In the rolling hills of the Langhe, one grape steals the show: Nebbiolo.

It's the variety behind the region's famed Barolo and Barbaresco wines, bringing such acclaim that it takes a certain audacity to plant anything else.

There are other, delicious, alternatives of course: Barbera, Dolcetto and Arneis are some of the best-established varieties, but beyond these exists another, more curious group of grapes; Piedmont's underdogs.

Here are five to watch out for.

Nascetta

By the mid-20th century, Nascetta had practically vanished. Temperamental and fussy, it was displaced by more productive varieties. Its survival to the present day is due to a handful of growers around Novello.

Golden in the glass, it shows exotic fruit, honeyed notes, and white flower fragrance, with a savoury, waxy weight in the mouth that few Piemontese whites can match.

Locally known as Nas-cëtta, its revival traces back to a 1993 tasting, when growers including Elvio Cogno and Valter Fissore joined journalist Armando Gambera to open bottles from the 1986 vintage.

The wine had aged with real finesse – someone in the room even likened it to Sauternes. Cogno’s first modern bottling followed the next year, beginning Nascetta’s gradual revival.

‘Nascetta shows its best with age’, says Enrico Rivetto – reason enough to seek out older vintages of this strikingly resurgent grape.

Producers to know:

• Elvio Cogno
• Le Strette
• Rivetto
• Braida

Pelaverga

Pelaverga Piccolo's story is less resurrection than stubborn survival. Confused for years with the grape grown around Saluzzo, it was eventually recognised as its own distinct variety.

Pelaverga’s tiny kingdom is Verduno, where it produces pale, expressive reds with notes of violets, cherries and peppery spice.

‘Pelaverga is the key to understanding the soul of Verduno’, says Vittore Alessandria of Fratelli Alessandria, who describes its character as spicy elegance – fragrant and featherlight yet unmistakably characterful.

The Verduno è Uno association has promoted Pelaverga since 1994, and increasing demand for graceful, lower-alcohol reds has moved it onto serious wine lists well beyond the scope of the village.

‘It fits this “modern-classic” profile perfectly’, says Alessandria. Once tasted, it's hard to forget.

Producers to know:

• Fratelli Alessandria
• Reverdito
• Sordo
• Arnaldo Rivera

Freisa

Freisa takes its name from the Latin word for strawberry, echoed in its wild strawberry, raspberry and floral aromas.

One of Piedmont’s oldest grapes, it has an established parent-offspring relationship with Nebbiolo. The resemblance is clear: vibrant acidity, formidable tannins, and an ability to age.

When given top-tier treatment, Freisa is a serious wine. And its resistance to heat and drought makes it an attractive prospect for mitigating the effects of climate change.

‘Historically dismissed as a light, sweet or fizzy everyday red, we completely flipped that narrative,’ says Francesca Vaira of G.D. Vajra.

Applying the same long maceration and patient cask ageing as the estate's Barolos, she explains, ‘we unlocked its true identity: sophisticated, structured, and profoundly ageworthy.’

It's what Vaira calls ‘a sommelier's wine’ – one that may require an introduction but is difficult to forget.

Producers to know:

• G.D. Vajra
• Cascina Corte
• Giacomo Fenocchio
• Borgogno

Rossese Bianco

Only seven wineries currently work with Rossese Bianco, says winemaker Sara Vezza of Josetta Saffirio – a grape permitted as a Langhe DOC single-varietal, yet with remarkably little profile.

At Saffirio, the choice was a nod to the past. Vezza's father wanted to plant Chardonnay, but her mother told him, ‘We should plant something different’. In the end, they chose the local Rossese Bianco.

For Roberto Garbarino, the appeal was ageability. ‘Because of the remarkable tannin of this grape, Roberto thought he could obtain a wine that would age very well,’ says his daughter Beatrice.

Reaction so far has brought ‘a lot of curiosity and interest,’ she adds – ‘a good sign for the future.’

In the glass there's something of Vermentino about it, but quieter and more textural: citrus, floral, lively acidity and a bitter-herbal edge. It remains elusive, but is well worth seeking out.

Producers to know:

• Josetta Saffirio
• Roberto Garbarino
• Manzone

Bian Ver

There are obscure grapes, and then there's Bian Ver. Gabriele Cordero came across this ancient Alpine grape in L'Autin's old vineyards in Barge, close to the Alps.

‘We fell in love with this variety’, he notes, however it wasn't authorised for vinification in Piedmont.

Cordero worked with Turin University and the regional body to secure its approval, gaining official recognition under Langhe Bianco.

The profile is immediately striking: aniseed, fennel and apricot behind a wall of acidity. ‘In a blind tasting, it would never be associated with an Italian variety,’ Cordero proclaims. ‘Its expression is much closer to Burgundy.’

Grapes like Bian Ver survive because somebody, somewhere, still believes they're worth the trouble. If you see it, taste it.

Producer to know:

• Gabriele Cordero

Grapes found in one small village, or only grown today thanks to the efforts of a handful of determined growers, is the epitome of the underdog; particularly in a region that's home to world-renowned Nebbiolo.

But as drinkers continue to seek freshness and a genuine sense of place in their wines, the Langhe's throwback varieties look remarkably current.

