French Wine

The name of this unusual Bourgogne Pinot Noir refers to the latitude of Burgundy, and it is a blend of out best Bourgogne Rouge, Cote de Nuits Village, Marsannay and Vosne-Romanee.

The name of this unusual Bourgogne Pinot Noir refers to the latitude of Burgundy, and it is a blend of out best Bourgogne Rouge, Cote de Nuits Village, Marsannay and Vosne-Romanee.

Tradition is hardly sufficient a word to sum up the Perrier family who have lived and worked in the Alps for more than seven generations. Their wine style and dedication to local varieties such as Jacquère has not wavered and like their mountains, they remain resolute. And all the better for it. These are wines are stunning, different and enthralling creating flavour and palates that you would be hard pressed to find anywhere else. Jacquère is a grape variety native to Savoie and is THE wine to have with fondue or raclette.

White gold colour with hints of green. Fresh almond, hawthorn and citrus fruit on the nose. A lively attack on the palate but rounds out with lovely mineral notes and orange zest. Excellent balance between fruit and acidity.

A man of conviction but by no means a zealot, Eric Texier likes to push the boundaries. Despite having no experience or contacts in wine, Eric decided to give up his career as a nuclear engineer and study winemaking in 1992, interning with Jean-Marie Guffens at Verget in Mâcon. Lacking the network to buy his own vineyard, Eric did his time with established winemakers then made négoce wines with the fruit of like-minded purists. Although he considers his approach to viticulture to be that of an old-fashioned paysan, don’t be fooled. Eric is more of a pioneer than he would have you believe. His fresh take on an old terroir has been instrumental in reviving appellations of the Northern Rhône that would otherwise have been lost. The estate consists of two very distinct terroirs - Brézème in the Drôme (left bank of the Rhône) and the Ouvèze valley in the Ardèche (right bank). Brézème is a limestone hillside facing south, the last ridge of the Vercors Massif at the mouth of the Drôme river, whilst the Ouvèze valley, on the Ardèche side, marks the geological separation between the Massif Central and the Cévennes, where the vineyards facing south, are granitic with a mixture of schist and gneiss on its surface and islands of limestone.

Forget any notions of quaint, long-established family wineries, Guillaume Letang is a “driving winemaker” (like a flying winemaker but more prone to homesickness.) Originally from northern Burgundy but now based in Macon, he scours southern France for odd little exciting plots of vines on which he can work his magic. Venturing off piste a few years ago, he came across a fabulous parcel of old Carignan vines from which he has moulded this hearty but beautifully balanced red. Treat it to a plate of game or a rustic stew and watch it come to life,

The "other" wine made by Ch. Palmer, first made 1998 the grapes come from different plots than those of Ch. Palmer and with a different blend Alter Ego is produced (and marketed) as very much it's own thing alongside Ch. Palmer. Generally the Alter Ego has slightly more Merlot than "normal Palmer, but the 2020 vintage is actually the other way round, with this being the Cabernet Sauvignon dominated version.

"Chocolate shavings and smoked coffee bean on the nose, it's a vintage where you can't get away from the tannins, but here they have sinew and juice, like the best translation of the tannins in the year. This has real purity of fruit (very low SO2 addition at Palmer), together with the gourmet touch that you want in Alter Ego. 45% of overall production. 3.73pH. Survived mildew better than in 2018 because of experience in dealing with the conditions. August 15 to 29 for the harvest. A yield of 31hl/ha." Jane Anson, Decanter (May 2021)

Stéphane Bourret and his team have improved La Bastide wines’ quality beyond recognition. Despite the pressure of the many tourists ready to buy almost anything at any price, he has chosen a path of quality and hard work. All of the 28 hectares estate is now run using biodynamic methods and the results are a joy to behold, with many of their wines awarded great accolades in the national and international wine press. ‘Estagnol’ is produced from their best vineyards and improves after 3 or 4 years cellaring.

From Chris- "I was properly bowled over when I tasted this a couple of weeks ago. Whilst the prices of top end Bordeaux place them well out of reach of mere mortals, many properties further down the food chain have struggled in recent years and countless Chateaux have simply thrown in the towel in the face of competition from across the globe. Others, have seen it as an opportunity to raise their game as Michael Regaud has done here. An investment programme started by his father in 1979 has seen quality levels consistently outperforming those of their neighbours – this is “proper” Bordeaux but at an accessible level."

