France
France
Domaine Simon Bize et Fils 2020 Savigny-lès-Beaune
French Red
Black cherry, sweet dark berry, woodsmoke, currant leaf, dark soil and dark chocolate appear together. The wine is deep and full-bodied, with a core of black fruit, ripe firm tannins, tangy acidity, focus and grip. The finish has length, vibrancy and balance. This dry village red is made entirely from Pinot Noir, and production for the vintage totalled 15,000 bottles.
Champagne Girard-Bonnet A Mi-Chemin Grand Cru Extra-Brut
French Sparkling
White flowers accompany minerality and sharp but non-aggressive acidity. The wine is made entirely from Grand Cru Chardonnay, split equally between Le Mesnil-sur-Oger and Oger. Indigenous yeasts are used in tank and barrel, and the wine is aged on its lees. The soils include rendzina and calcareous brown soils over chalk, plus calcareous brown soils on valley-floor colluvium.
Champagne Domaine Hélène 2019 Vertus Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru Vieilles Vignes
French Sparkling
Fresh and baked green apple, lemon pith, lemon peel, bitter almond and white blossom appear with wet chalk. The profile has a structural frame and a subtle oxidative touch. Old vines in Vertus Premier Cru supply all the Chardonnay. Native fermentation takes place in stainless steel and older wood. Lees ageing lasts four years, and dosage is zero. The finish retains a chalk note.
Champagne Gardet 2015 130 Anniversary Millésime Extra-Brut
French Sparkling
Golden-yellow colour and fine bubbles accompany pear, quince, white peach, jasmine, acacia, sugared almond and roasted hazelnut. The profile is fresh, creamy and full, with lemon, brioche, mineral and citrus-zest notes. The blend is seventy percent Pinot Noir and thirty percent Chardonnay. Bottle ageing on the lees lasted more than eight years, and dosage is four grams per litre.
Domaine de Cristia 2019 Renaissance Châteauneuf-du-Pape
French Red
Deep red colour appears with milky black fruit, vanilla and woody notes. The profile has a soft attack, fruit, vanilla, butter and a rich creamy finish. The blend is sixty percent Grenache and forty percent Mourvèdre. Cassis, ripe blackberry, spicy oak, roasted meat, toasted spice and chocolate are also present. Ageing used a combination of demi-muids and new barriques.
Gustave Lorentz 1989 Pinot Gris Sélection de Grains Nobles
French Dessert
Mahogany colour and a deeply candied character accompany balanced sweetness and preserved-fruit notes. The fruit came from the Altenberg de Bergheim vineyard. This sweet white is made from Pinot Gris in Alsace and bears the Sélection de Grains Nobles designation. Successive selections of noble-rot-affected berries are part of the production, and this Pinot Gris style has extreme concentration.
Château Coutet 2000 Barsac
French Dessert
Golden colour with subtle patina accompanies beeswax, gingerbread, candied fruit, peach liqueur and dried hazelnut. The supple profile includes mineral notes, sweet spice, vanilla and stewed mirabelle, with moderate sweetness and a medium-length finish. The blend is ninety percent Sémillon, nine percent Sauvignon Blanc and one percent Muscadelle. Pronounced acidity is present in this Barsac sweet wine.
Veuve Clicquot 2015 Vintage Brut Champagne
French Sparkling
Bright yellow colour accompanies tension, verticality, minerality and energy. Toast, roasted coffee bean and praline appear with orange, grapefruit, lemon peel, biscuit, brioche, marmalade, dried apricot, date, roasted almond, hazelnut and honey. The blend is fifty percent Pinot Noir, thirty percent Chardonnay and twenty percent Meunier. Ten percent of the wines were produced in oak casks, and dosage is six grams per litre.
Champagne Charpentier Pinot Meunier Zéro Dosage NV
French Sparkling
A sustained yellow-gold colour and fine creamy bubbles accompany yellow-fleshed and stone fruit. The profile is dense and developed, with freshness and finesse. This Blanc de Noirs is made entirely from Pinot Meunier grown at Charly-sur-Marne. The parcel has been cultivated biodynamically for ten years. Fermentation took place in temperature-controlled stainless steel, and the wine received zero dosage.
Domaine d’Hélène 2017 Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Extra Brut Champagne
French Sparkling
Floral, fruit and mineral character accompany this sparkling Chardonnay from old vines in Oger, Avize and Cramant. The wine was fermented with native yeasts and vinified in both tank and barrel. Production totalled two thousand bottles. Its maker comes from a winegrowing family in Cramant that dates to 1891 and previously worked at estates in Burgundy and Corsica.
