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WINE OF THE WEEK: Château Climens Asphodèle 2019, Bordeaux Blanc Sec, France

2 days ago

WINE OF THE WEEK: Château Climens Asphodèle 2019, Bordeaux Blanc Sec, France

£26.50, Berry Bros & Rudd There is joy tinged with sadness in this week's wine. Let's start with the joy, which is that this is a beautiful wine. Elegant, precise, pure, textural and gently rippling with aromas and flavours of blossom, spicier flowers (marigolds), citrus and minerals, turning to red apple, lychee (just a whisper), orange zest and peach – and all emphasised by the silk-smooth texture and long, fresh, mineral spine. You may find other or completely different ar

WINE OF THE WEEK: Guigal Côtes du Rhône Blanc 2019, France

Apr 29

WINE OF THE WEEK: Guigal Côtes du Rhône Blanc 2019, France

£11.50–£12, The Wine Society, Tesco Full-bodied, succulent, Viognier-based dry white from one of the big names in a region much better known for its red wines – and one that doesn't usually major on Viognier in its whites. But it's the 60% Viognier (supported by Roussanne and Marsanne) that leads the way with fleshiness and soft texture, blossomy aromas and lush peach, cream and patisserie flavours. There's a sprinkling of white-pepper spiciness and a squeeze of grapefruit, t

WINE OF THE WEEK: Rigal Original Vin Orange Gros Manseng 2019, Vin de France

Apr 8

WINE OF THE WEEK: Rigal Original Vin Orange Gros Manseng 2019, Vin de France

£10, Morrisons There'a a lot of noise about orange wines – wines made from white grapes fermented with their skins like red wines, rather than without skins – but they're still very much a minority sport, even though it's how wine was originally made whatever the colour of the grapes. It's good, then, to see Rigal in southwest France venturing into the arena and making a success with a characterful local grape variety and the UK's Morrisons supermarkets taking the wine on. In

WINE OF THE WEEK: Justerini & Brooks Pomerol, France

Mar 25

WINE OF THE WEEK: Justerini & Brooks Pomerol, France

£24.67, Justerini & Brooks If you're looking for something classic, crowd-pleasing and versatile for Easter, this is it: a red Bordeaux (aka claret) of beautiful proportions, soft-suede tannins, ripe fresh fruit, sandalwood, tobacco, Christmas cake and mocha flavours . It's also a wine of impeccable provenance: impeccable but not revealed, at least not by Justerini & Brooks who say that, such is the sensitivity, the buyers involved in the assemblage (blending) have had to si

Vigné-Lourac Braucol 2018, Côtes du Tarn, France

Mar 11

Vigné-Lourac Braucol 2018, Côtes du Tarn, France

£10.75, The Daily Drinker This beguiling Braucol wine arrived just at the right time to assuage some of my south-west France withdrawal symptoms. I’m normally based in the region six or seven times a year, but it’s now more than six months since I was last there. Thank you for your concern, but no need for the violins. I had this characterful, red instead – generous, supple and medium-bodied with a floral perfume (reminiscent of irises), blackberry, raspberry and damson fruit

WINE OF THE WEEK: Domaine Jones Grenache Gris 2018/2019, Côtes Catalanes, France

Feb 11

WINE OF THE WEEK: Domaine Jones Grenache Gris 2018/2019, Côtes Catalanes, France

£16.45 for 2018, Amps Wine Merchants; £18.99 for 2019, Yorkshire Vintners This wonderful dry white wine, with its compelling counterpoint of zing and richness, almost didn't come into being. When Katie Jones was about to sign on the dotted line for her first tiny vineyard in 2008, the one from which this wine comes, she suddenly noticed that the document said that half the 2.5 hectare vineyard was Grenache Gris, rather than all Grenache Noir. She didn't want white grapes. The

WINE OF THE WEEK: Bouchard Père et Fils Beaune du Château Premier Cru 2017, Beaune, France

Jan 21

WINE OF THE WEEK: Bouchard Père et Fils Beaune du Château Premier Cru 2017, Beaune, France

£32.95, Waitrose In the absence of the assault course of Burgundy En Primeur tastings that I would have done by this point in a normal year (not that I'm complaining about them – I love Burgundy), I'm delighted to have a beauty of a red Beaune to recommend. It's Pinot Noir, but so much more than Pinot Noir, a wine for which the words perfume, silkiness, buoyancy, transparency and harmony could have been coined. Starting with delicate spice and sandalwood on the nose, it opens