Related articles

Welcome to Clare Valley: one of Australia’s oldest wine regions that’s also famous for its innovation. Wine has been produced here since 1851 and today Clare is known around the world as a source of prestigious fine wines.

Particularly by Australian standards, Clare Valley is a small region: around 35km long and 5-10km wide, covering an area of roughly 680 square kilometres. It accounts for less than 1.5% of the country’s total wine production.

So why is it so well known?

Read on to discover more about the special conditions for winemaking in Clare, the main wine styles made here and the names you need to know if you’re new to Clare Valley wines.

Where is Clare Valley?

Clare Valley is in South Australia, located around 130km – or a two-hour drive – north of Adelaide.

Part of the Mount Lofty Ranges it’s a region of beautiful, rolling hills with a Mediterranean climate.

Clare Valley doesn’t have official subregions, but there are five distinct wine-growing areas: Auburn, Watervale, Sevenhill, Polish Hill River and Clare.

Each of these have their own ‘terroir’ – a special combination of geology and climatic characteristics.

What are the soils like?

Clare Valley has 11 distinct soil types formed over ancient rocks that are hundreds of millions years old.

Around 500 million years ago, the region sat on mountain peaks 10,000m high, but these eroded, leaving a flat plain.

Further land shifts created the undulating landscape of today, with a series of north-south valleys and ridges.

The two most famous soil types here are terra rossa (red earth) over limestone, which is found in Watervale, and grey loam soil over broken blue slate in Polish Hill River.

Elsewhere vineyards in the north are planted on deep, fertile alluvial soils; while sandy loam and degraded quartz are found in the west.

What are the wine styles?

Thanks to those different soil types, Clare Valley can produce varied styles of both white and red wines. Riesling is the most-planted grape here, giving wines of impressive purity that can age for decades.

Watervale produces aromatic and citrus Rieslings; while wines from Polish Hill River are more mineral and steely.

Elegant, medium-bodied reds made from Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon are also worth seeking out.

The warm Mediterranean climate helps red grapes to ripen fully, developing concentration and depth of flavour, while expressing obvious varietal character.

A brief history

The indigenous nomadic Ngadjuri people were the traditional custodians of the Clare Valley region, with the first Europeans arriving in 1838.

The first vines were planted in the 1840s and the first winery, Sevenhill Cellars, was founded in 1851 by Jesuits to make sacramental wines.

Alfred Percy Birks established the Wendouree vineyard in 1893, planting heritage Shiraz vines that are still thriving today.

Riesling began to be taken seriously in Clare in the 1950s. By 1984 it had become the region’s main grape with 784ha planted.

During this time the number of wineries grew steadily, many of which are now familiar names to wine lovers.

Jim Barry Wines was founded in 1959; Wakefield Taylors and Knappstein in 1969; Grosset in 1981.

The screwcap revolution

Winemakers such as Tim Knappstein and Leo Buring put Clare Riesling on the map in the 1960s and 1970s.

Then in 2000 a group of 13 Clare Valley winemakers, led by Jeffrey Grosset, took a pioneering decision to champion the Stelvin screwcap closure for their top Rieslings.

Once it had been proved that wines sealed with screwcap retained their freshness and could age, the screwcap was widely adopted by the Australian wine industry across all varieties.

Clare Valley today

Despite its long winemaking history, wineries in Clare Valley aren’t resting on their laurels.

Winemakers continue to experiment with new grape varieties and new techniques in the winery, with many embracing sustainable, organic and biodynamic practices, and focusing on single site expressions and boutique production.

The lineup of wines below showcases the quality and variety that you can expect from Clare Valley, with bottles from some of the region’s top names.

It’s time to start your taste adventure…

Six top Clare Valley wines to try

Related articles

The name promises a tower, but there is no tower at Château La Tour Figeac.

A mill once stood on top of an old well, and this is likely where the name comes from.

Today only the well remains, on the neighbouring property, and the mill is gone.

The estate was born out of the break-up of a larger property, Château Figeac, which sold off parcels in 1876 and again in 1879.

It was from the 1879 sale that the Corbière family bought land to create Château La Tour Figeac.

The new property did not stay together for long: in 1881 it was divided again, half becoming La Tour Figeac and the other half La Tour du Pin Figeac, a separate estate that still exists today.

Since 1973, Château La Tour Figeac has belonged to the Rettenmaier family of Heilbronn. They bought it shortly after their hunting friends, the von Neipperg family, took over the nearby Château Canon La Gaffelière.

The family's main business is not wine but transport: they run TII Group (Transporter Industry International), a special transport company.

It was Otto Maximilian Rettenmaier, the current owner, who brought the family closer to the wine side, taking over the management in 1994.

Ownership is shared today: Otto holds 50%, and the rest belongs to his father's eight grandchildren.

Three of these are Otto's own children, but only one of his daughters has shown any interest in wine, so it is not yet clear who, among the next generation, will take the estate forward.

Illustrious company

The location is one of the best addresses on the Right Bank. Château Cheval Blanc borders the property to the east, Château Figeac to the south, and Pomerol begins just a few rows of vines away to the north and west.

