I have been buying this wine every year since it first landed on our shores back in 2006. It’s funny how brands come and go; some skyrocket, then fizzle, and others ghost off, never to be seen again. Powerhouse rosés like Mirabeau and Whispering Angel forge forwards with ever-increasing volumes and, to my mind, quality. […]

Full bottle 1,327 g. Certified organic. From vines planted between 2011 and 2015. Unoaked and aged for 12 months on fine lees. Unfined. Light nose – more discreet than the 2021 Mâcon-Chaintré. Excellent acidity that’s already well integrated with the ripe-enough fruit. I’d hold this for a few months before enjoying it but it’s very […]

Full bottle 1,326 g. Certified organic. From vines planted between 1968 and 1985. Unoaked and aged for 12 months on fine lees. Unfined. Broad, ripe on the palate with some green notes but quite high toned. Already approachable. 16 Jancis Robinson, www.jancisrobinson.com, 25th May 2023

Matthew Jukes’ tasting notes on a selection of our 2023 spring shipments from Bordeaux. 2019 Château Frontenac, Bordeaux Superieur Made from 40% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Cabernet Franc, this is a gluggable little beauty, and the first thing I wrote in my notes was ‘Parisian brasserie classic’! It reminds me of the youthful, […]

Full bottle just 1,268 g. 40% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Cabernet Franc grown on a 35-ha estate in Pineuilh on a hillside overlooking the Dordogne. After a four-week maceration it’s aged for two years in concrete. Transparent garnet. Fully ripe fruit with fully ripe tannins and no great complexity but an attractive mix of […]

Full bottle just 1,249 g. 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot grown by the Listrac vignerons Gobinaud. 30% of the wine is aged in French oak barrels for 18 months. Dark garnet. Intense nose. Attractively mineral, ‘stony’ impression on the palate. Good to see an Haut-Médoc that’s majority Cabernet Sauvignon … Really sappy and interesting. Dry […]

Full bottle just 1,203 g. 70% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Malbec. Fronsac owner Alain Roux’s flagship property. Pale garnet. Some attractive evolution on the nose. Gentle (in terms of structure) but not simple and still with admirable Fronsac freshness. Not a blockbuster but really beautifully fresh. You want more! Quite long too. A six-and-a-half-year-old […]

Australia also grows pinot noir that rivals sub-£30 Burgundy. Scorpo Noirien Pinot Noir 2021, Mornington Peninsula, Australia (13.5%, Haynes, Hanson & Clark, £25.30), made the Jukes’ Best 100 Australian wines last year and it’s easy to see why. A pale and translucent redcurrant colour, it is gloriously perfumed, all cherries and roses. Pour it with […]

Just sneaking under the £10 threshold when you buy a case, this merlot-syrah-cabernet sauvignon blend from the Languedoc has flavours of wild raspberry and damsons, with wafts of lavender. Victoria Moore, www.telegraph.co.uk, 3rd Mar 2023

Nero d’avola is a Sicilian speciality that makes beautiful, medium-bodied, juicy reds like this one, all red plums and mulberries, with a twist of sour cherry. Victoria Moore, www.telegraph.co.uk, 3rd Mar 2023

A bright incarnation of the Rioja grape. Think rose-hip helly, strawberries, autumn leaves and crunchy plums. Open it with haricot beans or with wild mushrooms. Victoria Moore, www.telegraph.co.uk, 3rd Mar 2023

A discovery for me and one that, for only twenty quid, is amazingly impressive. Sink your teeth into a silky, layered, modern, appealing and surprisingly detailed wine. Is this a genuine EP purchase? Yes, because it will fly out of the door, so it is imperative that your name is down now. 17.5/20 Matthew Jukes […]

While 1er Cru Les Lys (same price) looked pristine, lively and crunchy, Côte de Léchet had just that bit more density of fruit, length of flavour and magic on the finish. Given the price, this is a magnificent find and having tasted twenty or so vintages of this wine, I know it will open up […]

I have tasted this wine several times this week, and it is a delicious creation. Layered, smooth, superbly accurate and relatively forward, but it has made the grade today because it ticks the final QP box – the price at HH&C is the most competitive I have found this week, and so the value element […]

Wild, refreshing, elemental and superbly plush, this incredible Blagny Rouge has turned this vintage’s challenges into an opportunity to show just how resilient and impressive these vines are when the chips are down. Astoundingly delicious, with a heroically long finish and no trace of excess in any department, this magical red wine has the texture […]