£50-100 per bottle

72 year old vines. Lovely freshness here, dark fruit, tension, power, salinity and nervous energy. This is intense and powerful, with loads of salinity: so mineral, but also lots of burnt orange peel, and some almond kernal. It’s so complex and very well balanced: an astonishing Barolo from a real magician.

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.

The nose is already inviting, showing power and deep cherry fruit. There’s amazing drive and energy on the palate, with black fruits, spice and fine tannins. The power is undeniable, but it’s so elegant and finessed.

Tasted April 2023. 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. 14.6% ABV. 50% new oak. Picked from 1st September. Aromatic and floral on the nose with bright black berry fruit and some fresh cherries. Opulent style of fruit compared to Le Chenade this year, with plenty of ripe tannin and a seam of stony freshness. Layered with stony and dried petals.

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.

This is always one of the prettiest in the Grivot cellar, and 2022 is no exception. There is a sweet balance between the graceful tannins and red berry fruit, with fresh drive and elegant body.

From extremely rocky terraces, this is mineral style of Pinot Noir that opens with a lift of wild herbs, violets, and warm earth. Linear on the palate the cherry fruit is accented with notes of pepper and cocoa. Very focused on the finish, this is a very detailed and precise wine.

Sourced from very old vines on slate soils that take on an additional layer of salty minerality in vintages like 2020. Expect the jasmine, lemon citrus and fleshy peach notes to be underpinned with steely and stone notes as well as a saline core. Restrained concentration defines this wine.

This excellent lieu-dit, south of La Viallière near Ampuis, produces a well-balanced wine, with fresh acidity and fine-grained tannins in 2021. It shows hints of violet on the nose and there is a long, pleasing, mineral finish. This should open up with a little time.

There are big expectations with new ownership for this Grand Cru sandwiched between Angelus and Le Dôme. The 2017 has impressive texture and energy with finely judged tannins.

Cheval des Andes is an exceptional blend of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon from Las Compuertas and Paraje Altamira in Mendoza. There's lots of violet, blackberry and plum here, with lifted minty, floral limestone character. There's a boldness to the fruit in this warmer year and a round feel to the tannins, before leaving a fresh, energetic finish.

The 2022 is a superb vintage from this Tuscan estate, based on 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot. There is a richness of red and black berry fruits combining with leather, liquorice and cinnamon spice. The tannins are plush and velvety and there is a refreshing acidity that lingers on the finish, displaying this wine's pedigree.

A mini Ornellaia, this second wine is made up of a Bordeaux blend of Merlot (44%), Cabernet Sauvignon (30%), Cabernet Franc (13%) and Petit Verdot (13%). 2020 saw rather changeable weather with very long periods followed by heavy rainfall and drops in temperature, resulting in a longer harvest than usual to enable the different varieties were picked at optimum ripeness and condition. A combination of hand picking, sorting tables at the winery as well as the addition of an optical sorter in 2016 has resulted in a wine that is of impressive quality. The wine is aged in French barriques (25% new) for 15 months before being bottled and remains in bottle for a futher 6 months prior to release. The winemaker believes the 2020 is reminiscent of 2018, 2013 and 2010, and having tasted all three recently, this wine is destined for great things. Expect red plums and red wild berry perfume, combined with liquorice spice and herbal undertones.

From the Ornato vineyard in the commune of Serralunga d'Alba the 2020 vintage is beautifully open and expressive with wild flowers and herbs at the forefront. Expect the structure that this vineyard gives, along with the vibrant acidity and freshness that the 2020 vintage provides.

An estate with less than 10 hectares, this Alto Piemonte estate is truly unique and groundbreaking. L'Franc comes from the 0.4 hectare Castagnola vineyard, in the village of Lessona at over 300 metres altitude, with the vines planted on volcanic soils with a high mineral content. 2018 vintage started with a wet and cold spring with some hail that led to lower yields, but summer and early Autumn was warm and sunny and the grapes achieved perfect ripeness. The wine spent 18 months in French barrique (50% new) prior to bottling, giving the wine an attractive texture and sweet spice. 100% cabernet franc, the wine offers blackberry, black cherry and blueberry aromas combined with tobacco and dark chocolate notes with a juicy core and firm but fine grained tannins.

A tightly coiled wine at this stage, is shimmers in the glass with notes of peach, fresh apricot and white grapefruit pith. Very saline and linear through the palate this is wine with a long life ahead.

Pure on the nose, with fresh, fragrant notes of citrus zest and acacia honey. On the palate, bold in style, yet expressive, with lime flower characters coming through alongside richer notes of crême-caramel and butterscotch. There is a fine minerality here that comes through on the finish, lending this a subtle elegance.

Tasted April 2022. Bold and structured, with the 25% Cabernet Sauvignon shining through in precise black berry fruits, graphite and grippy tannins. Deep, concentrated fruit flavours and layered with spicy, savoury notes.

The 2020 Giscours is classic Margaux. There's refinement of tannins, and a lovely tension to the palate. The finish has breadth and complexity, and a hint of stony minerality. This is a lovely effort from the team at Giscours.