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.

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)

Gautier Marion is the fifth generation of the family to manage Domaine de la Couvette, tucked into the gently undulating countryside of Southern Beaujolais. If you could picture what a quintessentially small French producer should look like then Gautier's property would come very close. He takes great pride in making wines in the traditional carbonic macerated style using his trusty, old concrete vats, which he uses to age the wines as well. Respecting not only the winemaking traditions, but also their 11 hectares of land and the vines that are up to 50 years old, they demonstrate their commitment by making a fully organic Beaujolais.

Light yellow in colour the wine has a fruity, floral and mineral nose, and citrus notes. An elegant subtle Chardonnay that is supple, balanced and delightfully fruity.

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

Made with grapes coming from the warmer southern end of Burgundy in the Maconnais this Bourgogne Chardonnay offers more in the way of richness than you might expect.

Aged in 25% new oak for about 10 months there's an attractive vanilla and toast edge to the nose, along with more floral aromas, white peacha dn almond. The palate is rich and round, echoing the flavours evident on the palate.

Moillard-Grivot

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

The southern Rhone is one of our favourite regions of France – dotted with fabulous, old medieval villages such as Cairanne where almost everyone has a hand in winemaking. Whilst Chateauneuf du Pape might be the largest and most famous appellation, the value is to be found elsewhere and we are delighted to include this full-flavoured, organic, spicy blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre. Perfect with red meats and summer barbecues.

Domaine Eyverine

An impressive purple hue. Made from Calmel & Joseph's oldest parcels (126 years old) of wines, which did very well in 2020 despite a very wet spring and a high risk of mildew.

The nose is classic for this grape… fresh grape juice, spices, and the vivacity of redcurrant… and shows great maturity. The attack is incisive, the tannins silky and the balance perfect. Only Carignan of this age, grown on hillsides, can offer such stunning singularity. Garrigue, wild cherry, fig and spices relay each other elegantly in the mouth. An old Carignan that, once again in this vintage, expresses its altitude terroir through a haracteristic freshness that balances its intensity.

Rebaptized since the previous vintage as “La Fabrique”, because if any grape variety truly represents Calmel & Joseph's “marque de fabrique”, or hallmark, it is Carignan.

Calmel & Joseph

One of the oldest vineyards in St Emilion, there is evidence of it being used for wine production by the Romans, the actual Chateau was built in the 1850s. Purchased by Americans Denise & Stephen Adams in 2004, they have spent a fortune renovating the Chateau and winery, and also embarked on an extensive replatning program- removing the Cab Sauv vines and converting the vineyard and winemaking to Biodynamic status, (they were certified organic in 2013, and Biodynamic in 2020). The 2017 is 90% Merlot and 10% Cab. Franc, wild yeast fermentation and surprisingly elegant and floral for 14.5% abv

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.

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.

Muscadelle & Sauvignon Blanc

A rich and expressive nose of exotic fruits and acacia flowers, accompanied by elegant oaky nuances with a fresh floral palate

Chateau Argadens

45% Cabernet Sauvignon/47% Merlot/8% Petit Verdot

Deep intensity and very dark colour with purple hints. The nose is very open and complex with smooth oak aromas and notes of ripe fruits. On the palate, the attack is silky and fresh. The tannins evolution is very nice giving a full bodied wine with a round feel. The fruity aromas along with some light oaky notes are very elegant and increase the beautiful aromatic length of the wine.

Chateau Beaumont

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

Château de Lamarque