Château La Tour Figeac has been classified as a Grand Cru Classé since the very first Saint-Émilion classification, in 1955.

The vineyard covers 14.5 hectares in a single block, planted with 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc. The soil is gravel and sandy clay over a clay subsoil, with more gravel on the side closer to Cheval Blanc.

Vine age is usually given as around 35 years, though Otto says this needs recalculation, since a number of parcels have been replanted over the years and the average is no longer very precise.

Some of this replanting is still ongoing: about 2.5 hectares have already been uprooted, and Otto thinks another 3ha or so may need to follow, a decision driven as much by the market as by climate adaptation.

Planting density is around 6,500 vines per hectare on average, and the most recent plots were planted at a much higher 7,900 vines per hectare but this is now changing.

For future plantings, the estate is looking at wider row spacing, which comes to roughly 6,700 vines per hectare – close to the old average density, and a step back from the recent high-density plots.

The idea is not to intensify further but to adapt to a warmer, drier climate, giving each vine more room and less competition for water.

Vineyard approach

In the meantime, 2026 has already been a difficult year for young vines, which have needed irrigation to cope with the stress.

The estate has worked with biodynamic-inspired methods since 1997, guided by Derenoncourt Consultant and, more recently, their partner Julien Lavenu.

The vineyard is not certified biodynamic – the approach borrows from biodynamic thinking without following it as a fixed rulebook.

Organic certification came later and briefly: the 2021 vintage was the first to be certified through Ecocert France, but the estate lost certification in 2024 after a difficult year forced it to use a treatment not allowed under organic rules.

The vineyard is not currently back in conversion.

Composers in the cellar

Grapes are picked by hand and sorted carefully on arrival at the cellar. In a difficult year, they will rent a densimetric sorter to help the manual selection.

Colour and tannin are extracted using both cap punching down and pumping over.

Fermentation takes place in a mix of stainless steel tanks and six wooden vats, each one named after a composer – Beethoven, Bach, Tchaikovsky, and Vivaldi are among them – a small sign of Otto's love of music.

Malolactic fermentation follows in oak, in a room kept apart for this purpose. Ageing lasts 13 to 15 months for the first wine and 10 to 13 months for the second.

The wines are aged in a mix of 225-litre and 400-litre barrels, with 40 to 50% new oak and at least a third of the barrel stock renewed every vintage.

There are also two 12-hectolitre foudres, and two Clayver spheres,. About 60,000 bottles are produced each year, all bottled at the estate.

Three wines are made at the estate, though not always in the same vintage. The Grand Vin makes between two-thirds and three-quarters of production.

It is joined, in most years, by two second wines: L'Esquisse, made from younger vines, and Cuvée Lucie 45, from selected parcels.

Château La Tour Figeac

Wines are listed youngest to oldest

Related articles

Mention Friuli and most wine lovers immediately think of white wine. Yet, in Colli Orientali, there is a flourishing production of some of the most fascinating native reds in Italy's northeast.

The Colli Orientali (‘Eastern Hills’) of Friuli is the natural geographical extension of the Collio DOC, separated only by an administrative boundary.

While Collio lies in the province of Gorizia, Colli Orientali belongs to Udine.

The two regions share a great deal: predominantly hilly terrain, similar elevations, and the same calcareous marl soil locally known as ponca. They also share the white grape varieties that made Friuli famous.

What truly sets the Colli Orientali apart, however, is red wine. While a marginal presence in Collio, red wine accounts for around a quarter of the Colli Orientali DOC production, according to the Consorzio Tutela Vini Friuli Colli Orientali.

More significantly, while Collio lacks its own local red varieties, Colli Orientali boasts a trio of native red grapes that are vital to its terroir: ageable Pignolo, dark and fruity Refosco, and dry, spicy Schioppettino.

Refosco: The late-ripening survivor

Refosco is not a single variety, but rather a family with at least half a dozen members in the Colli Orientali alone.

Historical references date back to the 18th century, though the generic use of the name makes its exact lineage uncertain.

Peduncolo Rosso

Today, the most widely planted iteration is Refosco del Peduncolo Rosso, named for its unusually red stems. This vigorous, thick-skinned variety is late-ripening and demands abundant sunshine.

While under-ripe versions can suffer from dominant acidity and harsh tannins, it is currently thriving thanks to a string of warm vintages.

When it succeeds, the variety boasts a bright, deep ruby-violet colour, vibrant cherry and raspberry fruit, and a vigorous mid-weight palate.

Because it can suffer from reduction if aged solely in stainless steel, judicious barrel-ageing is highly recommended.

Nostrano

A lesser-known family member, Refosco Nostrano, shares only a name with Peduncolo Rosso.

It is an entirely different variety, yielding highly attractive wines with less rugged tannins and greater finesse.

The DOC even includes a sub-denomination, Refosco di Faedis, dedicated to Nostrano wines from this specific village.

Schioppettino

Extensively grown in the upper Judrio valley until World War I, Schioppettino subsequently vanished, likely due to its delicate nature, irregular flowering, and susceptibility to disease.

In 1977, pioneering wine writer Mario Soldati reported finding only three or four remaining producers making wine from this variety.

