Easter Cellar Raids - Rhône, Cognac and Champagne

As the name suggests, this is higher up than the surrounding vineyards, and its elevation affords it a freshness and also a heightened concentration. The 2020 is musky, fragrant and full of garrigue notes. Rich with blackcurrant fruit at the core, with more aromatic bramble and exotic spice as the wine opens up.

As the name suggests, this is higher up than the surrounding vineyards, and its elevation affords it a freshness and precision. Alongside the decadent berry fruit and garrigue herbs are notes of baked earth and roasted spices. What a wonderful Châteauneuf.

This is Clusel Roch’s classic blend. Indeed, until recently it had been called ‘Classique’ rather than Les Schistes. It comes from a range of vineyards across the iron-rich soils of the Côte Brune, including Le Plomb, Montmains, and the bottom of Viallière. The blend is saline and taut, with a flash of fresh cherry running through the palate. Fragrant, with a little cool spice.

Alain Voge’s pithy sparkling wine, Les Bulles d’Alain, is unlike anything else we have on our list. It is lively, dry, refreshing, and refined. If you’re in the mood for bubbles, but don’t want the weight of a Champagne, this is the perfect option, and a smart price too. It’s a very good example of why Saint-Péray has built its renown for sparkling wines.

This comes from a selection of 100-year-old vines in some of Stéphane’s best parcels, Champelrose, Eygats, and Combe. It follows in the same vein as the Cornas, but with greater presence of tannins and drive. It will therefore need longer in bottle to reach its peak. Hugely elegant, mouth-coating, and intense.

Initial notes of white flowers on the nose, such as jasmine, honeysuckle and vine flowers can be felt and then opens with fruitier nuances of apple, pear and peach. A few notes of fresh sliced almond and frangipane complete the bouquet. In the mouth, the cuvée reveals more complex aromas: dried apricot, hazelnuts, honey and sugar candy. Silky textures give the wine its personality, elegance and character. The aging has imparted particular depth and power to the wine.

There is something magical here: it is at once aromatically precise, and energised with a wildness, reminiscent of garrigue herbs. As usual, it is a blend of 15 different parcels around Cornas, which Stéphane vinified separately, only blending at the final moment before bottling. Great freshness and balance.

The south-facing schist-terraced Les Picaudières vineyard produces age-worthy, expressive, sumptuous wines. As usual, this wears a little more oak than the straight Crozes-Hermitage, and as a result has a richer depth that will require some patience. It is focused and vibrant, with a wonderful depth of fruit.

This is from the lowest slopes at Vieille Julienne, a great site for Grenache, which loves its sandy, pebbly soils. The vines have an average age of 75+ years, and the wine is concentrated but poised. The Grenache gives generosity and breafth, and 10% Counoise brings some softer notes, freshness and balances the natural power of the wine. Lots of plush dark fruit flavours and firm structure, with a crunchy, red fruit accent and a minerally, stony finish.

Blended from six lieux-dits, there's wonderful tension here between ripeness and mineral purity, with wonderfully perfumed and expressive Syrah fruit. The tannins are ripe and supple: this is a complete wine.

This is one of the finest sites of the Côte Blonde, and it produces a wine of huge elegance and subtlety, although you’ll want to tuck it away for a few years before pulling the cork.

This is a new cuvée in 2019, made from 50+ year old vines grown on a south-facing slope. It has a salty grip, and expresses the purity of fruit that Syrah is capable of in the best hands. Elegant and structured for the long-haul.

There’s a beautifully balanced, yet intense and powerful Cornas. Notes of blood and iron, and such an inky character. This is a brilliant wine.

This is the emblematic cuvée of the Rostaing domaine, which blends 15 lieux-dits from around Côte-Rôtie. It showcases the Rostaing signature style: rich, dense fruit, with bold tannin structure. The 2021 has wonderfully open fruit, and this will drink well from early on. Savoury and highly appetising.

This cuvée is picked 2-3 weeks later than the others from the Domaine, and contains a higher proportion of mourvedre, giving darker, more mineral fruit, with more tannin and density. Layered and serious, this is a wine for the cellar. It more than justifies its separate bottling.

Cool berry fruit, with tapenade and fine tannins, and nice acidity, from a mix of foudre and demi-muids. Hints of violet and lovely freshness to the fruit. Real hit of salinity - this a Châteauneuf you can drink - with a persistent finish and a nice phenolic bitterness keeping it all focused.

Mon Village is the destination for the fruit of the Ogier’s younger vines, and it’s an approachable yet not-to-be-undervalued Côte-Rôtie. Very floral and supple, with persistence on the finish.

This is a blend of two parcels and is the hidden gem of Sorrel’s range. 20% comes from Bessards, and 80% from Les Plantiers, just below Le Méal. These vines produce fruit with real power, and this wine has a great presence. But the floral tones and salty fruit make it more accessible than the Gréal, and mean it should start to open up a little earlier.

A blend of 15 lieux-dits across Côte Blonde and Côte Brune (in total 25 plots go into it). Really nice character here, fresh and lifted and pure with amazing density and a long and deep finish. René adores his son’s handiwork here.

Only made in the better vintages Jean-Paul thinks around 10% of the wine this year has gone into Cuvée Félix, from their 27 plots across 16 hectares. It contains 30% Mourvèdre which lends a musky, cool blackcurrant character. Finely packed tannins coat the mouth and there's a lot of dark fruit concentration on the palate. Floral hints and fresh acidity builds to a fine finish, this should be fantastic with a few years in bottle.

This is a cooler expression of this famous Hermitage, with incredible length and finesse. Fresh and bright with a combination of black berry fruit and some red plum and raspberry. There's plenty of earthy spice, with light peppery notes, cured meats, and wild herbs.

From the moment this wine was poured, the air was filled with notes of white and pink flower petals, alongside more complex notes of Black Forest ham, lavendar and a hint of tapenade. Black-berried fruit dominates the palate, which displays an exceptional textural component, as well as purity and depth of the very highest order. There is an effortless style about Mon Aïeul, which is delightfully natural and terroir-focused, almost beyond comparison within the region.

This is a great site for Grenache, which loves its sandy, pebbly soils. The vines have an average age of 75+ years, and the wine is concentrated but poised. The 2019 has a dry, savoury length, with spicy and floral notes emerging with some air. It's a truly delicious Châteauneuf-du-Pape from a tip-top vintage.

This is another top cuvée from Domaine Giraud, named in honour of François and Marie’s father, made from vines planted in 1901 in the sandy soils next to Château Rayas.