nicely scented cherry, mint, earth, damson and touch of tobacco. Lovely glossy mouthfeel, really fine rich tannins, great acid backbone, lots of red fruits, then mocha, tobacco and earth.

Although Rafaella has been working to organic principals since the outset - it is now official! From the 2016 vintage she is now certified as Organic. It was a very nice vintage here - and this i...(more info)

Light to mid cherry red. Complex aroma that is mostly scented red fruit but also a touch of peppery herbs and a savoury umami/tomato note. Paper-fine tannins, mouth-watering and refined. Juicy bu...(more info)

Tasted from barrel. This delicious juice spends 3-4 months in old barriques. After tasting the 2016 I like this more, It is loaded with lovely supple fruit - good drive too. Red and purple berry...(more info)

Before being reclaimed from the sea in the 1950s the 'Paglie di Battifarano' was damp marshland - but now is the heart of the family's white wine vineyards. This pure Greco is fantastic. Brightly...(more info)

Unlike much of Italy - 2018 was not really any hotter than is normal in this corner of Sicily explains the charming Gianfranco as we taste this just-bottled Grillo together. There was, however, s...(more info)

2018 was a warm summer here and it shows in many of the whites we have tasted - which makes the bright focus of Leo's wine all the more impressive. He feels this is his best vintage since 2006. I...(more info)

Using the natural hint of colour in the Pinot Gris skins, Visintini have crafted an utterly divine pale rosé Pinot Grigio. As pale as any Provence rosé, with a coppery hue, this is...(more info)

Chalky citrus – delicate in the extreme but still fruity. Surprisingly fruity on the palate too but with a dry chalky texture. Light and lively.

Champagne-method fizz made from 90 per cent chardonnay and 10 per cent pinot noir with 36 months’ ageing on the yeast to develop flavours of lemon curd on brioche and fresh pears, finishing dry b...(more info)

Billed as a medium-bodied take on shiraz, this has a vivid array of raspberries and mulberries with cinnamon and other fragrant, woody spices. The palate is smoothly rendered and has a plush, bri...(more info)

Definitely 'Syrah' rather than Shiraz in style terms and very Yarra, cool and taut with generous juicy dark fruit, lots of volume and a silky feel, all with an undercurrent of tension and energy...(more info)

Made using 500 Ltr Oak Puncheons, not full Malo and no lees stirring. Quite fat, but pure and straight from the granitic origin, and not at all over the top, with gently gripping phenolics, and a...(more info)

The ultimate sense of place is the goal here with the Rippon signature wine - their 'Rippon' Pinot Noir. From a single vineyard, Nick Mills calls this the 'voice of the farm' and tasting it does...(more info)

Effusively declared by Tongue in Groove MD Angela Clifford as 'probably the best Riesling we've ever made'. Drier than the 2013 vintage with only 6 g/l residual sugar, this a refined vintage of t...(more info)

As the name may suggest, this is from a higher altitude vineyard in the Southern Valleys area of Marlborough. Hand-picked grapes, barrel fermented in large barrels; aged for 10 months. Whilst sti...(more info)

The diffusion line from one of New Zealand's most celebrated Chardonnay producers, this offers tons more bang for buck than almost every similarly priced white Burgundy, and no less pleasure.

This is the end of the bottle so it may not be showing its best: a bit severe, green fruited and chalky in texture. But has a more mineral overlay at first and then a creamy finish. Distinctive a...(more info)

This is a touch more full bodied than the Latitude, even though it is also 100% Chardonnay. There are some more evolved notes yet this remains very elegant and long. Chiselled but with softer edg...(more info)

From the Grand Cru vineyards of Chouilly, this entirely Chardonnay champagne has pale colour, smooth weight and fresh flavour, with remarkable clean length and a zesty finish. A really exciting q...(more info)

Like Bollinger, this is made with around two thirds pinot noir, which gives it a firm structure and undertones of spice, toast and cherry compote. A serious champagne with a sappy uplift – at a b...(more info)

An exhilaratingly dry and focused blanc de blancs from a top grower in Champagne.’