Paolo Rapuzzi of the Ronchi di Cialla estate is widely credited with saving Schioppettino from extinction.

He perilously planted an unauthorised vineyard from old vine cuttings, risking government mandated grubbing-up.

Fortunately, the vines survived, and Schioppettino entered the national grape register the same year Soldati visited.

Highly site-specific, Schioppettino rarely travels outside the village of Albana and the neighbouring Prepotto, which boasts its own DOC sub-zone.

Like Refosco, it ripens late and retains high natural acidity, but features much more refined tannins.

The wines pour a pale ruby colour, offering dark berry fruit on the nose and a mid-weight palate that finishes with distinctive peppery spice.

Approachable in its youth, it acquires a silky elegance with age that distinctly recalls mature Pinot Noir.

Among the region's native grapes, it has made the most significant strides in both volume and quality in recent years.

Pignolo

Wine writer Ben Little famously subtitled his book on Pignolo ‘Cultivating the Invisible’ (self published in 2021). It perfectly captures the paradox of this grape: despite being grown by around 60 producers, it accounted for a mere 44 hectares in the 2024 Colli Orientali vineyard register.

Rescued from obscurity around the same time as Schioppettino, Pignolo's trajectory has been slower.

Once highly regarded in historical texts, it lost ground by the mid-20th century and practically vanished by the 1950s, until it was rediscovered close to the Rosazzo abbey, where a few surviving vines remained.

Pignolo is notoriously complicated to grow: it suffers from low, irregular yields, is prone to disease, and is incredibly fussy about its site due to its late-ripening nature.

The resulting wine is equally uncompromising, possessing high acidity, potentially high alcohol, and – thanks to small bunches and thick-skinned berries – a massive concentration of tannins, comparable to Sagrantino.

The plus side of this structural intensity is that Pignolo has a prodigious capacity for ageing.

The DOC mandates a minimum of three years, at which point the wine typically displays dark berry fruit and a dense, tactile palate.

It starts to come to life after five or six years, and at eight to 10 years I have tasted fascinating examples of complex, mature wines of classic stature.

The road ahead for Colli Orientali’s native red grapes

Two decades ago, red grapes made up 40% of Colli Orientali's surface area, led predominantly by Merlot.

While red wine may not easily regain that kind of volume, producers nevertheless feel that a renaissance of kinds is underway.

Interestingly, this new momentum is not driven by the former champion, Merlot, but by the distinctive, characterful native grapes of the region.

Watch this space!

12 wines to highlight Colli Orientali's red potential

Related articles

If you’re at a restaurant and you don’t have time to read the wine list from cover to cover, here’s an easy tip to remember.

If they have any 2016 Côte Rôtie, grab one. It should be a safe bet.

Is it the greatest vintage in the last 20 years? No, that’ll be 2015, or perhaps 2010. There are individual wines from these two that fly even higher.

But after tasting nearly 30 examples, what 2016 offers is this: quality, classicism and consistency.

And almost all are ready to drink.

Slow and steady wins the race

After a mild winter, the season got off to a fairly late start, with Bernard Burguad writing in his notes that ‘budbreak occurred quite late compared to the average of recent years’. Spring was mild and quite wet, leading to outbreaks of mildew.

Flowering took place unhindered in mid-May, leading to plenty of fruit; the showers, however, continued. The season wasn’t looking terribly promising until July, when hot, dry weather finally arrived.

‘Harvest took place under excellent conditions,’ Burgaud notes, ‘yielding grapes with perfect ripeness and sanitary health.’

He didn’t finish picking until mid-October, ‘something we hadn’t done in a long time,’ he remarks.

As long as grapes reach full ripeness, late harvests can be a good sign in Côte-Rôtie; slow and steady ripening often results in delicacy and precision.

Jean-Paul Jamet says: ‘I like this vintage a lot, thanks to its gradual ripening, harvesting between 28 September and 12 October, which conferred a lot of elegance and freshness.’

‘A great classic’

Coming after the bold, concentrated 2015 vintage, the 2016 was clearly less powerful, but was notable for its sense of balance, freshness and its classic proportions.

They’ve aged well – better than expected in fact – thanks to these qualities. At 10 years, they are largely beyond that awkward phase around seven to eight years of age and are ready to open.

Only a handful would benefit from a few more years in bottle. Julien Barge says: ‘I am very fond of this vintage; it is evolving beautifully.’

In fact, I would open the 2016s before the 2015s.

What I particularly appreciate about the 2016s is how frank and easy to read they are, clearly reflecting their origins and house style.

In the words of Jamet, the 2016 vintage ‘reflects the terroir of Côte-Rôtie magnificently. A great classic’.

Burgaud agrees: ‘It is the most sincere expression of Syrah from Côte-Rôtie.’

All the typical Côte-Rôtie markers are there, and are true to their soil type: those from the more southerly Blonde side are perfumed and elegant, those from the Brune side are darker and more intriguing.

The harvest might have been late, but there were clearly no problems achieving ripeness – there’s no greenness or bitterness and the wines are texturally very fine.

None that I tasted were past their best. If kept well, most will age for at another seven to eight years, and the best will endure twice as long.

