France
France
Champagne Gaston Révolte Tradition Brut Premier Cru NV
French Sparkling
Vivid gold colour and abundant mousse accompany active effervescence and a fine bead. Dried fruit and biscuit notes meet yellow fruit led by apricot, with sour lemon candy and sour cherry in brandy. The palate is supple and lively, balancing maturity with residual freshness. The non-vintage blend is equal parts Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and the wine is Brut.
Veuve Clicquot Brut Yellow Label NV
French Sparkling
Brilliant golden-yellow colour and fine, persistent bubbles are joined by pear, apple, peach, mandarin, grapefruit and brioche. Pastry and dried fruit add further detail. The blend contains 50 percent Pinot Noir, 30 percent Chardonnay and 20 percent Meunier, with up to 45 percent reserve wines. Dosage is nine grams per litre, and the wine is Brut.
Domaine du Comte Armand 2016 Auxey-Duresses Premier Cru
French Red
A clean, fresh bouquet brings black plum, red cherry and undergrowth. The medium-bodied palate shows cranberry and raspberry preserve with a light soy tang, while black pepper appears on the aftertaste. Earth, dark berry fruit, light mineral notes and a sappy mouthfeel add further detail. Fruit from Les Bréterins and Bas des Duresses was vinified with ten percent whole clusters, and one of eight barrels was new.
Maison en Belles Lies 2019 Santenay Blanc
French White
Toasty fruit and autumn leaves shape the nose. Baked pear appears on the palate, joined by roasted nuts and a fresh citrus finish. Biodynamic farming, sustainable sourcing, sustainable production and very low sulphur levels frame the winemaking approach. Alcohol is 13 percent. Suggested pairings include chicken, daal and chicken satay. The wine comes from France's Burgundy region.
Domaine Duroché 2022 Bourgogne Passetoutgrain
French Red
Pinot Noir and Gamay form this red blend from Burgundy. The estate uses moderate extraction and no sulphur during fermentation. Maturation takes place in barrels, with little new oak, for twelve months without racking. Each cru is assembled in tank before bottling. No fining is used, while filtration is rare and kept light when required.
Josmeyer 2022 Le Kottabe Riesling
French White
Light green-yellow colour accompanies apple, citrus, floral, flint and mineral notes. The dry Riesling has fresh, juicy character, 12 percent alcohol, less than three grams per litre sugar and six grams per litre acidity. Forty-five-year-old vines grow in a dozen gravelly alluvial parcels. Hand-picked grapes ferment spontaneously in century-old casks and mature on fine lees for several months.
Château Mauvinon 2021 La Familia Bordeaux
French Red
Fresh fruit and bright black fruit accompany subtle toast and an intense tannic structure. The red wine is made from Merlot grown with organic and biodynamic methods in Bordeaux. Grapes are harvested by hand, while vinification and ageing take place without added sulphites. The wine carries 13.5 percent alcohol, and its sulphite level is twenty-five milligrams per litre.
Domaine Séguinot-Bordet 2023 Chablis Vieilles Vignes
French White
The colour is pale gold with green reflections, bright and clear. Ample, expressive and fresh aromas include fruit, vanilla, fresh vegetal and subtle floral notes. The Chardonnay is powerful and rich, combining softness with vivacity. The finish is long and mineral, expressing rigour and charm. Old vines grow around Maligny in Chablis, where the vineyards have south-west exposure.
Henri de Villamont 2023 Savigny-lès-Beaune Le Village Blanc
French White
Straw-yellow colour with golden tints accompanies white flowers, pear and peach. Citrus and mineral notes appear with white peach, crunchy apple and honey. The Chardonnay is structured and fresh, with a long finish. Fruit comes from a young domaine monopole parcel. The unsulphured harvest receives its first sulphur addition after malolactic conversion, and the wine rests eleven months in oak barrels.
Josmeyer 2017 H Vieilles Vignes Pinot Auxerrois
French White
Mirabelle and apricot appear with mineral and saline detail. The Pinot Auxerrois is fleshy and chalky, with long bitter notes. Grapes are harvested entirely by hand and whole-cluster pressed for about seven hours. After natural settling, spontaneous fermentation takes place in a century-old foudre. The wine rests on fine lees for several months before filtration and bottling.
