The following wines were chosen by Steven Spurrier from the France Under One Roof tasting at Lords Cricket Ground, a tasting that confirmed, overall, quality and value from France has never been better.
Fine, deep ruby with a hint of youthful violet, really good granity, earthy Gamay fruit, both chocolatey rich and minerally pure, the best by far from several 2007 Beaujolais crus tasted that day. Can be drunk or kept. £12.95 Charles Hawkins, Rutland (01572 823 030)
A stunning 100% Pinot Noir from vines mostly around the cooler Languedoc region of Limoux, oak aged in Bouchard Aine's Beaune cellars. Lovely, crunchy Pinot fruit with a little spice from the oak, a Burgundian cousin from the Midi, a really enjoyable wine, so appealing you won't be able to keep it for the two more years it deserves.
£8.99 Boisset UK, London NW1 (020 7449 4074)
Made from grapes coming from Chateau Fuissé, the splendid estate owned by Jean-Jacques Vincent, the Ferraud brothers uncle. Fine lemony yellow colour, pure white flowers and quite rounded Maçonnais Chardonnay fruit, very good length with a touch of minerality on the finish, top class Macon. £9.99 Mistral Wines, London W2 (020 7262 5437)
A blend of 85% Syrah, 12% Grenache and 5% Mourvedre, undergoing the malolactic fermentation in barrel and spending 10 months in French and American oak. Still youthful black-red, really good blackberry fruit on the nose, lots of flesh on the palate with a briary grip to firm it up, 'un grand classique' for now and over 5 years.
£10.50-11.50 Stratford’s Wine Agencies, Berks (01628 810 606)
A blend of Grenache and Cinsault from vineyards under the Mont Sainte Victoire near Aix-en-Provence. Very pale, very pure and floral nose, really lovely, charmingly
seductive fruit, the perfect Provence rose. 5.90 € ex-cellar Tel 0033 (0)4.42.61.20.00
This is a blend of wines from Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Seguret, Vinsorbes and the estate's own vines from south of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, 40% Grenache/40%
Syrah/20% Mourvedre. Big plummy colour, spicy yet smooth fruit, really good length and a great expression of the southern Rhone terroir. To drink though 2012. £9 Boisset UK, London NW1 (020 7449 4074)
Jasnieres, whose vines overlook the river Loir, a tributary of the river Loire, is planted to Pineau de la Loire, the local name for Chenin Blanc, and is the region's smallest and rarest appellation. Pale yellow, discreet white flowers and dry honey on the nose, a precise vineyard expression, both ripe and firm, impressively individual. £8.99 Majestic Wine Warehouses (01923 298 200)
Made by Alain Grignon who styles himself 'French Wine Innovator Extraordinaire' on his labels, this is black red in colour, full and fleshy, exotically spicy and jammy in the
good sense, a totally modern, moreish wine from the Languedoc. £6.99 LGI UK Ltd T: 00 33 615 836 550 / www.lgi-wines.com
The Picpoul grape is the speciality of this coastal Languedoc appellation. Fresh lemony yellow, nose of dry herbs and spice, quite fleshy on the palate, white fruits lifted by fresh acidity, definitely maritime, perfect with shellfish, a Midi version of Muscadet. £7 Oxford Wine, London W8 (020 7727 0780) and Oxford (01865 301 144)
