Cellar Raids: Day One

This 2018 is showing great purity of red cherry and berry fruit, supported by liquorice and clove spice. Hints of blood orange and a stony minerality add complexity, combined with the wine's chalky tannins and vibrant acidity.

Château Calon-Ségur in St-Estèphe is a brilliant property, that's hugely sought after. This, the second wine, is a brilliant purchase: one that you should stock up on.

Château Capbern is a real gem of our Bordeaux range. From St-Estèphe, and made by the same team as high-achiever Calon-Ségur, this is a wine that will thrill with its energy and complexity, and with its price. It’s a wine that comes very highly recommended: stock up at En Primeur prices, while you have the chance.

There’s lots of creamy merlot character on the 2020 Evangile, a Pomerol which gets better every year we taste it. Lovely silkiness to the tannins, that build through and coat the palate. Very detailed and feel that slight savoury cabernet franc on the finish. Very pure and insanely long. Gets better and better.

Montevetrano is a blend of Aglianico, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. It's an intense, powerful wine, but what marks it out is the freshness and textured layers here. A brilliant southern Italian red.

Grapes are sourced from Müller’s exceptional estate holdings in Wiltinger Braunfels, Oberemmeler Rosenberg and Saarburger Rausch. The 2022 has a ripeness of fruit and displays juicy peach and fresh apricot combined with a juicy acidity as well as lime and steely notes with this beautiful off dry style of Riesling.

This Chenin Blanc is different from all the other Chenins in our range: it comes from Elgin, one of the coolest grape-growing regions in South Africa. Planted on Bokkeveld Shale - not all that dissimilar to the soils of the Loire’s Savennières - this is as cool and precise as South African Chenin gets.

Deep and brooding, very mineral and fine, striking tannic structure and there's a depth to the fruit. Power, balance and intensity. Really impressively put together with energy and length.

One of the lesser known Nuits premiers crus, this vineyard is shared with Domaine Robert Chevillon, just below Aux Thorey, on the Vosne side of the appellation. Its clay-rich soils have yielded a big-shouldered, powerful Nuits, with a complex and surprisingly silky palate with an ample, pleasing finish.

A very bold style of New World Cabernet Sauvignon, the Bin 707 is fermented and matured in new American oak barrels, giving the wine powerful flavours of vanilla and coconut. Linear tannins typical of Cabernet provide the structure for long ageing.

An impressive Le Gay, this opens with notes of violets, chocolate, and ripe purple fruit. The palate finds the perfect balance between freshness and exuberence with fleshy bramble fruit clothing the wine's ripe tannin. This ends with a long, supple finish and accents of liquorice and brine.

From the Baudana cru in Serralunga, this is nervy and ethereal, with notes of grapefruit and peach skin, and so much lift on the palate. Very Serralunga, with the refined, mouthwatering tannins we’ve come to expect from Clerico.

2020 was characterised by a warm summer, yet temperatures over the growing season were relatively cool and therefore the wine has a fantastic juxtaposition of concentration and weight combined with an energy and purity that you come to expect from the very best Mosel Rieslings. Jasmine, lime and white peach aromas are supported with a lively acidity and almost steely profile. Subtle perfume notes of verbena and mint add layers of complexity.

An outstanding value Pomerol, now owned by Calon-Segur this is undoubtedly one to watch. An insider's tip from the Pomerol plateau, this has energy, power, and ripeness in perfect balance. A beauty.

The Scharzhof Riesling is sourced from holdings in different famous vineyard sites including the Saarburger Rausch, the Oberemmeler Rosenberg, the Wiltinger Kupp, and the Wiltinger Braunfels. While this is an off-dry wine with just 8.5% alcohol the sweetness is barely noticeable with a laser light focus, lip-smacking freshness and a rush of bright citrus and green mango fruit. There are notes of jasmine, lime and white peach aromas are supported with a lively acidity and almost steely profile. Subtle perfume notes of verbena and mint add layers of complexity.

Berliquet, tucked away between the illustrious names of St-Emilion, really is one to watch. 2017 was the first vintage under the new owners, who also run Chateaux Rauzan Segla and Canon. It’s full of rich plum and blackberry fruit with a mineral complexity alongside woody herbs and licquorice spice. Elegant and silky with soft tannins.

The 2020 Pavie-Macquin is another lovely wine from this impressive Thienpont-owned estate. Fine tannins and intense fruit, with lots of spice and minerality on the finish. Really well put together in 2020.

Scharzhofberger is one of the most highly sought after sites in Germany and the world. A steep, high altitude site that overlooks the estate, the Kabinett displays saline and steely notes combined with jasmine and lemon citrus with a juiciness and a touch of ginger on the finish.

The 2018 Rathfinny Classic Cuvée is a stunning fizz from a remarkably beautiful estate. There’s a richness on the nose that comes from the perfect growing season: ripe citrus and a hint of redcurrants, while the palate is tense, chalky, and impeccably balanced. This is beautifully delicious today, but will also age wonderfully.

Braune Kupp is a warmer site compared to Egon’s Scharzhofberger and it displays more ginger and spice, with florals and citrus notes taking a more supporting role. There is a juiciness and breadth on the core, a wonderfully enticing wine that is very easy to drink.