Stockist/Retailer: finewinedirect.co.uk

(2026) There's absolutely no denying the class - or the deliciousness - of this vintage of what is surely the World's most famous Rosé. Silky smooth in texture, the charming red berries of the nose flow onto the palate where perfect mineral and sheer, delicate line balance propels a long, dry and harmonious finish.

(2026) Though the 20225 is now also on the shelves, this Grenache-based 'big brother' to the massive brand that is Whispering Angel is also available. A year in bottle has done it no harm - I tasted it this time last year, scoring it 92 points. A touch of peach to the pale pink colour here, and the modest exposure to oak this cuvée enjoys adds a delicate warmth and creaminess to the clean, red and stone fruit aromas and flavours. It is really rather lovely on the palate, the acidity a pointe and the fruit staying quite savoury but also ripe and fresh.

(2026) A blend of Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault and Vermentino from Coteaux Varois en Provence. It's a cool, mineral and herb-flecked style, the palate quite decisive with a hint of ripe pear and a cut of lemony acidity. It's juicy and orangey-citrussy, even sherbetty overall, and pleasing.

(2026) "Au soleil et à la neige" says the label, suggesting this is a wine that doesn't take itself too seriously. In fact it's a brand conceived, in all places, by residents of Sandbanks in Dorset, and made for them by a Provence estate. A blend of Grenache Noir, Cinsault and Syrah, there's slightly more depth of colour to this than some, and a particularly bold fruitiness too: ripe and overflowing with berry fruits, it still has excellent freshness and balance and is most enjoyable - whatever the weather.

(2026) As always, Esclans' Garrus comes over like a fine white Burgundy that's been kissed by sweet red berry fruit. Fermented and aged in new, large, French oak barrels, the oak is quite prominent at this young stage, but the quality is transparent and the wine remains pristine, the clarity of delicate raspberry and a touch of blanched almond lead on to a palate that shimmers with cool fruit, the edges chiseled to a fine, smooth point. This blend of Grenache and Rolle (Vermentino) flows to a long, beautifully balanced finish. One of the best vintages yet of this ground-breaking and always fascinating wine.

(2026) A traditional method sparkling wine made from Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir, farmed biodynamically I believe, though not certified. It pours with quite a dense mousse, and aromas that mix golden delicious apple and lemon sherbet. It's a bright and vivacious style, though there is a hint of biscuity creaminess that carries to the palate. It is quite a cool and decisive style though, lemony, pithy acidity keeping it bone dry in a mouthwatering aperitif style.

(2026) A lovely and very classic Meursault from a plot adjacent to the 1er cru Charmes and a vineyard planted in 1969. Butter and gentle, creamy, custard and ripeness, juicy apple aromas. A little floral note, something nutty, and just a hint of reductive flintiness. In the mouth quite opulent, a spangle brightness but rich fruit and nuttiness again, a shimmering oranges and lemons finish. Good concentration and length, tingling acidity on the finish.

(2025) Gloria is an estate established only in the 1950s, long after the famous 1855 classification of the Médoc, but over the years it has been consistently rated as equivalent to many of the Crus Classé wines. In 2019 the blend is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, with Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot from a ripe vintage where this wine weighs in with 14% alcohol. That sumptuous nature is immediately evident, the black fruit deep and glossy, but plenty of cedar and graphite precision and a sense of mineral freshness too. In the mouth it is medium-bodied and again rich, the weight of fruit on the mid-palate flows into tannins that are just softening from chewy density, the acid and tingle of cigar box spices into the finish. Drink this now after decanting or cellar for a decade surely and note that by the six-bottle case suppliers including Mann Fine Wine will bring this in at under £35 a bottle equivalent. Watch the video for more information.

(2025) Château Batailley (pronounced 'BAH-tay-yay') is a fifth growth Cru Classé, the 2016 composed of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot. Aromatically this is delightful. It is still fruit driven after nine years, with cassis and glossy black cherry, but tinged with spices and mint, a little pencil-shaving note of finesse. In the mouth it is medium bodied and the tannins still pack a punchy grip. The fruit remains in the black spectrum, and there's a little meatiness and gaminess. The acid balance is lovely here, so between it and the tannins, the finish is dry though the core of fruit persists, pepper and graphite edges into the finish too. Very stylish for decanting and drinking now, or reasonably extended cellaring I'd guess.

(2025) From Antinori's Montalcino estate, purchased in 1995, this is Sangiovese, aged 24 months in larger barrels of varying sizes. The fruit comes from vineyards at 130-200 metres above sea level on clay and limestone soils. There's real ripeness here, and maturity in a wine at six years old, a bloody streak of ripeness to black cherry and blackcurrant, gently wreathed in cocoa and tobacco. Aromatically, it verges on the jammy side of ripeness, but the palate deals with that, spicy tannins and good acid backbone giving clarity to the rich fruit.