Full-bodied, supple wine with soft tannins and a fruity finish

A wine that offers delicious wild strawberry fruit aromas with berry flavours backed up by a touch of savoury liquorice providing complexity and a lasting finish.

A light aromatic wine with an abundance of juicy red fruit aromas. Bright and flavoursome with supple tannins that are beautifully integrated. The acidity is just right to keep the wine lively and refreshing.

Domaine de Colette

Maison Roche de Bellene

Maison Roche de Bellene

Bright blueberries which then develop on to reveal an intriguing bitter-sweet character of crème de cassis. Fine red-fruits fill the mouth; raspberries and a touch of dark chocolate truffle.

Not your thin, lightweight Merlot but rich, vibrant and very more-ish. Typical full-on red berry fruit on the nose (typical of Merlot) which leads through to a rich, vibrant and aromatic palate that swirls with lashings of ripe fruit underpinned by good structure.

COLOUR. from garnet red to mahogany according to the age.
NOSE. powerful, balancing between black fruits and stewed fruits subtly brought by cocoa aromas.
MOUTH. sumptuous balance between the solar strength of the wine and the fineness of its tannins. It has a great persistency with sweetness which develops greedily.

Domaine de Bila-Haut

Maison Roche de Bellene

A perfect introduction to the delights and complexity of real white Burgundy, this is mainly Côte d'Or fruit together with some Mâconnais. Fresh with lovely weight, delicate creaminess and judicious oak making this a beautifully balanced dry white.

Created in 2017, Bourgogne Cote d'Or is a Burgundy classification intended to bridge the (ever growing) gap between straight Bourgogne Rouge (or Chardonnay) and Village wines (Nuits St Georges, Santenay, etc). Grapes can be blended from across the 40 villages of the Cote de Beaune and Cote de Nuits but can only be Chardonnay or Pinot Noir (Gamay and Aligote are excluded)

Harmonious and balanced, with a plump fruitiness and silky texture offset by round, gentle tannins in a wine of medium body and elegant structure.

Maison Roche de Bellene

Revealing fresh fruit flavours of wild strawberry, this rosé has gentle acidity showing a smooth elegance and intensity with a plump finish.

Luscious and mouth-watering, blackcurrant and redcurrant fruit characters. Fresh and vibrant with a twist of nutmeg and clove through to the finish.

Fresh black cherries and cassis notes of the nose. With a juicy palate showing soft tannins with more red fruit flavours, and a touch of spice on the finish.

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is located on Bordeaux’s Left Bank, in the world-renowned Pauillac appellation. Under the 1855 Classification, which Napoleon III requested for the Exposition Universelle de Paris, Pichon-Lalande falls under the Deuxièmes Grands Crus Classés, or Second Classified Growth category.

Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande and Pichon Longueville Baron were once one large property. At the time of Baron Joseph de Pichon Longueville’s death in 1850, his estate was split between his two children: his daughter Virginie who married the Comte de Lalande (Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande) and his son Raoul who inherited the title of Baron (Château Pichon Longueville Baron).

Edouard and Louis Miailhe, descendants of an old Bordeaux family of vineyard owners and wine brokers, purchased Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande in 1925. May Eliane de Lencquesaing, Edouard’s daughter, inherited it in 1978 and ran it until 2007. It was under her ownership that Pichon Comtesse’s reputation as a prized Pauillac wine flourished and earned its “super second” reputation (referring to its Second Growth classification). The consistent quality, year after year, was simply indisputable. The château's seminal 1982 vintage even garnered the perfect score of 100 points by wine critic Robert Parker.

These 6 bottles were acquired upon release by Chris for his personal cellar and have spent their lives in bond before being transferred to our cellars in November ‘24. On intial inspection the bottles have a uniformed fill level at base neck, with good capsules and clean labels.

A generous vintage dominated by stone fruit, apple and melon with citrus and delicate apple blossom. Savoury minerality hovers in the background and supports the wine nicely, with long lasting acidity offering a bright finish and a food friendly profile.

Chanzy is a 80 hectare Estate, divided between Côte Chalonnaise, Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits with their base in Bouzeron. They are one of the few Burgundy producers to achieve Haute Valeur Environnementale level 3; the most highly regarded certification for agriculture in France. Their farming regime demands a holistic outlook that goes beyond organics: ensuring biodiversity, reusable energy and reduced water usage. The vineyards are in conversion to organics and will be certified from 2024 vintage onwards.

