France
France
Domaine Dupré-Goujon 2020 L’Héronde Côte de Brouilly
French Red
Gamay comes from the south-facing L’Héronde site on blue granite in Côte de Brouilly. Plum, cherry, pomegranate and raspberry appear with forest floor and rose. The texture is rounded, with bright acidity, fine tannins and a long floral finish. Fermentation begins spontaneously with whole or partly destemmed fruit. The wine rests for twenty-four months, including twelve months in barriques and demi-muids, and is bottled without fining, filtration or added sulphur dioxide.
Domaine Calvez-Bobinet 2016 Greta Carbo Saumur-Champigny
French Red
Cabernet Franc comes from a small single parcel whose vines produce unevenly sized berries. Carbonic maceration is used for the grapes and gives the wine its particular identity. The texture is silky, with vegetal, fruit and pepper notes and a delicate palate. It is a red from Saumur-Champigny in the Loire Valley and contains twelve and a half percent alcohol.
Domaine de la Touraize 2023 La Cabane Ploussard Arbois
French Red
Ploussard comes from the northwest-facing Petit Curoulet vineyard on blue marl. The vineyard is organic and uses biodynamic practices. Bunches are destemmed by hand while maintaining at least eighty percent whole berries. Fermentation begins in stainless steel for about two weeks. Free-run juice is captured and the pomace is gently pressed by hand. The wine finishes fermentation in foudre, is racked off its lees and matures in foudre for twelve months. Spice and pepper accompany a soft, slender profile.
Domaine Guiberteau 2021 Saumur Rouge
French Red
Cabernet Franc comes from three old-vine parcels with silty and sandy topsoils over limestone. The vines were planted in the mid-1950s. Grapes are fully destemmed, fermented in concrete with indigenous yeast and matured for twelve months in a large conical wooden vat. Sour cherry, blackberry and raspberry appear with bell pepper, earth, violets and flint. The palate has fresh acidity and fine tannins, with a mineral and herbal finish.
Domaine Rebourgeon-Mure 2019 Volnay
French Red
Pinot Noir comes from two parcels, Les Pluchots and Les Lurets, at 245 metres on clay-limestone soil with south and southeast exposure. The wine has pulpy fruit, volume and a silky texture. Grapes are harvested by hand and fully destemmed. Maturation lasts fourteen to eighteen months, partly in new oak. The domaine works its soils mechanically without herbicide, and the village parcel blend draws on plantings established across several decades.
Domaine des Marnes Blanches 2022 Chardonnay En Quatre Vis Côtes du Jura
French White
Chardonnay comes from vines about forty-five years old on marl soils. The certified-organic vineyard also uses biodynamic practices. Grapes are harvested by hand with selection, then undergo alcoholic and malolactic fermentation in 500-litre demi-muids with indigenous yeasts. The wine remains in demi-muids for twelve months and receives very little sulphur at bottling. It is a still white with twelve and a half percent alcohol.
Maison En Belles Lies 2022 Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Rouge
French Red
Pinot Noir grows on clay-limestone soils in the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune. Harvesting is manual, with selection into small twenty-kilogram boxes and a yield of about forty-five hectolitres per hectare. Whole clusters undergo fermentation in wooden vats for twenty-four to twenty-eight days. The wine then spends fifteen months in used 228-litre barrels without added sulphur before being bottled without fining or filtration. Alcohol is eleven and a half percent.
Champagne Pierre Paillard Les Parcelles Bouzy Grand Cru Extra Brut NV 375 mL
French Sparkling
Pinot Noir and Chardonnay come from Bouzy Grand Cru, where south-facing slopes meet chalky subsoil. Baked apple, brioche and cream are joined by floral, orchard-fruit, citrus and chalky mineral notes. Light-gold colour and a tangy palate are present, with a low-dosage, refreshing style. The family vineyard covers eleven hectares in Bouzy, on the southern slopes of the Montagne de Reims.
Chateau Patache d’Aux 1995 Medoc Cru Bourgeois
French Red
Ruby colour has a thin orange rim. Blueberry, violet and anise are present. The palate has fresh acidity, ripe tannins, sweet-and-sour character, forest floor and leather. Dark colour, spice, menthol, vanilla, black fruit and discreet tertiary notes are also present. Tannins are polished, and the finish is fresh. This red wine comes from the Medoc appellation in Bordeaux.
