£20-50 per bottle

Pol Roger is a Champagne house with a huge following, thanks to its much loved Brut non-vintage. This cuvée, Pure, is only made in tiny quantities, and is a relatively recent addition to the portfolio, being released for the first time in 2018. It is the house's only zero dosage wine. Chalky, lean and racy, it's the gin and tonic of the range: a great aperitif for livening up the palate.

The second wine from Spottswoode Estate in 2020 has a lot of the same richness and fragrance of their estate wine. There's plenty of savoury quality on the palate, with rose petals and aromatic, musky spice. Fresh with more red fruit and blueberry than the estate wine, it's a brilliant way to experience this celebrated estate at a more accessible price, with earlier drinking potential.

Intensely perfumed with pure aromas of raspberry, black cherry and red cherry. Light mineral hints of reduction on the nose, and a firm structure at this young age. Incredible concentration and intensity for its modest 11% alcohol.

Superb old vine Grenache and surely one of the wines of the vintage. Traditionally made, raised in large oak foudres, this wine has layer upon layer of fresh and dried fruit interlaced with savoury elements such as Ibérico ham and white pepper. Very long and complex.

Iron Heart is a north-facing block, and the result is a meaty, spicy, iron-rich Shiraz. There's lot of black olive flavour, and initially on the nose, lots of heady, rose petal perfume. Elegant and complex in style.

Unlike the rest of the Breton range which is grown on granitic soils, this comes from the famous pierre bleue soils of Mont Brouilly. The parcel is actually owned by good friend, and Lay & Wheeler favourite, Jean-Claude Lapalu. J-C looks after the vines during the year, and he and Breton pick the parcel on the same day, with Breton buying half the grapes. The wines the two men make couldn’t be more different in style. This version is lightly scented with ripe strawberries and cinnamon. There’s a little light grip from some fine tannins that are woven through the symphony of sweet red fruits. It is a delicious expression of Beaujolais, one with some gentle body and sweet ripeness, but no heaviness at all.

Just 5.9ha in size, Croix de Labrie is a real insider's tip. It's plush, opulent, and powerful. But in 2020 it also has impressive freshness - and a slew of high scores.

Château Quintus has been owned by Clarence Dillon since 2011: it takes its name from the Franco-Roman tradition of always calling a fifth son Quintus. The top wine, gets better every year, and is showing more and more of the breeding that makes the owners’ Pessac wines so highly prized.