Domaine Billaud-Simon 2014 Chablis Premier Cru Mont de Milieu
French White
Lemon and crisp green apple appear in a ripe, juicy Chardonnay. Citrus, spice and floral notes accompany a mineral, finely cut profile with roundness and substance. The wine has a textured, tight character and persistent mineral detail. Fruit comes from Mont de Milieu in Chablis Premier Cru. Ageing takes place in both tank and barrel, with fifteen thousand five hundred bottles produced.
Pierre Gaillard 2018 Saint-Joseph Blanc
French White
Yellow stone fruit, pastry and honey appear in this white. The Roussanne is round and rich, with a fresh finish. Fruit comes from granitic sand in Malleval and Chavanay, grown on south-east-facing hilltops. Grapes are hand harvested, gently pressed and settled. Barrel fermentation uses no new wood, followed by nine months on lees with stirring.
Domaine Besson 2020 Chablis Premier Cru Vaillons
French White
Pale yellow colour accompanies white blossom and yellow fruit. The Chardonnay is round and generous, with yellow-fruit flavour. Grapes come from 2.46 hectares of clay-limestone soils in Vaillons. Slow, low-pressure pressing precedes fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless steel, with eight percent fermented in oak. Lees ageing lasts eighteen months in steel, with a small portion kept in oak barrels.
Domaine Marcel Richaud 2021 Cairanne Blanc
French White
White flowers, nectarine, orange peel and honey appear in a velvety white. White-fruit flavours, salinity and freshness accompany a rich profile. The blend includes Clairette Blanche, Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Viognier, Bourboulenc, Marsanne and Vermentino. Grapes are hand harvested, and the farming is organic. Most fermentation and ageing take place in concrete, with a smaller portion using 600-litre oak vessels.
Jean Foillard 2023 Beaujolais Blanc
French White
White flowers, green apple and pear appear with citrus and a saline mineral finish. The Chardonnay comes from a 1.4-hectare parcel at Pizay, planted with vines ten to fifteen years old. Whole clusters receive a three-day cold maceration before pressing. Half the wine is vinified in concrete, while the remainder uses old barrels and sandstone jars. Production totalled around twelve thousand bottles.
Domaine Desvignes 2019 Givry Blanc En Chenèves
French White
Pure Chardonnay fruit and floral notes appear in a crisp, precise white. The blend is ninety percent Chardonnay and ten percent Pinot Blanc. Fruit comes from a north-east-facing site at the foot of the Givry slope, on clay-limestone soil. Grapes are gently pressed and settled before slow fermentation in French oak. Fine-lees ageing continues for twelve months in barrel.
1006 Vins de Loire 2021 Celeste Chenin Blanc
French White
Chenin from a single parcel of twenty-five-year-old vines grows on sandstone and puddingstone soils in Anjou. The plot was in its second year of conversion to organic farming. Grapes are hand harvested and pressed slowly into French oak, where fermentation begins with natural yeast. The wine spends seventeen months in second-fill French oak barrels and is made without animal products.
Maison Louis Jadot 2022 Domaine Clair-Daü Rosé de Marsannay
French Rosé
Pale salmon colour accompanies wild strawberry, redcurrant and a hint of white pepper. This dry rosé is made entirely from Pinot Noir and has a structured, gastronomic profile. The wine is fresh, pleasant and fruit-driven, with body. A brief skin maceration precedes fermentation and maturation in tank. Fruit comes from Marsannay in the Côte de Nuits.
Domaine Gautheron 2023 Chablis Vieilles Vignes
French White
Pale gold with soft green reflections, this Chardonnay has apricot, lemon, light smoke and floral notes. The mouth is precise and salivating, with clear mineral structure, concentration and length. Fruit comes from vines more than forty years old on a south-facing slope with Kimmeridgian limestone. Fermentation and malolactic conversion are followed by lees ageing in stainless-steel tanks.
Tremblay-Marchive 2023 Chablis
French White
Chalk-dusted apple, dried white blossom and crushed shell accompany lemon citrus in a reserved Chardonnay. Tart acidity, chalky character and a mouthwatering finish are present. Fruit comes from Chablis, where the Chardonnay grows on Kimmeridgian limestone soils in Burgundy. Organic conversion began several years earlier, and the vineyards had achieved certification before this harvest. The wine is certified organic.