Château Cabrières 1985 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge
French Red
A garnet-red colour carries a dark brick rim. Ripe, jammy red-berry fruit appears with fine woody and animal notes. The full, rich profile has warmth, macerated overripe red berries, gentle velvety tannins and bitter chocolate. This dry red spent twelve months in new oak. It comes from Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the Rhône and contains less than four grams of sugar.
Nicolas Joly 2024 Clos de la Bergerie Savennières Roche-aux-Moines
French White
Tonic character, fine bitter notes, vibrant texture, ripe-fruit flavours and freshness are present in this Chenin. The seven-hectare parcel has moderately sloped, east-facing ground and schist soils, with vines around thirty years old. Biodynamically grown fruit is vinified without chaptalisation, temperature control or a second yeast addition. Ageing takes place in seasoned oak, with one or two rackings and batonnage, and the wine is unfiltered.
Roland Lavantureux 2018 Vauprin Chablis Magnum 1.5 L
French White
Yellow flowers, mirabelle, crushed rock and light hazelnut form a harmonious aroma. The palate has fine acidity, tension and a persistent finish. Clarity, steely character and a mouth-watering quality appear with a textured profile and a light touch of oak. This Chardonnay comes from the high, south-southeast-facing Vauprin parcel in Lignorelles, within Chablis. The site has Kimmeridgian subsoil.
Remoissenet 1985 Santenay Premier Cru Clos de Tavannes
French Red
A ruby core sits within a broad tawny-brown rim. The powerful bouquet includes beef, blood and game, with raspberry, strawberry and dank undergrowth. The palate is sweet, with ripe strawberry and berry fruit alongside mellow coffee and tobacco oak. The tannins are surprisingly grippy. Pinot Noir is the stated grape, and the wine comes from Santenay Premier Cru in Burgundy.
Jean Foillard 2019 Fleurie Magnum 1.5 L
French Red
A deep, silky-smooth profile includes black cherry, violet, wet earth, smoky berry character and spice. The wine is concentrated and elegant, with medium-to-full body, velvety texture, fine depth, lively acidity and a sapid, fresh finish. A serious tannin structure, drive and energy are also present, together with loamy soil and potpourri. This is Gamay from Fleurie in Beaujolais.
H. Billiot Fils Brut Reserve Grand Cru Champagne Magnum 1.5 L
French Sparkling
This Grand Cru Champagne is a blend of seventy-five percent Pinot Noir and twenty-five percent Chardonnay from Ambonnay. Vines are more than fifty years old on limestone, clay and chalk soils. Malolactic fermentation is avoided, while fermentation and ageing take place in stainless steel. Lees ageing lasts thirty-six months and dosage is 8.5 grams per litre. Pomegranate, red berries, flowers, brioche and grapefruit are present.
La Dame de Montrose 2010 Saint-Estephe
French Red
Dense black colour carries violet highlights, with morello cherry, raspberry, dark tobacco, Havana and a touch of vanilla. The palate has a clean entry and a broad, fresh middle. Precise tannins and a long finish are present. Raspberry, vanilla and mocha recur, while the oak remains discreet. Cabernet Sauvignon forms sixty-four percent of the blend and Merlot the remaining thirty-six percent.
Alice & Olivier De Moor 2023 Chablis L’Humeur du Temps
French White
Citrus, saline and flinty notes appear in a tense, mineral Chardonnay from several organically farmed parcels in Chablis. The blend draws on four sites: one hectare of north-west-facing brown clay, two smaller south-facing parcels on yellow clay, and a fourth small parcel on flat land. Biodynamic and vegan classifications are also stated, and alcohol is 12.5 percent by volume.
Guillaume Vrignaud 2022 Chablis Premier Cru Magnum 1.5 L
French White
This white Burgundy is made from Chardonnay under the Chablis Premier Cru appellation. The estate's Premier Cru vineyards are farmed organically on limestone-derived soils. Full malolactic fermentation and lees maturation appear across the range. Stainless steel is the common vessel, while certain parcels also involve oak or earthenware. Spring frost, a hot spring and summer drought preceded the early-September harvest.
Flavien Nowack 2020 La Fontinette Blanc de Meunier Extra Brut Champagne
French Sparkling
Pinot Meunier comes from a mid-slope parcel at Vandieres on sand and clay-limestone over marl. Native yeast is used, and the base wine ages in small oak barrels. Secondary fermentation uses grape must, followed by roughly thirty months on lees in bottle. White flowers, ripe pear and smoked almond appear with a chalky, savoury profile and a long finish. The wine is unfined and unfiltered.
