Easter Cellar Raids -
Alsace, Jura and
France Off the Beaten Track

A bottling that pushes the boundaries of what high-quality Beaujolais can be: grapes spend an enormous seven months macerating in large clay amphorae, creating a textured, explosive wine that’s spectacularly delicious.

Domaine des Ardoisières is one of the hottest addresses in the Savoie. This red is a blend of 65% Gamay de Chautagne, 25% Mondeuse, and 10% Persan. It is brimming with dark cherry notes and a spicy lift, with the cool smoky freshness of this high-altitude region. Supple, salty tannins, and a long balanced finish.

Boxler's Pinot Gris Brand is, in our opinion, the greatest expression of the grape in the world. In warmer years it is dramatic and full-bodied, and in 2021 the wine shows a fabulous balance between sweet, ripe peachy fruit and a pithy, fleshy length, with crystallised ginger spice in the background. A soft, glossy acidity gives it depth and grace. This will reward after just two or three years in bottle, evolving into a gastronomic wine par excellence.

This is the calling card of the Boxler domaine. Sommerberg is the steep 19 hectare grand cru vineyard that rises up dramatically behind the village of Niedermorschwihr, where the Boxler cellar lies. Indeed, Sommerberg is synonymous with Boxler: this is the most famous and celebrated iteration of the vineyard. It typically has drive and tension, and in 2021 it has mouthwatering minerality, and a sappy, almost fragrant salinity. Concentrated yet weightless. This is a Riesling to hold onto for a few years and enjoy as it gains in stature with age.

Indigène is a blend of 50% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot noir and 5% each of Poulsard and Trousseau. Its name refers to the use of only natural ingredients in its winemaking: primary fermentation with indigenous yeasts, and secondary fermentation initiated by the addition of Stéphane's own liqueur de tirage, made from the domaine’s own, fermenting straw wine. It is creamy and gently sparkling, with a vinous character running through the palate. It is one of the finest examples of its type

This is made from a high quality Beaujolais village parcel, but after the wine was rejected in 2012 for being ‘too pale’, Jean-Claude decided to change its classification to the much freer Vin de France, valuing the innate character of the wine over the AOC’s regulations. It remains one of the most interesting in his range. The palate is so light on its feet, with a lifted red berry energy. 100% whole bunch Gamay gives it a cool, bright structure with lacy tannins. No sulphur dioxide is added at all here. Equally well suited as a chilled aperitif red or a superb lighter style to finish an evening off: this is natural winemaking at its finest, least-faddy best.

65% Gamay de Chautagne, 25% Mondeuse, 10% Persan. A beautiful pale ruby from a super-star Savoie domaine. It is lightly scented with wild cherries, Alpine strawberries, and a light graphite smokiness. Its sappy adicity and fine sweet tannins combine in this distinctive and delicious mountain red.

65% Gamay de Chautagne, 25% Mondeuse, 10% Persan. 2018’s warm season has lent this a depth of dark cherry and wild berry core, married with the cool smoky freshness of the high-altitude region. Supple, salty tannins, and a long balanced finish. Domaine des Ardoisières on top form.

Mas de Daumas Gassac’s quirky blend has earned it many fans over the years. The main component of Cabernet Sauvignon gives it structure and tannic backbone, whilst Merlot fleshes out the mid-palate. Spiced notes from Petit Verdot and a herbaceous lift from Cabernet Franc help add complexity. So far, so Bordelais… But the Mas de Daumas has an extra edge, thanks to the baking southern sun of the Languedoc, and the unusual components of Tannat and Pinot Noir that also play supporting roles. The overall impression is a rich, full-bodied wine, with a dried herb-scented lift, and fine, peppery tannins.

Chapoutier is an undisputed master of Syrah in the Northern Rhone, and they have taken their know how to this south-west estate in the Côtes du Roussillon. It's an unusual wine for the region in that it is 100% Syrah (most wines here are a blend of varieties). Structured and deep.

This Muntada is a showstopper. There’s a thrilling wildness and energy here, with bright, pure fruit and sweet leather and spice. Predominantly Grenache and Carignan (from 125 year old vines), there’s superb concentration and complexity here.

This single vineyard might not be classified as a grand cru, but it is one of Olivier Humbrecht’s most cherished sites. It sits just above Clos St Hune on triassic limestone. It is a high altitude site, protected by a forest. It’s a comparatively cool site in Alsace, and its one of the domaine's later ripening sites, and produces wines with a signature verve and freshness. Subtle, taut, and elegant. It needs a year or two to unfurl. 4.0g/l residual sugar (dry)

This cuvée is an homage to Stéphane's father, André (dédé/DD) who began making this wine. It is a blend of Pinot Noir, Trousseau and Poulsard which is made in a "glouglou" style without sulphur for easy drinking. Its long, gentle fermentation and ageing in hundred-year-old foudres preserve the natural freshness of the varieties. It is bottled with a little more CO2 than most wines to compensate for the lack of added sulphur dioxide. This provides a prickle of freshness, and a quick carafing might be advised. This quintessentially Jurassic red is wonderful for early, easy drinking.