Sign of the times

That these wines were made 10 years ago was clear from the tasting. Several had (non-dominating) hints of brett, which is less common today.

Use of smaller barrels and new wood was more common too in 2016 than it is today.

Some wines that appeared oaky when tasted from barrel have successfully swallowed it, but a proportion still display marked oak flavour and tannins that can blur some of the more subtle details of the terroir.

Barge is one of many winemakers who have changed their approach since then.

‘In the cellar, the ageing periods used to be longer – typically two years in demi-muids. Today, I prefer shorter ageing in foudres to better preserve the wines’ freshness and expression,’ he says.

He continues: ‘Paradoxically, my work has become more traditional over time. I have gradually come to appreciate the value of the practices handed down by previous generations.

‘My evolution, therefore, stems not only from personal exploration or technical advancements but also from a more conscious return to that heritage. What appears simple in winemaking is often the result of long, careful reflection.’

The summer felt very warm at the time, but compared to this summer it would feel decidedly comfortable. Tasting these wines made me pine for another 2016.

And today, with refined winemaking practices, more organic viticulture and vines that are 10 years older, the resulting wines would be even better.

But that doesn’t detract from what was achieved in 2016 – a great classic indeed.

Côte Rôtie 2016

Related articles

As in love, certain wines come into your life by chance. My affair with Jurançon began literally as far from its Pyrenean home as possible.

Browsing the shelves of Moore Wilson’s, the iconic grocery store in Wellington, New Zealand, I came across a bottle labelled Petit Manseng, from the Marlborough grower Forrest.

It sounded vaguely Chinese, possibly a miniature horse breed, though it is in fact one of Jurançon’s two principal grapes.

I took it home, where the off-dry little Manseng made a big splash: lush yet electric, exuberant yet poised – a tropical beach party in a wine glass. Yet each time I returned, the bottle was gone, and life beat on.

We were reunited years later in Paris, thanks to an astute sommelier at Macéo restaurant, who pointed me to a Jurançon Sec from Domaine Bellegarde.

Though the appellation is traditionally associated with sweet wines, this was a dry expression of striking tension and lift.

In the foothills of the Pyrenees

Spread across the verdant foothills of the Pyrenees southwest of Pau, Jurançon's vineyards climb in south-facing amphitheatres, framed by the Pic du Midi d'Ossau.

The appellation divides into three distinct zones: Chapelle de Rousse, to the northeast, where vines root into poudingue – a cement-like soil of chalk and river-worn pebbles; Monein, to the west, on more varied, molasse-dominant soils and now the most widely planted; and Lasseube, in the south, smaller and sandier.

Situated in the lee of the Pyrenees, the mountains shield the vines from harsher continental extremes, while the Atlantic keeps the growing season temperate – together preserving the acidity and aromatic intensity that define these wines.

Winemaking in Jurançon dates back to Roman antiquity and by the 14th century the Parliament of Navarre had classified its best sites – one of France’s earliest examples of vineyard classification.

Legend holds that the infant Henri IV had his lips touched with a drop of Jurançon at his 1553 baptism, by which time it had become a wine of court ritual.

Colette, 19th century French writer, actress and journalist, would later call it ‘a prince – warm, imperious and insidious, like all great seducers’.

Sweet to dry

For most of its history, Jurançon was synonymous with sweet wine. The appellation was classified for its moelleux (sweet) style in 1936 – among France’s earliest APs – while the dry expression was not recognised until 1975.

Since then, momentum has shifted toward the dry style, in line with a broader retreat from dessert wines.

Petit Manseng – the very grape that started all this – excels across the entire spectrum. Small and thick-skinned, it is defined by acid and concentration, which only intensifies through foehn-fanned passerillage (drying on the vine).

The traditional engine of sweet Jurançon, in dry form it delivers density, minerality and ageworthy grip, often developing truffled notes over time.

Its offspring, Gros Manseng, is the workhorse: larger-berried, less concentrated and more reliably ripe, generous and fruit-forward.

Supporting local varieties such as Camaralet, Lauzet and Courbu round out some blends, adding spice, aromatic lift and finesse, with Camaralet especially prized in dry wines for its peppery, cinnamon accent.

Three delectable styles

Like its three distinct zones, three styles express a striking range.

Jurançon Sec, often led by Gros Manseng, can be broad in texture yet focused by Petit Manseng’s vivid acidity, with flavours ranging from citrus and stone fruits to pineapple and quince, sometimes picking up a smoky or savoury edge over time.

Sweet Jurançon, the appellation’s historic heart, layers ripe mango, candied citrus, apricot and spice over a structure that keeps richness in check.

Vendanges Tardives (late harvest wines) are almost impossibly concentrated, unctuous yet vibrant thanks to the tensile acidity that is Jurançon’s signature.

Across all three styles, what lingers is not simply opulence or freshness but a radiant tension, like an autumn sun rising over cool Pyrenean hillsides.

The future is bright

‘What has always fascinated me about the Mansengs is their ability to reconcile power and freshness,’ says Antoine Arraou of the biodynamic Château Lafitte, one of Jurançon’s standout estates.

‘Few grape varieties are capable of reaching such high levels of ripeness while retaining such acidic energy.’