WINE OF THE WEEK: Domaine de la Combe Vendange Nocturne Melon Blanc, Vin de France

Jan 14

WINE OF THE WEEK: Domaine de la Combe Vendange Nocturne Melon Blanc, Vin de France

£9–£11, The Daily Drinker, ND John, Noble Green Wines, Kwoff If you’re not doing dry January but want to make a gesture, this perky, dry white from the Loire is a modest 11% alcohol and doesn't lack anything in the flavour department. It’s light bodied with an inviting floral nose and a palate of green pear, talcum powder, citrus acidity and sea spray. Although the label states Vin de France and there's no vintage, Vendange Nocturne is to all intents and purposes a Muscadet.

WINE OF THE WEEK: Château Courac Côtes du Rhône 2016, France

Jan 7

WINE OF THE WEEK: Château Courac Côtes du Rhône 2016, France

£8.95, The Wine Society This is one of my house wines, one I turn to when I want the vinous equivalent of a comforting, warm hug. With more Syrah than Grenache in the blend, it's full and generous with a twist of fresh white pepper to season the plush raspberry fruit and deeper tapenade and game notes. 2016 was an exceptional vintage in the southern Rhône, but even in less favourable vintages such as 2013 Joséphine and Frédéric Arnaud make a success of their straight Côtes du

WINE OF THE WEEK: Maison Louis Latour Bellevue Domaine de Valmoissine Pinot Noir 2017, Var, France

Dec 17, 2020

WINE OF THE WEEK: Maison Louis Latour Bellevue Domaine de Valmoissine Pinot Noir 2017, Var, France

£18.50–£23.50, Bakers & Larners, Flagship Wines, Harvey Nichols, North & South Wines As an affordable alternative to red Burgundy, Maison Louis Latour's regular Domaine de Valmoissine Pinot Noir is an old favourite (see my Festive Red Wine Guide), and a good choice for the festive table whether you're eating turkey, a smaller bird, beef fillet or vegetarian, but there's now also a top-tier Valmoissine. Step forward Bellevue, a small production from the domaine's best vineyard

WINE OF THE WEEK: Château de Rochemorin Pessac-Léognan 2016, Bordeaux, France

Dec 10, 2020

WINE OF THE WEEK: Château de Rochemorin Pessac-Léognan 2016, Bordeaux, France

£13.99 on offer, Waitrose I said at the beginning of the year that we should all drink more Sauternes and followed with a resolution a couple of days later to drink more dry white Bordeaux as well. This Pessac-Léognan (the superior AOC enclave of Graves) is one of the dry whites I've loved – and it's currently on offer, so there's no excuse not to indulge. It also happens to go well with smoked salmon, if that's on any of your festive menus. It's a barrel-fermented Sauvignon

WINE OF THE WEEK: Daniel-Etienne Chablis Vieilles Vignes 2015, France

Dec 3, 2020

WINE OF THE WEEK: Daniel-Etienne Chablis Vieilles Vignes 2015, France

£22.50, Tanners Wines This is the Chablis you need for Christmas. It's the one I need anyway. It's not a lean, razor-sharp, steely style but one that celebrates Chablis' potential for richness and savoury complexity, given old vines in top locations and long ageing on the lees without oak. When you factor in a warm year like 2015, there's the potential for even more ripeness and density, although that doesn't mean higher alcohol in the case of Daniel Defaix's Vieilles Vignes.

WINE OF THE WEEK: Domaine de Bréseyme Brézème Côtes du Rhône 2017, France

Nov 5, 2020

WINE OF THE WEEK: Domaine de Bréseyme Brézème Côtes du Rhône 2017, France

£22, The Wine Society I'm getting in early with this because when I tried to recommend the 2016 it had sold out (Wine Society members clearly know a good new thing when they see it). If you tasted the 2016, you'll know that it was northern Rhône-style Syrah at its most bewitchingly pure, perfumed and peppery. The 2017 is equally delicious, but more opulent – more Cornas, perhaps, than Côte-Rôtie – although both are a comfortably moderate 12.5% abv. The 2017 opens with a wave