Les Fripons is, like Les Filles, a wine made from 100% Bergeron - the local Savoie name for Roussanne. It is more linear and lean than Les Filles, but no less delicious. Gilles Berlioz is a passionate practicioner of organic farming and a benchmark producer in the Savoie.

40% Jacquère, 40% Chardonnay, 20% Mondeuse Blanche. Apple-scented, textured, and refreshing. The slight yeasty character adds depth and weight, and its soaring acidity gives it a tangy grip, with its briny length making it so moreish. Domaine des Ardoisières on top form.

This is low-intervention in the extreme: Jean-Claude doesn’t touch the tank during its 12 day maceration and fermentation. Combine this with zero sulphur and 100% whole bunch, and you’d be forgiven for assuming this would stray far onto the funky side of ‘natural’ wine. Yet it remains wonderfully poised. For anyone who knows the 2019 Eau Forte, this is a completely different animal. Where the 2019 was light, crunchy, and aromatic, the 2020 is powerful, structured, though still so very elegant. Its velour tannins and cool minty fruit culminate in a long sumptuous finish, and mean the wine is the most successful of Jean-Claude’s fuller-bodied 2020s.

Trousseau is a pale in colour, light in tannin, and fresh in flavour red from Jura. This is aged in amphorae, which brings texture and purity to the fruit. It's got bone fide natural wine credentials, and would not be out of place in the coolest wine bar, and chilled down a little and servd at home, you couldn't find a better aperitif red. Crunchy and juicy.

It's hard to believe this is only the second vintage of Paradella. The confidence and skill of the winemaking here speaks of superb experience, which can be attributed to Lionel Wojcik’s training at Château Tertre Roteboeuf. Made from Nielluccio (the local name for Sangiovese) and grown in the Corsican commune of Patrimonio - the finest on the island - it has such intense, decadent red berries beneath its rich, toasty oak. It will meld beautifully together with a few years in bottle.

Quite steely and reductive now, thanks to a long fermentation until November 2022 on the fine lees. This gives it masses of volume on the palate with rich juicy fruit. There’s zingy acidity here and a dry, chalky finish. Lots of savoury lees character makes it appetising and lip-smacking on the finish.

Grown on clay limestone on some of the coldest soils they have for Riesling, this vineyard is surrounded by hills limiting the sunlight it receives. There’s some warmth here still, with a silky texture and some rich breadth. Savoury on the palate with ripe apple fruit and some citrus too, with very subtle petrol hints at this early stage.

Chapoutier is an undisputed master of Syrah in the Northern Rhone, and this is their excellent blend from the deep south-west of the Côtes du Roussillon. It is juicy and structured, with the warmth of Grenache singing through. Grenache 65%, Syrah 35%.

This magnificent slope rises up behind the village of Niedermorschwihr. It’s extremely steep, and produces wines of superb power and scintillating tension from its sedimentary volcanic soils. Zind Humbrecht only released this wine for the first time in 2019. The parcel was bought in 2010 and replanted after a few fallow years, in 2013. High density planting (9000 vines/hectare) and the steepness of the slope here have pushed the young vines to produce something really quite extraordinary. Indeed, Olivier admits, he hadn’t been planning on releasing a wine from this site so soon, but was so astonished with the quality and character of the wines from 2019 onwards that he felt compelled to do so. 2.8g/l residual sugar (dry)

Bright and aromatic on the nose and palate with a softness to the texture despite plenty of bright acidity. Golden apple and pear fruit flavours with fresh lemon. Juicy on the mid-palate with some richness before a more savoury finish. Grown on granite soils, there’s a crystalline purity and elegance.

The richest Pinot Gris they made this year at 8g/l. Slightly reductive on the nose with a mineral, flinty feel from its volcanic soils. It’s very tightly wound now and needs some years in the bottle to open up. The mineral character follows through on the palate but there is a little softness to the texture and citrus, pear fruit already.

Indigène is a blend of 50% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot noir and 5% each of Poulsard and Trousseau. Its name refers to the use of only natural ingredients in its winemaking: primary fermentation with indigenous yeasts, and secondary fermentation initiated by the addition of Stéphane's own liqueur de tirage, made from the domaine’s own, fermenting straw wine. It is creamy and gently sparkling, with a vinous character running through the palate. It is one of the finest examples of its type

This Bag-in-box Rosé is back by popular demand. It’s beautifully packaged, offers amazing value for money and has superb environmental credentials (with a much lighter carbon footprint than glass, and is 100% recyclable). Moreover, the wine itself is delicious: a dry, delicate rosé, with a fruity and fresh red berry nose and a salty freshness on the palate. You could easily mistake this for a bona fide Côtes de Provence. The wine will stay fresh and vibrant for at least a month from first opening. In this format, it offers unbeatable value for money. Dimensions: 19x19x19cm.