Domaine Georges Glantenay 2022 Meursault Les Santenots
French White
The aroma is broad, with faint toast and faint spice. Toast is also present in the flavours, alongside intensity and concentration. The finish has spice-bread notes. Barrel toasting was adjusted. Chardonnay comes from a village-classified site in Meursault. Harvest ran from August twenty-fourth through August thirty-first. The wine is white, and alcohol is thirteen percent by volume.
Lou Dumont Koji Nakada 2023 Nuits-Saint-Georges Vieilles Vignes
French Red
Ruby-red colour accompanies red-fruit aromas. The Pinot Noir is ripe, with well-integrated tannins, elegant structure and a lingering finish. Power and complexity appear with a robust, round and sappy palate. The wine carries the Nuits-Saint-Georges appellation in Burgundy. Alcohol is 12.5 percent. The grapes are harvested by hand. Production follows both organic and sustainable vineyard practices.
Chateau Gloria 2022 Saint-Julien
French Red
Deep garnet colour accompanies fresh redcurrant, peppered chocolate, mineral notes and white pepper. The wine is full-bodied, with rounded fruit, fine tannins and a long finish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc make up the blend. Grapes are harvested by hand. Vinification takes place in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks, and maturation lasts fourteen months in oak barrels. Alcohol is 13.8 percent.
Domaine A.F. Gros 2023 Signature Mathias Parent Vin de France
French Red
Raspberry, cherry, rose and violet appear in a silky, floral Pinot Noir with a soft, juicy frame, fine texture, low tannins and a graceful finish. The grapes are fully destemmed. Fermentation begins twenty-four hours after vatting and lasts ten to twelve days. Maturation lasts twelve to eighteen months in French oak, with thirty percent new barrels. The wine is classified as Vin de France.
Domaine Michel Briday 2016 Rully Les 4 Vignes Rouge Magnum 1.5 L
French Red
Fruit and a slight animal note appear with a fresh, appetizing palate. The red wine is matured in barrel. Four parcels contribute to the cuvee, including stony upper-slope sites and clay-rich lower-slope sites. Grapes are harvested by hand, sorted in the cellar and destemmed. Native-yeast vinification lasts twenty to twenty-five days, and maturation uses oak barrels with twenty-five percent new wood.
Chateau Pichon Baron 2018 Les Tourelles de Longueville Pauillac
French Red
Intense ruby colour accompanies very ripe red fruit, black cherry and mild spice. The wine is silky, delicate and smooth, with fresh, harmonious tannins and a persistent finish. The blend is sixty-six percent Merlot, twenty percent Cabernet Sauvignon, eight percent Cabernet Franc and six percent Petit Verdot. Maturation lasts twelve months, using both new barrels and barrels previously used for one vintage.
Echo de Lynch-Bages 2016 Pauillac
French Red
Fresh fruit aromas appear with oak and spice. The wine is supple and powerful, with balance and round, mouth-coating tannins. The blend is seventy-three percent Cabernet Sauvignon and twenty-seven percent Merlot. Grapes are hand picked and sorted in the vineyard. Maturation lasts twelve months in French oak barrels previously used for one vintage. The vineyards lie on Garonne gravel in Pauillac.
Alfred Gratien Cuvée Paradis Brut Champagne NV
French Sparkling
Chardonnay makes up sixty-five percent of the blend, with thirty-five percent Pinot Noir. Vinification and maturation take place in small 228-litre oak barrels, without malolactic fermentation. Biscuit, grapefruit, orange peel and almond appear with passion fruit, pineapple, lime, yellow flowers, seaweed and pastry. The texture is creamy. Acidity, sweetness and salinity accompany a very long finish with chalky minerality and honey.
Pascal Doquet 2008 Le Mont Aimé Coeur de Terroir Premier Cru Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut Champagne
French Sparkling
Golden colour has bright reflections. Citrus and fresh fruit appear with orange blossom. The palate is rich, structured and savoury, with ripe fruit and a long, persistent finish. Chardonnay comes from the Premier Cru terroir of Coligny. The grapes are vinified and matured in oak barrels. Malolactic fermentation is completed, and the dosage is Extra Brut.
Roger-Constant Lemaire 2013 Les Hautes Prières Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru Champagne
French Sparkling
Pale gold colour and abundant bubbles accompany apple, flowers, wax, honey and orange peel. The wine is round, creamy and balanced, with generous effervescence, candied and honeyed flavours, fern, vegetal notes and persistence. It is a Blanc de Blancs made entirely from Chardonnay. Vinification excludes malolactic fermentation, and the wine spends nine months in 225-litre oak barrels.