This wine has slightly straw colour undertones with pale gold reflections. Its aromas of white flowers combine with honey and are reminiscent of gingerbread. On the palate, its elegance is sure, pleasant while retaining the freshness of the grape variety without giving in to excess mellowness.

Chanzy

Produced from a small (0.49 ha) plot of 50 to 68 year old vines, this is classic Chambolle. Hand harvested and fermented using only indigenous yeast it then underwent maturation in 35% new oak barrels.

Maison Roche de Bellene

Maison Roche de Bellene

A man of conviction but by no means a zealot, Eric Texier likes to push the boundaries. Despite having no experience or contacts in wine, Eric decided to give up his career as a nuclear engineer and study winemaking in 1992, interning with Jean-Marie Guffens at Verget in Mâcon. Lacking the network to buy his own vineyard, Eric did his time with established winemakers then made négoce wines with the fruit of like-minded purists. Although he considers his approach to viticulture to be that of an old-fashioned paysan, don’t be fooled. Eric is more of a pioneer than he would have you believe. His fresh take on an old terroir has been instrumental in reviving appellations of the Northern Rhône that would otherwise have been lost. The estate consists of two very distinct terroirs - Brézème in the Drôme (left bank of the Rhône) and the Ouvèze valley in the Ardèche (right bank). Brézème is a limestone hillside facing south, the last ridge of the Vercors Massif at the mouth of the Drôme river, whilst the Ouvèze valley, on the Ardèche side, marks the geological separation between the Massif Central and the Cévennes, where the vineyards facing south, are granitic with a mixture of schist and gneiss on its surface and islands of limestone.

Declassified to Vin de France, as opposed to the more usual Côtes-du-Rhône due to its production method, a blend of 55% Grenache, 30% Cinsault and 15% Clairette (a white grape).

All fruit is organic, harvested by hand, partly de-stemmed and co-fermented with native yeasts in open-top concrete tanks. As with all Texier wines, no extraction techniques are employed, aged in concrete for 12-18 months, unfined, unfiltered and bottled with only the smallest amount of sulphur. The blend of red and white grapes producing a joyfully bright wine, with crunchy red fruit, beautiful texture from the concrete fermentation, and incredible purity and drinking pleasure.

Situated in the Haut Medoc, sandwiched between Margaux and St Julien, Chateau Beaumont has long been a favourite of ours, producing classic Bordeaux from a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot with just a dash of Petit Verdot. It’s a property with a long history dating back to the 1770s whilst the Chateau itself was built in 1854. Over the years ownership has passed between some of Europe’s wealthiest families but it now rests with Grands Millesimes de France, falling ultimately under the control of Suntory and Castel.

Chateau Beaumont

Sauvignon and Semillon grapes from this 47 hectare Domaine are handled seperately on arrival at the Rauzan co-operative to ensure that the wine retains its estate provenance. A period of 9 -18 hours pre-fermentation skin contact takes place before cool fermentation on the fine lees aiming to makes the most of the natural, fresh aromatics in the grapes.

Very impressive Cabernet dominated Bordeaux, packed full of black plum fruit, rich tannins and excellent potential.

Chateau Cissac

Owned by siblings Louis and Marie Farbre who were early pioneers of organic viticulture in the Languedoc, Château Coulon sits on a hill near the village of Cruscades close to the Via Aquitania, a Roman road which links the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. The vineyard extends over smooth, rounded pebbles deposited by the river Orbieu and refreshing winds assist in the organic management of the estate..

A concentrated and savoury red from the deep south of France. This Corbières shows intriguing savoury and herbal aromas of bitters and thyme. The palate is full of morello cherry fruit and carries through savoury flavours to the finish. Fantastic with charcoal-grilled lamb, rosemary potatoes and a green salad.

Famille Fabre Ch. Coulon

Chateau de L’Escarelle of one of the most prestigious wine estates in the heart of Provence, with 100 hectares of organically certified vineyards set in 1,000 hectares of beautiful woodland.

In the past year this property has made impressive steps to establish itself as a major player of sustainable agriculture in France. In 2016 the estate achieved Haute Valeur Environnementale certification (France’s most stringent environmental certification scheme, level 3), demonstrating their deep-rooted commitment to protecting the natural world. Their vines are planted at up to 500 metres above sea level, hugging the slopes of the Montagne de La Loube and adapting to the estates' clay and limestone soil profile. The terroir’s distinctive character is perfect for creating highly-expressive, elegant Rosé wines.

Chateau de L'Escarelle