(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.
(2025) From Bordeaux's Right Bank, a Merlot dominated red wine coming from a vintage that many are claiming to be a great one. The estate has been owned by the English Johnson-Hill family for almost 50 years and has seen considerable investment under current proprietors, Mark and Sadra Johnson-Hill. The nose is spicy, dark and fruit-cakey, with plum, currants and a hint of cedar. In the mouth this has fine medium weight, and that dark berry fruit is nicely smooth and ripe through the mid-palate, running into a balanced finish showing soft but supportive tannins and elegant acidity. A good choice for Christmas perhaps, drinking well already. Watch the video for more information.
(2025) Blended from a number of vineyard parcels, with a significant portion from Puligny-Montrachet and Meursault, this was matured for 14 months, 70% in oak barrels (10% new oak) and 30% in stainless steel. It has a delightful and elegant aroma, limpid with pear and melon over fresh almond. In the mouth elegant again, the citrus and salts of the acidity defining the ripe but focused fruit of the mid-palate.
(2025) From a family property now in the hands of the fourth generation, this is 85% Merlot plus Cabernet Franc and comes from vineyards on sand, clay, limestone and gravel. Dark, meaty, plummy and spicy, it's a warming and wintery red, the fruitcake richness of the aromas leading through to the palate, where bold tannins and a grip of acidity are just softened by both its age at eight years old, and presumably some time in barrels. It's not hugely long, but it is authentic and tasty for sure.
(2025) The original 'super Tuscans', Tignanello, broke the mould as it contained some Bordeaux varieties as well as local hero Sangiovese, and it was matured in small French oak barriques, just like the top wines of Bordeaux. The 2022 is a blend of 78% Sangiovese, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Cabernet Franc. It is a pretty, medium-weight vintage, deliciously drinkable now but with a decade plus of cellaring potential surely. The nose is lifted by violet and kirsch over plush and ripe black berries, a fine wreath of cedar and tobacco beneath. Taut on the palate in its youth, there is an ash and liquorice firmness to the tannins, but the mid-palate concentration and supple sweetness of fruit leaves no room for doubt that it is a wine with great potential. Hints of bitter cocoa and tobacco add complexity in the long finish, which has fine acid balance.
(2025) I have to say I always enjoy this big brother to the Whispering Angel, Rock Angel made from estate-grown fruit at Chateau d'Esclans (Grenache and Rolle), and partly barrel-fermented. That adds no perceptible 'oaky' quality beyond a slight creaminess to the aromas that are otherwise of ripe but keen red berries and hint of peach. In the mouth it is pleasingly fruity - plenty of buoyant, ripe and quite fleshy fruit - but there is some structure here. Acidity is defined, and there's a hint of spicy tannin, perhaps from the fruit, perhaps from the barrel, but adding a pleasing edge of chalky grip to the otherwise summer flavours. Rather good once again.
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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. 
The original 'super Tuscans', Tignanello, broke the mould as it contained some Bordeaux varieties as well as local hero Sangiovese, and it was matured in small French oak barriques, just like the top wines of Bordeaux. The 2022 is a blend of 78% Sangiovese, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Cabernet Franc. It is a pretty, medium-weight vintage, deliciously drinkable now but with a decade plus of cellaring potential surely. The nose is lifted by violet and kirsch over plush and ripe black berries, a fine wreath of cedar and tobacco beneath. Taut on the palate in its youth, there is an ash and liquorice firmness to the tannins, but the mid-palate concentration and supple sweetness of fruit leaves no room for doubt that it is a wine with great potential. Hints of bitter cocoa and tobacco add complexity in the long finish, which has fine acid balance. 