The Southern Rhône: New releases

From the vineyard picked last, on a north facing slope in the Ventoux foothills, this is a blend of Grenache Blanc, Clairette and Bourboulenc. It's delicate and fragrant on the nose, gaining breadth on the palate with some richness from the Grenache Blanc. It's pithy and phenolic at first, with apricot fruit, then more minerally and gourmand on the finish. Just 2,400 bottles were produced.

Made from Grenache, Carignan and Cinsault grown on north-facing slopes of the Ventoux foothills, this is charming and fresh. The Carignan brings some pungent cherry drop fruit and some chewy tannins, and this balances nicely with the mineral, smoky notes and more savoury bramble fruit.

Ripe and spicy with Christmas cake notes and chocolately tannins. This remains elegant and fresh due to the unique characteristics of the Ventoux sub-region. Subtle woody herbs but mostly this is about the concentrated core of drak fruit framed by ripe, softening tannins and cooling acidity.

Just 5,000 bottles of this were produced in 2018, with 80% Grenache and 20% Syrah. It's very rich and spicy with densely packed tannins, bold but starting to soften. Full of black berry fruit and notes of dark chocolate and rosemary. There's a lot of weight here, with fresh, cool acidity cutting through the richness.