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Take the stress out of buying a gift, let them choose exactly what they want.
The ‘wow’ factor of a magnum is undeniable, making them a joyful centrepiece for any party of summer celebration.
Our Buyers have curated a selection of larger formats for any occasions, whether delicious Bordeaux reds – with the added bonus that reds mature beautifully in magnum – to spectacular sparkling, food-ready rosé and mouthwatering whites that will look sensational in the ice box and taste wonderful in the glass.
Here our Suffolk team explain how they serve larger formats and why these joyful wines make any celebration more delicious.
Magnums for summer celebrations
This Médoc is crafted by the team at Domaines Barons de Rothschild Lafite, and beautifully displays the quality of the 2020 vintage with rich, plummy, cherry fruit. There are complex clove, cedar and woody herb aromas. It has a long savoury finish, with ripe tannins. It'll be great now with a range of dishes, in the ideal format for sharing, but will equally grow in complexity and savoury depth with some time in the cellar.
The 2019 Prairie comes from a distinct vineyard on the Marsau estate, and has been made with no oak ageing and as little sulphur as possible. The resulting wine is as pure and focussed a merlot as we’ve come across. Notes of fresh victoria plum, blood orange, and wild flowers, with silky tannins, and a long, mineral, savoury finish. It’s a stunning wine: one you simply want to try over and over again. Bravo Anne-Laurence.
Magali Combard’s wines from Figuière have quickly become a go-to on our list. Her signature cuvée is so well balanced and refreshing, you’ll be reaching for another glass in no time. It is pale salmon pink, and has a beautifully expressive nose, with notes of fresh citrus, strawberries, and dried herbs. The palate is silky smooth, with a fresh pink grapefruit energy. It is the perfect Provençal rosé, and a brilliant price.
The domaine has an impressive 10 hectares in their home village of Marsannay. They bottle five separate cuvées, including the wonderful Grasses Têtes, which sits at the southern end of the commune, on the slope that rises up behind the village. Its quirky name (meaning “fat heads”) refers to the large rocks that show through the surface of the clay soil. It is typically the most structured and powerful of the Clair Marsannays, with the greatest tannic charge, recalling Gevrey-Chambertin. The 2022 has a fragrant and salty dynamism. This is quintessential Marsannay, and quintessential Clair, and a top contender for promotion to premier cru status.
Once again Montaiguillon is punching well above its weight with its 2019. Notes of dark cherries and plums on the nose, with just a hint of oak spice, leads to a palate with good fruit weight and excellent precision. The finish is stony and long, and very mouthwatering. This tastes many times the price.
Les Sétilles is a contender for most popular wine on our list. It is a smash hit of a Bourgogne Blanc, made from a huge patchwork of vineyards, many clustered around the village of Puligny, and some from further afield. Latterly the fruit coming from the Hautes-Côtes has brought welcome freshness and tension to the wine. Two-thirds of the wine is raised in oak, with just a touch (10%) in new. It is precise, full of character, and quite simply a snapshot of some great winemaking at play in a promising vintage. It shows lemon brightness, mineral bite and a lovely seam of acidity leading to an impressively long finish.
Our search for the perfect Champagne to put our name to was a long one. So we couldn’t be more delighted to have teamed up with long-standing favourite of the business, Champagne Thiénot. Their classic brut non-vintage blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, based on the outstanding 2015 vintage, is exactly what we wanted. It’s balanced and refreshing, with a well-judged 6g/l dosage. Extended ageing has lent the wine depth, character, and intensity. And quite frankly, it’s an absolute bargain.
The Chardonnay of this wine’s name actually refers to the village, although it’s a rather nice nod to the variety that is responsible for the vast majority of the wines produced in Mâcon. Clos de la Crochette is a charming walled vineyard that Dominique Lafon bought in 2003. After a little investigation he discovered it is one of the most historic sites in all of Burgundy, first planted by the monks of Cluny (c.900 AD). The energy and tension of the 2023 emphatically demonstrates why this has been a favourite spot with winegrowers through the centuries.
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.