He is among the growers expanding Jurançon’s stylistic range and sharpening its contemporary identity.

‘Many astute observers have said this is the next Jura,’ says Arraou.

Having heard the same comparison applied to other up-and-coming appellations, such as Savoie and Bugey, I ask him to explain.

‘A hilly vineyard, a cool climate, distinctive grape varieties, geological diversity, limited volumes and wines with strong personalities – the reasons that drew wine lovers to the Jura also exist here.’

Yet while Jura’s cult success has pushed its prices steadily upward, Jurançon still offers striking value. At the cellar door, most Jurançon Sec sells for €12-€20; a smaller tier of ambitious cuvées runs closer to €30, with rare bottles climbing to €50-€70.

For readers who love the tension of Loire Chenin Blanc or the structure of serious dry Alsace, Jurançon Sec offers a compelling alternative: distinctive, long-lived and affordable.

As in love, what begins in contingency ends in necessity. Jurançon, for my money, deserves a seat at the table of noble white wines.

Whether you seek it out or stumble upon it by chance, taste and see if you do not fall for this great seducer, the little prince of the Pyrenees.

Six Jurançon wines to get you hooked

Related articles

Puligny-Montrachet is, for some, the centre of the white wine universe.

Although it is endowed with the smallest vineyard area among the ‘golden triangle’ villages of Meursault, Chassagne and Puligny, it boasts some or all of no fewer than four grands crus: Montrachet, Bâtard-Montrachet, Chevalier-Montrachet and Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet.

From this epicentre of grands crus, top-notch premiers crus radiate north, and village-level vineyards stretch down the slope.

It is a compact, ideally situated terroir. Superlative wine, though, requires more than a brilliant site.

It also needs winemaking talent, and Puligny today enjoys a rich array of talent ranging from experienced domaines with deep traditions to newer domaines and innovative young winemakers that make this a truly exciting village.

Puligny: Five family names to know

Domaine Leflaive & Olivier Leflaive

Domaine Leflaive is among the finest producers of white wine – not just in Puligny, but in the world.

Despite a period from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s when the domaine struggled with premature oxidation, the wines are today better than ever, thanks to the efforts of previous winemaker, Pierre Vincent.

A recent tasting of the 2024s showed that his replacement, Amandine Brillanceau, is carrying the domaine forward in style.

The domaine farms an enviable portfolio of vineyards, from the grands crus of Bâtard-Montrachet and Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet (where it is the largest landowner), to Chevalier-Montrachet and on to the equally compelling premier cru offerings, making magical wines that age supremely well.

This domaine, however, is not the only Leflaive in town. Olivier Leflaive produces a range of delicious wines under his eponymous négociant business, alongside his brother Patrick.

Although Olivier became co-manager of Domaine Leflaive with his uncle Vincent in 1982, in 1984 he founded his négociant operation, and by 1994 he had departed the family business to focus entirely on this business.

The Olivier Leflaive négociant business has flourished; his Bourgogne Les Sétilles is among the most reliable entry-level white Burgundies.

He always makes wines from his own vineyards, marked ‘Récolte du Domaine’, which include Chevalier-Montrachet and the Puligny premiers crus Pucelles and Folatières.

The winemaking today is overseen by Solène Panigai, successor to Franck Grux, who had been the technical director for 35 years.

Chartron

Another luminous name in Puligny is Chartron. The domaine produces delightful wines throughout the range, but is known above all for its three clos: Clos des Chevaliers, Clos du Cailleret, and the Clos de la Pucelle monopole.

The family has owned these plots since the early 20th century. Portions have been replanted over time, and the oldest vines date to the 1950s and 1960s.

Jean-Michel Chartron is the fifth-generation owner and the winemaker. His style is elegant and sophisticated: the wines are concentrated and focused without showy amounts of reduction or oak, making them wines of restraint and timeless beauty.

The Carillon clan

The Carillon family has lived in Puligny longer than either the Leflaives or the Chartrons, tracing their ancestry to the 16th century.

Well into the years following World War II, however, the family was selling the majority of its production to négociants.

By the 1990s, the domaine, then known as Louis Carillon, was run by brothers Jacques and François. With the 2010 vintage, the brothers split the vineyards between them.

Jacques got the slice of Bienvenues-Bâtard Montrachet, premiers crus Referts, Champs Canet and some of the Perrières, and labels under Domaine Jacques Carillon.

François farms the Folatières, Combettes, Champs Gain and the balance of the Perrières and produces village-level wines from Enseignères, Aubues and Clos du Vieux Château, labelling under Domaine Franc.çois Carillon.

François’ sons Paul and Mathis have recently branched out on their own as Carillon Frères, and are producing delicious wines.

To date, there is the village-level Noyer Bret, and a premier cru Cuvée Loulou blended from the family sites and named for their grandfather.

Pernot

Another winemaking dynasty in Puligny is the Pernot family. The older wines from Domaine Paul Pernot age gracefully, while young Alvina Pernot is among the most exciting new voices in the village.

The granddaughter of Paul Pernot, she and her husband Philippe Abadie began their own domaine in 2018.

Alvina’s style is beguilingly taut, slightly reductive, with a racy finesse that suits the character of the village.

