We’ve worked with many of the world’s greatest wine producers for decades, while some names have appeared on our lists for a century or more. But even with that much history, we’re always looking out for the future stars, from both established and newly developing regions. Here are ten such producers we’re proud to back: new additions to our range in the last few years, with young winemakers pushing boundaries, making delicious wines. We invite you to join us as we follow this new generation on their exciting journeys.
Kiwi Graeme and Rhône native Julie are showing that there’s definitely space for newcomers in the beautiful Northern Rhône. They’ve been busy planting vineyards in a number of different appellations - truly backbreaking work - and their wines are some of the most thrilling we’ve tried from this corner of France.
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In just his third vintage, and still in his early twenties, Sam Lambson is already making waves in the Cape. His Syrahs have been singled out for special attention by the critics, while his whites show that he is anything but a one trick pony.
Maturity Ready 2022 - 2030
Prices shown in bond
Although only in his mid thirties, Vincent has been at the helm of his family estate for almost a decade. He farms 11.5 hectares around the village of Mercurey, and with an almost obsessive attention to detail in the vineyards he’s elevated this estate to a whole new level. For outstanding value Pinot Noir, look no further.
Luc Prieur took over this historic estate at the tender age of 21, and it is a clear example of the wines reflecting the character of the winemaker: Luc is unassuming, charming, and thoughtful, and his wines are some of the most disarmingly beautiful whites we know. They also offer some of the best value on our list.
Justin Girardin is an emerging talent in Santenay. He inherited a 17 hectare domaine from his father, Jacques, and has proven that once again, a change in generation can bring about a revolution in quality and style. But this revolution is happening quietly: he’s spent the past few years carefully working in his vineyards and cellar, and the wines are all the better for it. And when he’s away from the domaine, you’re likely to find him up a mountain, skiing, hiking, or running: he’s a guy with almost boundless energy.
Both Arnaud Lagardère and Christophe Pavageau have day jobs away from this brand new estate, Clos Hédoné: Arnaud is a cellar master, and Christope is a winegrower. But these two friends decided to start farming just 1.8 hectares of vines together, before crafting a wine in a miniscule cellar with just 4 stainless steel tanks, and a single row of barrels. The result is one of the most exciting wines we’ve discovered in Bordeaux recently, that couldn’t be further from the large-scale winemaking we’d usually associate with the region.
Maturity Ready 2022 - 2035
A brand new estate in 2019 from Lara Rocchetti & Luisa Sala, these two met at university while studying at Pollentia’s Gastronomic Science University, and they’ve been pretty inseparable ever since. Both are from Turin, and neither have a winemaking background, but stages at Cécile Tremblay and Domaine Comtes Lafon in Burgundy, and time spent working together in the Langhe have put them in a brilliant position to make a success of their own estate. This is just the beginning of their story, but we’re convinced it’s one worth following.
South African Hanneke Kruger is the winemaker at Badenhorst family wines, where she’s turning out some of the estate’s best wines yet. And French winemaker Pauline Roux has worked all over the Swartland, and now is one half of Paulus Wine Company with Paul Jourdaan, the Chenin Blanc project that’s garnering more and more critical acclaim. These two are good friends, when they had the chance to start a project with some old vine Palomino grapes from high altitude, they jumped at it. And that was the start of Vino pH: a chance for these two talented women to showcase the style of wines they love to drink. We’re thrilled to import them exclusively into the UK.
Maturity Ready 2021 - 2028
Johannes Hasselbach is making stunning wines from some of the region’s best sites on the Roter Hang, the red slate slopes that overlook the river Rhine - best known as the home of Weingut Keller. Johannes took over the family estate (which bears the name of its 1890 founder, Carl Gunderloch) a few years ago, with his father Fritz moving into the background, but remaining ever present to help and support his son. Sadly Fritz passed away in December 2016, but every year we taste Johannes’ wines, they seem to gain another level of precision and complexity. These are some of Germany’s most thrilling wines, without the eyewatering prices of their vineyard neighbours.
Maturity Ready 2022 - 2034
Sylvain Gauthier isn’t from the Northern Rhône: he’s from the region of Lorraine, hardly the heart of French winemaking. But he trained as a winemaker in Beaune, and then worked at Domaine du Tunnel and Michel Chapoutier: two giants of this region. He set out on his own just over a decade ago, but remains seriously under the radar: that’s possibly partly down to the estate’s location, up in the hills, high above the Rhône valley. But the wines speak for themselves: they’re textured, fruit driven, and ageworthy, and are well worth discovering.
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