Alain Graillot has long reigned as Crozes-Hermitage’s most respected grower. His sons Maxime and Antoine now run the ship and are making Crozes par excellence. This 2022 is sweetly fruited, with excellent depth. It always sits in the red spectrum of fruit, where all the best Crozes find themselves. It has structure, but also an effortless tenderness, thanks perhaps to its whole bunch fruit (the influence of Alain’s training at Domaine Dujac?).
The 2019 Bricco delle Ciliegie from Giovanni Almondo is an astonishingly good expression of the Arneis grape. Incredibly complex, notes of orange blossom, rosemary, and pine needles swirl from the glass. The palate is textured and savoury, with a core of fresh conference pears, and a thread of acidity that makes this so thirst-quenching.
This is the flagship wine of the estate, and offers the best of Muscadet. The Grand Mouton is sourced from pre-war vines dating back to 1937. In the 2021 vintage, these low-yielding old vines produced a wine of superb concentration. There's a little citrus and blossom on the nose, well defined length, and some savoury structure and creaminess from lees ageing bringing it all together. This is an absolutely charming Muscadet and a splendid performance from one of our perennial favourites.
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.
Brioche aromas combine with toasted hazelnut and red apples on the nose. The palate is packed full of dried citrus and wonderful lemon concentration with hints of tropical fruit. Impressive depth and texture, whilst remaining precise and elegant. Excellent.
2020 is an exceptional vintage for Kabinett and the prized site of Wehlener Sonnenuhr simply excels. Expect jasmine, white peach and flinty notes along with a racy core.
When summer gardens are in bloom there’s no better time to relax and enjoy the abundance of floral, fruit-driven, herbal or even mineral aromatics that good wine can express. Here we’ve picked a selection of fragrant wines that display myriad interesting notes, from ripe, succulent stone-fruited whites to violet and red-berry scented reds. We invite you to explore the delicious scents and flavours that these sensational wines suggest– pour them in a glass big enough to swirl and let your imagination take you to blossom-filled orchards or herb-studded landscapes for the ultimate great escape.
Fine Wine Advisor Rosie Emms tells us what to look for in a glass of aromatic wine and explain some of the key grape varieties, wines and regions to look out for if a beautiful bouquet is just as important to you as the taste in the glass.
Aromatic bottles for summer sipping
The best Grenache Blanc that Chris Williams has made to date. A tense and vibrant style, it offers notes of jasmine, white tea, white grapefruit with vibrant and moreish salinity. Beautifully focused, this is a totally charming white that delivers incredible value for money.
A blend of fruit from three sources: 63% Elgin, 30% Polkadraai Hills, 7% Cape Agulhas. The Elgin fruit is largely destemmed, Cape Agulhus using two third whole bunch and the Stellenbosch fruit fermented fully as whole bunches. The resulting wine is fragrant and fresh, notes of juniper and white pepper with fine red and black hedgerow fruit. The tannins are fine-grained and supple with an enticing briny finish.
Traditionally every house would have some vines to ensure they had a yield every year. This is a field blend of 7 different varieties: Frühroter Veltliner, Grüner Veltliner, Neuberger, Muskateller, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Müller-Thurgau. It comes from the north, from the Aiglesee above Krems - so vines at high altitude, at 450m above sea level. Formerly this was too cold for quality grapes, but with climate change it’s now realising its potential. This has lovely freshness, good concentration, and good sense of acidity. This is really delicious and approachable. It’s very pure and tangy and pithy.
Bruno Clair has an impressive 10 hectares in his home village of Marsannay. He bottles five separate cuvées, including this wonderful iteration from a single parcel at the southern end of the commune, on the slope that rises up behind the village. Its name (meaning “fat heads”) refers not to anybody involved in its cultivation, but rather the large rocks that show through the surface of the clay soil. It is typically the most structured and powerful of the Clair Marsannays, and in 2021 it is muscular and tightly coiled, reminiscent of Gevrey-Chambertin. It has fantastic fruit concentration, and with the structure and freshness to age wonderfully. This is quintessential Marsannay, and quintessential Clair.
A subtle, delicately spiced wine using 20% whole clusters this year. It offers notes of grilled herbs, fresh red cherries and red flowers with a little black pepper and nutmeg spice on the finish.
