August Bank Holiday Cellar Raids: Bonus Day

From the original Rhone Ranger John Alban comes this benchmark Viognier. John fell in love with Viognier after a glass of Condrieu and he was likely the first person to bring the grape to California vineyards, at a time when there was only 50 acres planted globally. The wine is full of musky, heady, stone fruit aromas with an oily rich texture.

A village Vosne from one of the commune's historic names, who benefit from brilliantly placed vines. They have vines in Les Damaudes and Maizières, at either side of the village, bringing very different characters to the wines.

Fellom Ranch sits on the Santa Clara Valley side of the Santa Cruz Mountains on the famed Monte Bello Ridge at an elevation of 2,200 feet. This Cabernet has an intense nose of blackberries and cassis rounded out with with smoke, graphite, tobacco, and dried herbs. Whole cluster fermentation adds a savoury freshness that makes this wine so distinctive.

100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Rutherford, crafted by Steve Matthiasson. This cuvée from Ashes and Diamonds is a tribute to what they consider to be the 'golden era' of the 1960s and 1970s in Napa: great wines made by farming in a traditional way, picking at lower sugar levels for lower final alcohol, and using gentler extraction. It's from the famous George III vineyard in Rutherford. A portion of it was planted in 1896 by Mrs Thomas Rutherford herself, and later used by André Tchelistcheff to make wine for legendary Beaulieu Vineyards. The wine has that classic 'Rutherford dust' in its texture, with elegant, gourmand, savoury notes. There's pretty red fruit with red currant and red plum, as well as some darker bramble alongside layers of tobacco, dried rose petals and exotic spice.

Kashy Khaledi was once Creative Director for Capitol Records, before he founded Ashes & Diamonds, where he collaborates with superstar winemakers like Diana Snowden-Seysses (of Domaine Dujac and Snowden Vineyards) and Steve Matthiasson, using fruit from fantastic California vineyards. It's Diana who makes this, the Mountain Cuvée from Bates Ranch vineyard in the Santa Cruz Mountains. This is an historic, four-generation-old ranch in the same area of the famous Ridge Monte Bello. The Cabernet grows at 2,100 ft above sea level, and the steep slopes here, along with cool breezes, keep the vines in check, and the result is a vibrant, elegant, restrained style of wine, with plenty of herbal, savoury character alongside the plump black fruit. They use a combination of American and French oak to add layers of sweet spice and cedar notes.

High on the slope and bordering Vosne, offering elements of the two communes. It’s incredibly mineral, as you’d expect from this poor soil. Limestone and gunflint, with crunchy red fruit and flowers, and loads of energy on the finish.

The 2021 Monts Luisants, from one of Morey's most celebrated vineyards, is lovely in 2021. Lots of whole bunch spice, and there's a fragrance and purity here, too. Very nicely balanced.

Now owned by the same team as Penfolds, Beaulieu Vineyards is famous for being one of the first Napa Cabernets back in the 1930s, located on the main highway nearby Opus One and the Robert Mondavi Winery. This 2019 vintage is beautifully rich and spicy, with graphite notes and very ultra-fine tannins. An absolutely classic Napa Cabernet.

This is the defining wine of this famous grand cru, the one to which everyone looks as the quintessential Corton-Charlemagne. The west-facing aspect of the hill means the vines enjoy the long rays of the afternoon sun, making for rich textures and a sumptuous depth of fruit.

Porusot is one of the finest vineyards in Meursault, with an enviable south-east exposure. Its stony soils make taut, age-worthy Chardonnay.

Quinta da Leda comes from one of the top Douro estates, a main source for the legendary Barca Velha. With velvet texture, precise, pure black fruit and a very long mineral finish, it is incredibly impressive. There’s a lifted freshness creating perfect balance with the concentration and depth in the wine.

This, from the impressive 2016 vintage, is gorgeous. It is a blend of Furmint and Hárslevelű , the two greatest grape varieties of Tokaji. There’s tropical fruit, apricots, honeysuckle, and so much spice. And the sweetness is wonderfully balanced with bright acidity, and a minerality that comes from the volcanic soils of the Tokaji region.

Les Epenotes was the first site to be awarded premier cru status in Beaune. This parcel of between 65 and 80 years old, was planted by Claudie’s grandfather. Claudie comments that this parcel is the first to be harvested, which they always do themselves before their team arrives! The 2021 is packed full of spicy, red and even black fruit aromas. This wine has fantastic energy, the purity and depth of the fruit leaving a lasting impression on the palate. Very fine.

These vines are, almost unbelievably, 104 years old. Claudie has just 0.37 hectares in this premier cru, and admits that keeping it with the original vines is more sentimental than business-savvy, since the yields they produce are so low. But it’s wrapped up in her family history, and she just loves it too much to uproot it. Instead she works the tiny parcel by horse and hand, and makes from its fruit a floral and intense wine with surprisingly silky tannins that has the substance and poise to age with grace.

Cathy Corison stuck to her guns throughout the Parker era, keeping her wines elegant, charming and more medium-bodied than her neighbours, with capacity to age for decades. The price, relative to estates nearby, also remains restrained. It has sunny, ripe black fruit with a crunchy edge, and plenty of appetising, savoury cedar and sweet tobacco. There are plenty of fine, savoury tannins, but the 2020 has an effusive generosity and softness making it very approachable at this very early stage in its development.