She presses the grapes as whole bunches without sulphur under the press and ferments with native yeasts in mostly used barrels.

The grands crus from Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet, Bâtard-Montrachet and Chevalier-Montrachet are superb, but the entire range bears investigation, particularly the premiers crus Peux Bois, Champs Canet Clos de la Jaquelotte, Clos de la Garenne, Clos des Folatières, Caillerets and Pucelles, and the village-level Rue aux Vaches and the Clos des Noyers Brets.

Thomas-Collardot

I was seduced on my most recent visit by the wines from another relative newcomer, Domaine Thomas-Collardot, whose vineyards were leased out until 2010.

The mother-and-son team of Jacqueline and Matthieu Collardot began bottling the wines under their own label in 2015 and received organic certification in 2023.

The wines are fermented and matured partly in barrels (mostly used) and partly in glass globes.

They produce delicious village-level Puligny wines from Enseignères, Nosroyes, Derrières les Velles, Houlières, Au Paupillot and Rue aux Vaches, along with a blended wine called Les Climats.

The range is completed by the premiers crus Hameau de Blagny and Folatières Au Chaniot.

Change is in the air in Puligny, and the village’s unique combination of established domaines and a new generation of players augurs well for the future of great white Burgundy.

Eight wines to try

Related articles

You’re in the mood for something a little unexpected. A conversation opener for a lingering evening with friends. A refreshing glass or two with a good story attached. A variety you can’t pronounce, with origins that offer alluring potential for that quick get-away from the desk job.

Then look no further than the wines of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). We asked three regional experts for their views at this year's Ultimate Central and Eastern Europe wine fair, an annual trade event for wines from that part of the world.

For Decanter World Wine Awards Co-Chair Beth Willard, we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg. ‘These are old wine-producing countries that have undergone something of a renaissance over the last 20 to 30 years, and now we are seeing just how good these wines are.’

The personal touch

And one of the key reasons for this growing interest? The personal side of things. ‘I love the human story,' says Caroline Gilby MW, the joint Regional Chair for Central & Eastern Europe at the Decanter World Wine Awards. 'I think that is what is so exciting about this part of the world.'

Recent decades have witnessed a huge wave of investment and winemaking experimentation. Fair organiser Zsuzsa Toronyi explains: ‘CEE wines also come with compelling stories. Many family-owned wineries have revived historic vineyards and traditions, creating wines that reflect local culture, heritage, and a strong sense of place’.

As new generations take the lead of these revived traditional family wineries, excellence is to be found from both international and local varieties. In the mood for pale pink bubbles? Try a Moldovan pink spumant from Dom Davidescu made from the Rară Neagră variety. Keen on a traditional Blanc de Noirs style? Why not pick up a bottle of Serbian producer Aleksandrović's saline and steely Trijumf Noir Brut.

Travel through the glass to the Croatian island of Vis, where intriguing red wines are made from the local Plavac Mali variety. Pair a sticky Tarte Tatin with a decadently sweet late harvest Furmint–Muscat blend from Hungary.

Taste widely. Most importantly, have fun while you are at it.

A journey of discovery that’s kind on the wallet

More than a mere talking point for the table, there is great value to be found among these lesser-known discovery varieties and regions. As Toronyi comments: ‘They offer a combination of quality, value, authenticity, and discovery that is increasingly hard to find in more established wine regions’.

Bolstered by year-on-year successes at the Decanter World Wine Awards and a promising rise in carefully curated wine bar lists featuring lesser-known wines, the diversity on the UK market is exciting.

Gilby, also a co-organiser of the fair, notes: ‘You may still have to hunt down some of these wines from specialist importers and independent merchants, but even some supermarkets are recognising that CEE wines deserve space in their ranges.’

Five wines to try

Related articles

Just a matter of weeks after the fall of the Berlin Wall, heralding the end of division in Europe, the Cold War and (soon after) the USSR, almost exactly 1,000 miles south-west, the Bordelais saw the conclusion of one of the greatest decades in their vinous history.

With perhaps two exceptions (1984 & 1987) the 1980s was a transformative period in the region both economically and qualitatively after the various shades of brown that the preceding decade yielded.

Things were looking up for the world’s most aristocratic wine region, and it started with a bang…

1990

Many would argue that 1990 is a contender for the greatest global vintage in recent history, showing outstanding uniform quality in most regions around the world.

Bordeaux was no exception. This generally warm vintage has produced wines that are often voluptuous and decadent, a trait that we would not see again for a number of years.

The vintage is littered with stars on both banks and perhaps even more so in Sauternes.

Now 36 years-old the very best wines are hitting their peak but be warned that lower end examples may have succumbed to flamboyance and lack the structure of some other great vintages.

The finest wines are effortless: Château Margaux, Montrose, Léoville Las Cases, and Lynch-Bages to name but a few on the left bank.

Cheval Blanc, Petrus and Clinet all flirt with perfection on the right bank, as does La Mission Haut Brion in Graves.

There are dozens more world beating wines, but notable misses too. Latour is variable, but on its day one of the finest ever produced, while Mouton Rothschild and Pichon Comtesse both somehow miss the magic of so many of their neighbours.