The 2022 Lune d’Argent from the Bernard family of Domaine de Chevalier perfectly balances the natural opulence of the vintage with a zingy spine of acidity, fresh citrus, pineapple and subtle floral notes. Sourced from vineyards that neighbour those of Châteaux d’Yquem and Guiraud, this is always a lot of wine for your money. Yet again, the Lune d’Argent is an absolute bargain.
From a newer vineyard for Kumeu River, this time in Hawke's Bay. Limestone soils give a distinct mineral character to the wines here with more than a passing resemblance to Burgundy. Fine-grained tannins, with sweet red cherry, fresh mint and subtle forest floor aromas. A must try for any Pinot fan.
Léon (previously known as Florilège) is made from a blend of parcels across the limestone soils of the appellation. This has a chalky salinity and a brilliant tension, with a sunny, balanced fruit profile and a silky texture. It’s a great window onto the Pabiot style from a hugely successful vintage. Jonathan and Nina always release it a year ahead of their single vineyard wines, and is a joyful, early drinking example of their beautiful Pouilly Fumés.
This Beaujolais-Villages is as energetic and vibrant, fresh and juicy as you’d hope for from a glass of classic Bojo. At just 12.5% alcohol it shows no signs of the extreme heat at the end of the 2023 vintage. In fact, it has the peppery freshness and floral, graphite notes of a fresher vintage. This is thanks to the small amount of high-altitude fruit Jean-Claude buys in, which gives acidity and definition to the richer fruit of his own organically farmed, old vines. It’s undoubtedly a stand-out from Jean-Claude this year, and terrific value for money.
From the Rustenhof farm, with the closest Cinsault vines to the ocean, this is stunning. Bright and juicy, 40% stems brings a lift and a herbal complexity. There’s purity and aromatic complexity, yet it remains so lively and fun. Delicious.
All vineyards in Verduno. Boscatto - next to La Morra, more clay. Campasso, near Monvigliero, and Rodasca, and some from Monvigliero. Lovely delicate colour. Very floral and silky, lovely texture here. Needs some coaxing, but there’s a very pure strawberry fruit character, plenty of tension and nice length. This is very elegant: very Verduno in style.
A fresh and charming white that opens with a beautiful aroma of fresh peach, almond blossom and orchard fruit. The palate is bright and saline with notes of white grapefruit, fresh apricot and acacia. A fresh, floral white that brings a lot of pleasure in the glass.
From a vineyard at 330m elevation this is the most restrained of the line up now but offers notes of cherry blossom with finely chiselled, bright red berry fruits. A real sensation of minerality running through the wine there are hints of cranberry, wild herbs and rosehip on the finish.
One of the historic grape varieties of Piedmont, this comes from a warm season, but shows impressive texture, juicy fruit, and some lovely energy on the palate. It’s a wine that’s well worth discovering.
Nascetta is an indigenous variety of Novello and produces this delicious white that displays yellow fruits with herbs and ginger spice. There is an attractive note of reduction and the palate is crisp and refreshing.
Coming from four parcels of vines in the Condrieu appellation this wine has been aged almost entirely in older oak to avoid masking the delicate fruit flavours. It is a coiled and saline example of Condrieu with a real sense of tension. It offers vivid aromas of white peach, honeysuckle and apricot while the palate is wonderfully refreshing with a hint of white grapefruit and a real sense of purity and focus on the finish. An excellent Condrieu from Graeme and Julie.
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. The 2022 has the genltest influence of some residual sugar - almost inperceptable, but just enough to give it a rounded length. It dances bwtee sweet, ripe peachy fruit and a pithy, lightly bitter 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. Dry (5g/l).
Wines for al fresco eating - no corkscrew required!
Whether your al fresco dinner features the classic trinity of bread, cheese and ham, showcases a colourful selection of salads and dips or leans more towards the beige side of things (hello Scotch eggs…) finding the perfect wine match can be tricky given the myriad flavours and textures on show. Here our buyers have curated the ultimate selection of easy-going reds, whites, rosé and sparkling, ready to pair with the joyful jumble of flavours that the humble picnic celebrates. So head to the park and embrace the sunshine with a bottle or two of this breezy selection in your backpack.