WINE OF THE WEEK: Château Laurou Fronton Tradition 2019, Fronton, France

Oct 22, 2020

WINE OF THE WEEK: Château Laurou Fronton Tradition 2019, Fronton, France

£11.95–£13, Cheers Wines, The Jolly Vintner, The Stroud Wine Company, Shaftsbury Wines I'm delighted to have found a red Fronton this week – such a distinctive but appealing wine, made predominantly from a grape variety, Négrette, that's grown almost nowhere else in the world (there's a tiny amount in San Benito County California). Fronton is an appellation in south-west France about 30km north-west of Toulouse between the Garonne and Tarn rivers and west of the larger Gailla

WINE OF THE WEEK: Domaine des Sanzay Saumur-Champigny 2018, France

Sep 10, 2020

WINE OF THE WEEK: Domaine des Sanzay Saumur-Champigny 2018, France

£13.50/£12, Haynes Hanson & Clark Just because you can drink the Cabernet Franc red wines of the Loire lightly chilled, it doesn't mean they should be confined to summer (not that I'm giving up on summer yet, as I said last week). With a floral perfume, succulent raspberryish fruit and Cabernet Franc's hallmark graphite undertow, Domaine des Sanzay's Saumur-Champigny is supple and rounded enough to drink on its own but also goes well with foods as varied as lamb, salmon and g

The Phoenix Rises: Château de Pommard chez Carabello-Baum

Aug 18, 2020

The Phoenix Rises: Château de Pommard chez Carabello-Baum

Cork talk: is it an instruction? The strikingly branded corks used for all Château de Pommard and Carabello-Baum Burgundies However small, and the vineyards are tiny compared to the great châteaux and estates of Bordeaux, no parcel or domaine in Burgundy ever changes hands unnoticed. So, the sale of Château de Pommard and its 20-ha walled vineyard (clos) in 2014 was big news. Only four families had owned the domaine in nearly 300 years and Marey-Monge is the largest clos and

WINE OF THE WEEK: Château Fabre Gasparets Corbières-Boutenac 2017, France

Aug 13, 2020

WINE OF THE WEEK: Château Fabre Gasparets Corbières-Boutenac 2017, France

£13.74–£20.50, Drinks & Co, Cellar Selected, Mr & Mrs Fine Wine, Noble Green Wines, Kwoff, Hedonism A jewel not just of Corbières but of all Languedoc red wines, Boutenac was officially recognised as the premier cru of Corbières in 2005 and remains its only stand-alone appellation. The 220 hectares of vineyards fan out from the Aleppo pine and Mediterranean scrub-clad hills of the Pinada range at the heart of the huge Corbières appellation. Pretty? Is the Pope Catholic? Carig

Prime Time for Pink: Summer Rosé Round-up

Aug 4, 2020

Prime Time for Pink: Summer Rosé Round-up

Another summer, another round-up of delicious dry rosés, plus a featherweight, lightly sparkling sweet wine from Italy and a pink Champagne that I wasn't familiar with and which hugely impressed me recently. There are lots of different styles, shades, flavours and grape varieties, but it has turned out to be an almost all-European selection this year, reflecting the limitations the pandemic has imposed on tastings, travel and trade. The one exception (perhaps ironically) is f

Circus Trick: How a Wine from Saint Mont Overcame the Authorities

Jul 22, 2020

Circus Trick: How a Wine from Saint Mont Overcame the Authorities

The first four vintages of Plaimont's single vintage Cirque Nord Saint Mont – 2014, 2016, 2017 and the yet to be bottled 2019 I was planning to write more on what’s been happening at the Plaimont co-operative group in southwest France, having caught up with some of the latest developments and new wines over a virtual tasting with MD and former technical director Olivier Bourdet-Pees. But instead I made Les Vignes Retrouvées my Wine of the Week and am highlighting another whit

WINE OF THE WEEK: Plaimont Les Vignes Retrouvées 2017, Saint Mont, France

Jul 16, 2020

WINE OF THE WEEK: Plaimont Les Vignes Retrouvées 2017, Saint Mont, France

£8.95, The Wine Society I haven’t featured the 2017 vintage before, but Les Vignes Retrouvées is no stranger to this slot. Year in, year out, it’s one of the best value dry whites on the market, not least because it’s a wine with such a vivid personality. Bristling with energy, passion fruit, pineapple, aromatic green fruit and laser-cut lime-juice acidity, it’s just the job if you want to break out of Sauvignon Blanc. But Saint Mont Blanc is much more than a stand-in for fam