Les Filles has earned a cult following. Each year the humorous label changes, and many of the 2021's predecessors have become collector's items. The wine is made from Bergeron, which is the local Savoie name for Roussanne. It shares much of the peachy, stone fruit ripeness you'd find in the Rhône, but with a verve all of its own. It is rich, bright, vibrant, and superbly long. Its weight and poise make it a great match with food. Gilles Berlioz is a passionate practicioner of organic farming and a benchmark producer in the Savoie.

This is one of the Côte d'Azur’s most distinctive wines, with its recognisable bottle shape and pale onion skin pink. The domaine shot to fame after Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt invested in it, alongside the expert winemaking family, the Perrins, of Château de Beaucastel fame. The 2020 is lightly scented with sweet strawberry and bonbon notes, with an apricot flavoured and peachy palate, and a balanced, creamy finish.

Bin-end sale: case price down from £109.05 to £99 per 3 magnums in bond.
La Londe is unusual in the Côtes de Provence for warranting its own appellation, much like Bandol. It applies only to the best sites between Toulon and St Tropez, close to the coast, facing the dazzling Porquerolle islands. Here, the schiste soils and cooling sea breeze combine to make the most elegant and sophisticated of the region’s rosés. This is the top wine from the Combard family, made from the domaine’s organically-farmed grapes, selected and vinified by parcel with meticulous attention to detail. It is fine-boned and subtle, ethereal and enticing, and shows just what the best terroirs of Provence are capable of.

Unlike the Savagnin barrels that go into the production of vin jaune and Château-Chalon, these barrels are topped up regularly, protecting the wine from developing the characteristic oxidative notes of those wines. This is fresh and vibrant with so much complexity and saline minerality. It's aged for two years in barrel before bottling, giving it time to build layer upon layer of complexity.

Though it remains under the radar in comparison to neighbours and mentors, Grange de Pères, winemaker Frédéric Pourtalié has quietly established Montcalmès as one of the most nuanced and high quality producers of the Languedoc. Syrah and Grenache from limestone and Mourvèdre grown on galets roulés soils (pudding stones, like Châteauneuf) are seamlessly blended in this superbly balanced and delicious red. The 2018 is a sophisticated, densely structured iteration, with sweet cherry spice on the nose and savoury tannins on the palate culminating in a long, taut finish. It will only benefit from some time in the cellar.

This comes from one of the hottest domaines in Savoie. It is a blend of local varieties, Persan and Mondeuse, and its mineral, salty, pure, and sweetly fruited palate is just beautiful. It's a really exciting wine from a small corner of the wine world.

Sommelier-turned-winemaker Hervé Bizeul has earned kudos for his career change, from both somms and vignerons alike. He makes this superb cuvée from a parcel of very old vines (50-100 years) he bought in a forgotten corner of the Roussillon in the late 1990s. The vineyard had been abandoned, but over the past two decades has been brought back to life. The wine is a field blend of Grenache and local curiosity Lladoner Pelut, along with Carignan and Syrah grown on a limestone slope. The 2018 shows dark spice and black fruits, with dried herbs and a hint of salt. The structural tannins on the palate give it both richness and energy. It has impressive body, but there’s nothing heavy in its stature, lifted by just a hint of pepper running through the fruit.

The affinity between the granite-soiled Brand vineyard and the Gewürztraminer grape is well-recognised. This cuvée is a world-beater in terms of class and restraint: unusual descriptors for the flamboyant, aromatic variety. The palate has signature Boxler texture: silky, supple persistence. It is delicious already but will transcend into hyperbole with age.

Brand is one of the great Alsace grand cru sites. In Jean Boxler’s hands, this famous granite site does not disappoint. Compared to its cellar neighbours, it is usually the most forward and approachable of the Boxler grands crus. The 2020 has a heightened minerality, with tension on the nose, and enticing orange blossom notes. The palate bursts with fresh clementine juice and a sumptuous weight. Perfectly balanced, and capable of reaching a fine old age.

Grown on iron rich red soils with very low yields. Apple and pear fruit, delicate and restrained, with a seam of bright acidity, and not overly perfumed. Juicy on the mid palate with a drier finish. This is from a north west facing site facing the Vosges mountains and avoids too much direct sunshine, leaving it tight and zingy in style. There’s a tanginess to the acidity and lots of texture.

Sommerberg is the steep 19 hectare grand cru hillside that rises up behind the village of Niedermorschwihr, where the Boxler cellar is located. Indeed, Sommerberg is synonymous with Boxler, and this wine is the most famous and celebrated iteration of the vineyard. It typically has drive and tension, and this 2020 is a superb iteration. It is floral, tight, and agile, with a deliciously long finish. The nose has an ethereal jasmine scent. This is a Riesling to hold onto for a few years and enjoy as it gains in stature with age.

From the "young vines" in this astounding grand cru, In fact, the vines are 35 years old, but that still counts as young here. Fresh and lightly tropical notes of pineapple, lime, and salt. There is a really fine acidity here that freshens up the palate. This has a very pretty frame, and considerable length.