Remoissenet 2015 Cotes de Nuits-Villages
French Red
Cherry, raspberry and mint form the aromatic profile. The palate is suave and fine-grained, with black cherry, dark raspberry and spice. Pinot Noir gives red and black berry flavours, fine tannins and a smooth finish. This red Burgundy comes from the Cotes de Nuits-Villages appellation. The flavours are bright and lifted, and alcohol is thirteen and a half percent.
Moulin Touchais 2005 Coteaux du Layon
French Dessert
Yellow fruit, honey and a dry botrytis core are present. The palate has richness, acidity and a rounded texture. Chenin is the sole grape. The wine comes from Coteaux du Layon in the Loire Valley, contains ninety grams per litre of residual sugar and thirteen and a half percent alcohol. Candied-fruit notes are also present in this still white dessert wine.
Domaine Rebourgeon-Mure 2018 Beaune Premier Cru Les Vignes Franches
French Red
Fleshy raspberry and redcurrant appear with violet. The palate adds cherry, redcurrant, blueberry, plum, lily, cornflower, mineral notes, liquorice and mild tobacco. Tannins are fine, and the finish is long. Pinot Noir grows on clay-limestone soil at 240 to 260 metres, with south to south-east exposure. The vineyard lies on a gentle, stony slope facing the rising sun. Its name recalls tax exemptions granted to winegrowers who restored the slope after war and plague.
H. Billiot & Fils 2015 Millésime Brut Grand Cru Champagne
French Sparkling
Fine, persistent bubbles accompany brioche, rose blossom, baked apple, red berries and mint. The palate is crisp and fresh, with multilayered fruit and mineral notes in a long aromatic finish. This Grand Cru Brut combines seventy percent Pinot Noir and thirty percent Chardonnay from Ambonnay. Vinification takes place without malolactic fermentation, preserving freshness within the wine's rich profile.
Domaine de Montmain 2023 Les Lapinières Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits Blanc
French White
The colour is luminous, with an aromatic tropical-fruit profile. The attack is direct, and the palate is generous, fruit-driven and fresh. Chardonnay grows on calcareous marl. Grapes are hand harvested at low yields and rigorously sorted before maturation for twelve months in traditional Burgundian barrels, thirty percent of them new. The vineyard was in conversion to organic farming.
Domaine de Montmain 2018 Les Genévrières Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits Rouge
French Red
Deep red colour has violet reflections. Red fruit, underbrush and spice form a deep profile. The palate is powerful, with marked tannins and a persistent, spicy finish. Pinot Noir grows in a one-hectare monopole, and the wine is matured in oak barrels. Marked acidity, balance and aromatic persistence accompany its capacity for ageing. Alcohol is thirteen percent.
Domaine Naudin-Ferrand 2023 Côte-de-Nuits-Villages
French Red
Pinot Noir comes from several east-facing sites around Corgoloin, planted on limestone and clay with vines twenty-five to seventy years old. The grapes are destemmed, given a short cold maceration and fermented on skins for two weeks with occasional pigeage and pump-overs. The wine undergoes barrel élevage and is bottled unfiltered by gravity with a small sulphur addition. The palate is supple, with lively acidity and silky tannins.
Domaine Tessier 2021 Bourgogne Blanc Champ Perrier
French White
Lemon, apple and ripe yellow fruit appear with mineral character. The palate is juicy, light, finely textured and focused, with a pure profile from first taste through the finish. Chardonnay comes from vines that are mostly more than forty years old. The wine spent twelve months in barriques, ten percent new, and six months in stainless steel. Alcohol is 12.5 percent.
Aymeric Paillard 2020 Petit Père Saint-Joseph
French Red
Ripe red fruit appears with light spice, camphor and blond tobacco. The palate is fresh, delicate and dense, with integrated tannins and a supple texture. A juicy, sanguine note is present on the finish. The Syrah comes from steep slopes in Ozon and Sarras. Part of the fruit is vinified as whole clusters and part by semi-carbonic maceration. Ageing lasts two winters in used barrels and demi-muids.
Aymeric Paillard 2021 Petit Père Saint-Joseph
French Red
Fresh balance and juicy character sit with depth and complex aromatics. The tannins are fine and integrated, and the texture is supple. Syrah comes from steep slopes in Ozon and Sarras. Part of the fruit is vinified as whole clusters and part by semi-carbonic maceration in small vats and open barrels. Ageing takes place in used barrels and demi-muids over two winters.
Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé NV 375 mL
French Sparkling
Pale salmon-pink colour shows a gold sheen and a persistent mousse of fine bubbles. Wild strawberry, red fruit, fresh pear, ripe peach, grapefruit and flowers are present. The palate is delicate and rounded, with silky fruit, taut minerality, lemon acidity, fine phenolic tension and white pepper. The blend is forty percent Chardonnay, thirty percent Pinot Noir and thirty percent Pinot Meunier.
Baron de Montfaucon 2020 Châteauneuf-du-Pape
French Red
Old Grenache accounts for ninety-two percent of this parcel wine from the southern slopes of the La Crau plateau, where rolled stones cover the ground. Blackberry and stewed blueberry sit with sweet oak spice. Ripe fruit has a rounded texture, fine tannins and a long finish with liquorice. Maturation in barrel lasts eighteen months, and production totalled 8,500 bottles.
Domaine Guiberteau 2022 Saumur Blanc Le Bourg
French White
Lemon, almond and apple flavours appear with chilli spice and salty notes. The white is light bodied and firmly poised. Chenin Blanc comes from a one-hectare plot in Brézé, below Clos des Carmes, on sandy-clay soil over soft tuffeau limestone. Vines were planted in the 1940s. Whole bunches are pressed, fermented naturally and matured for twelve months in used barrels.
Domaine Bachelet-Monnot 2023 Bourgogne Côte d’Or Blanc
French White
Ripe and honeyed aromas accompany an open, buttery and creamy palate packed with sun-filled fruit. Firm, steely acidity brings balance, with a small liquorice note on the finish. Chardonnay comes from parcels in Puligny and Meursault, divided eighty and twenty percent. Vinification takes place in stainless steel, followed by twelve months in 350-litre barrels, twenty percent new.
Moulin Touchais 1996 Coteaux du Layon
French Dessert
Orange-bronze colour shows green at the rim. The nose is broad and open, with honeycomb in a rich, concentrated profile. The palate is clean and pure, with fresh acidity balancing the sweetness. Old Cognac, toast and vanilla appear on a persistent finish. Toffee apple and minerality are also present. The vintage developed without botrytis influence.
Château Cantemerle 2022 Haut-Médoc
French Red
Bright fresh fruit and violet are present in the bouquet. The palate has soft tannins, creamy structure and a smooth texture, with harmony and balance. The blend is seventy percent Cabernet Sauvignon, twenty percent Merlot, and five percent each Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The wine matures for twelve months in French oak, using new, one-fill and two-fill barrels. The vines grow on gravel with quaternary silica.
Remoissenet Père et Fils 2020 Marsannay Les Échezeaux
French Red
An intense red colour accompanies subtle aromas of black and red fruit. The palate is ample and generous, with silky tannins, freshness and a fruit-led character. Pinot Noir comes from the Les Échezeaux parcel in the northern part of the Marsannay appellation. This is a dry Côte de Nuits red from a village-classified site. The parcel is among the local climats seeking Premier Cru classification.
Champagne Ployez-Jacquemart Extra-Brut Passion NV
French Sparkling
Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier make up the blend. The grapes are harvested by hand and sorted by variety. A portion of the wine is matured in oak barrels without malolactic fermentation. Ageing takes place sur pointe in traditional cellars, limiting contact with yeast while preserving the benefits of maturation. The profile is floral, fruity, vibrant and lightly toasted, with a honeyed finish.
Jane Eyre 2021 Côte de Nuits-Villages
French Red
Redcurrant and raspberry fruit are joined by cocoa powder, tea and spice. The texture is fine and light. The wine used considerably less whole-bunch fruit than earlier vintages, and its volume was forty percent of previous vintages. Fresh and savoury notes are present, with fruit in the background. It was bottled at the end of August. Pinot Noir is the sole grape.
Domaine Eric Boigelot 2018 Pommard En Boeuf
French Red
Red berries, plum skin, crushed rock and a gentle iron note are present. The texture is grippy and the finish savoury. The En Boeuf vineyard sits on a steep hillside in the valley leading from Pommard toward Saint-Romain. Its south-southeast exposure receives full sun, while cool valley winds cross the site. The Pinot Noir vines are between thirty and forty years old.
Château d’Arche 2010 Sauternes
French Dessert
Pear, apple and floral notes are present. The palate is fresh and sweet, with candied orange, apricot jam and subtle smoky notes. The blend is ninety percent Sémillon and ten percent Sauvignon Blanc. Harvest ran from September 30 to October 31, with grapes picked by hand in three to five successive passes. Vinification took place in temperature-controlled vats. Oak maturation lasts twelve to eighteen months, with one third of the barrels renewed.