Cellar Circle exclusives

This is the pinnacle of the Droin wines, and one of the finest grand cru cuvées in Chablis. The wine's special name is in celebration of Louis Droin, who bought this parcel in 1920, and was first used for the 2020 cuvée. It is tight and nervous, with power bubbling beneath the still surface.

This limestone site sits on the lower part of the slope beneath the Tour de Curon. This is the most Burgundian of the single vineyard Chardonnays, with a serious, savoury and citrus expression, and a plump cushion of stone fruit at its core.

Casimir is a blend of fruit from the younger vines of the domaine grown across a few parcels. Like the Chaillot it is made with 100% whole bunch fruit, and aged in old oak barrels, using minimal sulphur dioxide additions. There is plenty to get excited about here, particularly if you like the wilder side of Cornas, as this cuvée plays with volatility in a beautiful way.

This is the pinnacle of the Balthazar cellar - a Cornas that defines Franck’s style for making complex and ethereal Cornas from old vine fruit. The 2021 shows impressive tension, with a superbly long, silky finish. This is Cornas at its very best.

Easily one of Burgundy’s most talked-about and fascinating wines, yet also one of its rarest, produced only in tiny quantities. It comes from a parcel high up in the hill, protected by a fringe of forest above, where Olivier has planted the vines at a density of 30,000 vines per hectare. That’s three times the density of your average Burgundy vineyard. The concentration this gives to the wines is hard to capture in words.

Silex is one of the Dagueneau signature wines, and has brought an obscure name for a type of soil - flint - into the fine wine mainstream. It is smoky, tight, and typically powerful. This is quintessential Dagueneau. It comes from various parcels around the hill of St Andelain with different exposures, making for a wholly complex, enthralling, and long-lived wine.

This Languedoc domaine is not only one of the finest in the south of France, it is also one of the most sought after in the fine wine market. Extraordinarily long-lived wines have earned this domaine cult status and life-long fans around the world, and its wines are often spotted on Michelin-starred restaurant lists. The white is a blend of Chardonnay, Marsanne and Roussanne. Laurent Vaillé trained with Chave, Coche Dury and Trévallon before establishing his domaine in the 1980s. He sadly passed away in 2021.

Clos de la Chatenière is a steep south-facing parcel enclosed by a wall, with 65-year-old vines. There are warmer red soils here, on the Puligny side of the village, and the wine is rich and exuberant. A high level of millerandages amongst the old vines produces an added concentration, and the wine displays a salty, complex character, with a serious and persuasive length.

Nicole has three parcels within this grand cru, one in the northwest corner (where everyone wants to be) tucked up next to Musigny. The three add complexity and layers to the finished wine. This is a highly complete and poised wine in 2020. Spiced, fruit-packed, with density and length, and satin-like tannins.

This is a wine that thrills blanc de blancs enthusiasts and its huge demand is often frustrated by tiny quantities. The 2016 is another superb example of the Péters style of energy, vim, and staggering finesse. It comes from three plots of old vines in the famous Chétillons vineyard in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, and is the flagship wine of the estate. This highly-respected estate in the heart of the Côte des Blancs is famed for its scintillating blanc de blancs. It has an impressive history, dating back to 1858, and today is being taken to ever greater heights by current incumbent, Rodolphe Péters, the sixth generation of the family to farm in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. Under his stewardship the wines now enjoy insatiable demand.

This is the defining site of Sancerre, and akin to a grand cru in the appellation. It is the steep slope that runs the length of the Chavignol village and its south-facing aspect and terres blanches soils produce the appellation’s most powerful and long-lived wines. François’s wine perfectly captures the power and finesse of this great site, with statuesque poise.

This comes from a similar site to the Silex parcels, but is slightly lower and north-west facing, making it fractionally cooler. This means it excels in warm vintages. It is a scintillatingly wine with outstanding length.