And follow us on Instagram for more tips for the perfect picnic!
The Kumeu Village Pinot Noir is a combination of fruit from the limestone based vineyard at Ray's Road, Hawkes Bay and Pinot Noir from the clay based vineyards in Kumeu. It's one of the best value New Zealand Pinots we know. Full of bright red cherry and juicy raspberry flavours, a chalky edge, soft tannins, and a long finish.
This Pinot Gris from Michael Brajkovich MW of Kumeu River is wonderfully aromatic and bursting with stone fruit, baked apple and spiced ginger. Boasting an oily mid-palate typical of Alsatian examples, this is a wine calling out to be enjoyed with food. There’s a tanginess to the finish and and an expansive texture that belies its status as a village level wine. One to look out for.
It's hard to explain just how easy this is to drink. A blend of Shiraz, Cinsault, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan, Mourvedre and Grenache, it's juicy, supple, and fresh with ease and joyfulness in the glass.
Exciting and textured, saline and mineral, Kumeu River's Village Chardonnay is unquestionably one of the world’s best value Chardonnays. This vintage 30% of the wine is fermented in old, French oak barrels and 70% in stainless steel tanks.The barrel fermentation adds richness without overwhelming oak influence, while the tank fermentation lets the vibrant fruit shine. Expect lively lime and lemon aromas, complemented by a flinty, mineral palate with notes of fig and white peach and a taut, saline finish.
This Rhone blend now contains some Counoise to create bright acidity, and Carignan, which adds soft black fruit character. This has beautiful aromatic black fruit, and a lifted herbal complexity. This wine is all about softness and generosity, not structure. There's a velvet texture and bright, ripe fruit on the finish.
This cuvée has gone from strength to strength since it was first made in 2000. The percentage of Chardonnay is slowly growing, and in 2018 sits at 20%. Ageing in oak barrels adds complexity and depth. The palate is nicely textured and vinous, and there’s a wonderful fresh bread and bruised apple character throughout. This is really impressive for the price.
Matt Thomson and Sophie Parker-Thomson MW are among New Zealand’s most dynamic winemakers. With more that forty years joint experience making wine in New Zealand and further afield, they know better than most where to find the best parcels of grapes, to craft into refined, characterful wines. So we were thrilled when they agreed to work with us on Our Collection, using grapes grown in a single vineyard in the Dillons Point sub-region. This is a brilliant example of a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, that has lots of the upfront fruit you’d expect from the style, but with an added layer of minerality and complexity. It really is a cut above.
We’ve backed the wines of Eva Fricke in the Rheingau since the beginning of her journey: they’re some of the most vibrant, soulful, delicious bottlings we know. And we’ve been thrilled to see Eva receive more and more critical acclaim over recent years, as critics and consumers discover just how good her wines are. This comes from a range of sites throughout the Rheingau region, and balances ripe fruit, saline minerality, and plenty of spice. It’s a brilliant Riesling from day one, with the potential to age further.
Made by the team behind Shaw & Smith, owned by Michael Smith MW, who was the first Australian to pass the MW examination, and highly respected winemaker Martin Shaw. They’ve put the Adelaide Hills on the map for world class Chardonnay, and this barrel-fermented example from high altitude vineyards balances spice, fresh fruit, and lots of brilliant energy. It’s a delicious, ageworthy Chardonnay, that is more than a match for far pricier examples from around the world.
Domaine Lafage, situated between Perpignan and the Spanish border in Côtes Catalanes, Roussillon, has been run by Jean-Marc and Eliane Lafage since 2001. The estate, with 7 generations and its two centuries of winemaking history dating back to 1798 prides itself on producing fine and elegant wines from the mosaic of vineyards in this dry, windy and rugged landscape. The 2024 Miraflors rosé is a blend of 30% Mourvèdre, 30% Grenache Noir and 40% Grenache Gris. Grown on terraced plots along the coast and aged in concrete, it is decidedly Provençal in style. It is juicy, with pure strawberry, citrus and orange peel flavours. The wine has a distinct minerality, with a deliciously fresh, slightly spicy finish.
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