An old favourite on these pages is this crisp, fresh Sancerre, with a long, intense flavour. A superb all-rounder, perfect with goat’s cheese and white meat. (or your Christmas smoked salmon - Ed...(more info)

Nicely scented cherry, mint, earth, damson and touch of tobacco. Lovely glossy mouthfeel, really fine rich tannins, great acid backbone, lots of red fruits, then mocha, tobacco and earth.

This really showcases the qualities of the 2018 vintage. Ripe and intense with lovely shape and depth, plenty of rich citrus, gooseberry fruit, then that tell tale gun flint, almost touch chalky...(more info)

Fresh ripe Pinot nose with some richness, and the palate has weight and a caressing silk feel. The finish is warmly ripe, staying taut (15% whole bunch fermentation). Really excellent Pinot.

Last tasted November 2019 in a Beaune when we were there for the 2018 vintage tastings, and were tiring of the limited vintages and very high prices of the red Burgundies in the restaurants. And...(more info)

Great aromatics from the start on the Cuvee Ghany, cracked black pepper, dark cherry and plum fruit. The palate is richly textured with fleshy plum fruit, some lovely cooked meat notes, undergrow...(more info)

Sun's out, MiP*'s in! As pale as ever, as exceptionally aromatic and fresh as ever, Guillaume Philippe’s brilliant rosé from Puyloubier, in front of the iconic Mont Saint Victoire, has a n...(more info)

Pale purple. Subtle nose with a chalkiness and dark fruits. Gorgeous texture, lots of minerality and fine tannins and good fresh acidity. This has lots going for it, and will continue to improve...(more info)

Beautiful light brick red colour and a pleasingly delicate shape. Lovely spicy, intense character, cherry and warm strawberries mingle with herbs and dark cherry notes. Light on its feet, but not...(more info)

Tawny port can be served slightly chilled and is a great aperitif or digestif with cheese, or even Christmas pudding. This is exceptional, with a dry, nutty finish.

This is really lovely, citrus pith, wax and honeycomb, not shouty, elegant, even understated, but on the palate the texture builds, lovely persistence, rich acid, citrus skin once more, quite a b...(more info)

Sipsmith London Cup is a sublimely sippable punch crafted from their award-winning London Dry Gin, infused with Earl Grey tea, borage, lemon verbena and a host of other botanicals.

Pronounced waxy nose with notes of freshly baked bread (dough) and subtle liquorice and dark fruits. Fresh acidity followed by finely tuned tannins with a very nice salinity. These wines are so v...(more info)

From sand and gravel soils this pure Cabernet Franc is superb. Loaded with crunchy dark berries and peppy red juice but there is a sheen of lovely polished black fruit too, lifted by spice and an...(more info)

We couldn't quite believe the price when we tasted this delicious juicy red from southern Spain. Bobal is the grape, not widely known, but on this showing it deserves a much bigger audience. Plum...(more info)

Authentic lambrusco, brightly fruity with a gentle sparkle, garnet-hued and with the fresh scent and flavour of elderberries and sour cherry drops. Chill lightly to match with charcuterie.

Emilia Romagna’s Albana grape is very rare, and much better as a sweet, rather than a dry wine. This is a highly surprising, fascinating take on passito sweet wine with individual grapes handpick...(more info)

A "multi-vintage" rather than a non-vintage, this finely balanced cuvée is always a lovely combination of development and freshness. Fantastic value when compared to the majority...(more info)

Bright fresh and zippy with rich citrus, peach and white flowers, palate has nice intensity with Apple, lemon and peach fruit, crisp and lively, decent mousse, good length.

The best Fino on the market, single vineyard (Macharnudo district) and barrel-fermented, a bit fuller bodied than most. A perfect accompaniment to smoked fish (and almost any other fish dish) as...(more info)

'With apologies to Jamie and Nigella - The Wine Dine Dictionary is going to be my new kitchen bible. It should probably be yours, too' Metro. 'Unbelievably useful' India Knight. 'This work of gen...(more info)

This Italian red is one of my favourites: a thyme-scented sangiovese from coastal Tuscany that tastes of stewed damsons and has the colour to match. (from a piece extolling the virtues of drinkin...(more info)