Domaine Bailly-Reverdy 2020 Sancerre Rouge
French Red
Deep ruby and violet colour accompanies fresh and candied red fruit, including strawberry, raspberry, blackcurrant and blackberry. The Pinot Noir has a structured mouthfeel with coated tannins and welcome acidity. The vintage was harvested over nearly a month, with red grapes among the first picked. Vatting and extraction were adjusted to the condition of the fruit during the harvest.
Brendan Stater-West 2022 Saumur Blanc
French White
Citrus and saline notes accompany a light Chenin Blanc. Fruit comes from a selection within the Les Chapaudaises parcel in Bizay, on a lower north-eastern slope. Clay, sand and loam lie above limestone at the site. Fermentation and vinification take place in stainless steel, with some fine lees retained during six months of maturation. Alcohol is 12.5 percent.
Domaine de l’Ecu 2016 Mephisto Cabernet Franc
French Red
Black fruit, blackberry, strawberry, redcurrant and white pepper accompany sweet spice in a rich Cabernet Franc. Tannins are tight yet velvety, with volume and delicacy. Grapes are harvested by hand from granite soils and fermented with native yeasts. The wine matures in old barrels and amphorae for fifteen months. The vineyards have been farmed organically since nineteen seventy-five and carry Demeter Biodynamic certification dating from nineteen ninety-eight.
Domaine des Marnes Blanches 2022 Crémant du Jura Réserve
French Sparkling
Fine bubbles accompany fresh apple, lemon and brioche. The Chardonnay has freshness, a chalky texture, saline detail and a persistent finish. Fruit comes from twenty-five-year-old vines rooted in Lias marl and limestone near Sainte-Agnès. The site lies in Jura. Traditional-method production includes thirty months of lees ageing and zero dosage. The cuvée is made entirely from Chardonnay.
Jean-Marc Brocard 2023 Chablis Premier Cru Montmains
French White
A brilliant golden-green colour with silvery-grey highlights accompanies flint, citrus and spice. The Chardonnay has a supple attack and thirst-quenching lemon notes. Fruit comes from Montmains on the left bank of the Serein, where the site’s profile is cool, fresh and floral. Vinification takes place in stainless steel without oak. White flowers, grapefruit and fennel also appear. The style is clear.
Pascal Jolivet 2024 Sancerre Blanc
French White
White fruit, orchard flowers and subtle smoke accompany a dry, mineral Sauvignon Blanc with elegance, perfume and depth. Fruit comes from chalky caillottes, clay-limestone terres blanches and silex soils in Sancerre. Musts are cold settled without enzymes. Each soil type ferments separately with natural yeast in temperature-controlled stainless-steel vats before blending, slight filtration and seven months of ageing. The finished wine carries 12.5 percent alcohol.
Achillée 2024 Pinot Noir
French Red
A slightly cloudy, medium-intensity red colour accompanies yeasty aromas, fresh red fruit, cooked plum and cacao. The wine is velvety and delicate, with well-integrated tannins and a long, lightly woody finish. Three quarters of the blend undergoes eight days of maceration and one quarter receives thirty-one days; both portions use whole clusters from gravel and granite sites.
Cyprien Arlaud 2022 Scritch Bourgogne Chardonnay
French White
A pale yellow colour with silver reflections accompanies white flowers, fresh citrus and a mineral note. The dry white is lively and tense, with freshness and a saline, persistent finish. Chardonnay is the sole variety, and the finished wine carries thirteen percent alcohol. The certified-organic cuvée belongs to a white-wine range vinified in Morey-Saint-Denis from carefully sourced Burgundy fruit.
Pierre-Olivier Bonhomme 2017 Touraine Pinot Noir
French Red
Pinot Noir comes from purchased organically farmed fruit from a single parcel called La Ceverie, on clay and limestone soils. Whole clusters receive a fifteen-day maceration before the wine spends six months in 225-litre barrels. The red is bottled unfined and unfiltered, generally without added sulphur; up to fifteen milligrams per litre may be used at bottling when required.
Jean-Philippe Fichet 2021 Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Blanc
French White
Lemon, green apple, apricot, white flowers and crushed rock accompany orchard and citrus fruit on a mineral profile. The Chardonnay has roundness, energy, acidity and texture, with bitter lemon among the citrus details. Fruit comes from parcels in Nantoux and Auxey-Duresses. The wine spends twelve months in older oak without new barrels, while the vineyard soils contain clay and limestone.