Generally speaking I would happily buy well stored class growth claret across the board and expect to find a beautiful expression of plump, mature claret within.

1991

Now, dear reader, 1991 is a vintage where my opinion may differ from many of my esteemed colleagues.

My justification for the perceived quality of this wildly overlooked vintage is based upon dozens of bottles in recent years and an almost obsessive desire to vindicate my theory that, in this frost plagued vintage, those closest to the river fared best.

There is no denying that the right bank was not a success, with some châteaux opting not to produce a Grand Vin, but many of those in the Médoc that could afford to crop their yields produced good wines.

Palmer is the wine of the vintage, and even comparable to their legendary 1990, while neighbours Pichon Comtesse and Latour come a close second.

I would not suggest you research 1991 as extensively as I have, but if the vintage is of significance, then do try well cellared left bank wines from the most familiar names.

1992

Unlike 1991, I do not have such positive news for anyone who holds 1992 dear.

Generally the wines are well past their best, but passable bottles of Clinet (a wine I loved a decade ago), Gruaud Larose and La Mission Haut-Brion have piqued interest in recent years but perhaps not offered much on the hedonistic spectrum.

However, dry whites were largely a success with Laville Haut-Brion offering a genuinely outstanding effort even three decades on.

1993

More of the same sadly as the dearth of quality continues, even if 1993 is stylistically different, often hard, dry and tannic.

A recent bottle of Clinet, drunk at the château, was delicious as the plump nature of this great Pomerol overcame the tannins of the vintage.

Gruaud Larose and Beychevelle are wines I have enjoyed over the years, similarly Lafleur on the right bank.

But don’t go out of your way!

1994

There was an initial feeling that 1994 might have been the saviour of the region after a string of troublesome harvests.

The quality was undeniably better, but not close to what was about to follow. Latour is the wine of the vintage, closely followed by neighbour Pichon Comtesse.

At the more affordable end, half a dozen recent bottles of Branaire-Ducru have been delicious, if drying out a little.

The wines here feel more classic than either 1992 or the austere 1993s. If it’s a milestone year for you then I would suggest sticking to the Médoc for best results.

1995

Finally, Bordeaux waits no more! For decades to come Bordeaux lovers will argue the various merits of 1995 v 1996, but what the former has in its corner is a much stronger showing on the right bank.

I’ve always found the vintage slightly foursquare compared to its successor but the quality is undeniable and uniform.

On the right bank both Lafleur and Cheval Blanc are sensational.

Similarly on the left bank, not many people missed the mark, so perhaps it is more useful to mention the wines that I favour in 1995 to the more fleshy 1996s that followed: Pichon Baron, Léoville Barton, Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion to name four.

This is a vintage to buy with confidence, on both banks, relying on the fact that the structure here supports beautifully balanced wines that are just hitting their prime.

1996

Is this the vintage of the decade? For the left bank, probably. The wines from the Médoc are generous but reserved, structured but also ethereal.

A genuinely glorious vintage for almost everyone on the left bank. If I am splitting hairs, Pauillac performed best, with Latour, Lafite Rothschild and Pichon Comtesse all contenders for wine of the decade.

Lynch-Bages, Grand Puy Lacoste and Batailley are crafted from the same mould without the price tag.

Outside Pauillac, Léoville Las Cases and Margaux are also potentially perfect wines.

Almost everything west of the Gironde is worth seeking out.

The right bank is more patchy, so my recommendation would be to opt for 1998.

1997

Thought to be one of the weaker vintages of the decade, 1997 is (however) superior to 1992, 1993 and 1994.

The vintage is much lighter than those that surround it, which has given drinkers pleasure over that last few decades, in a way that other years have not.

There is no excess structure or greenness as you find in the early half of the 1990s. Just elegant, balanced, drinkable Bordeaux that would have, at one time, been labelled ‘luncheon claret’.

Recent bottles of Potensac, Meyney, La Conseillante and Gazin have all been delicious. Not more or less, just simply delicious.

Sauternes, however, is sensational. Those with a connection to 1997 may find some bargains as the wines have remained fairly priced.

A vintage that grows in my affection as I age and understand its place among its far more lauded siblings.

1998

If 1996 is THE left bank year, then 1998 is THE right bank year. The year Merlot turned to gold.

There are more successes on the left bank in 1998 than on the right bank in 1996, most notably a sensational bottle of Palmer knocked 1989 off the table, but St-Emilion and Pomerol displayed an embarrassment of riches.

It is little surprise that Petrus and Cheval Blanc both crafted wines that could last a century as well as La Mission Haut-Brion and Haut-Brion in Pessac.

The one word of caution I would add is, in this ‘peak Parker’ era, some estates were unnecessarily exuberant with their extraction.

Most wines here, on both banks, are still approaching full maturity.

1999

A curious and almost anonymous vintage to round off the century. Overshadowed by what was to come, I feel little affection for 1999, and the wines somewhat generic.

Perhaps because the top wines are some way off full maturity, but the first growths are all solid, if unexciting.

Gruaud Larose has always been nice as have dozens of other châteaux that produced very good examples on both left and right.

That said, an honourable mention should go to the often forgotten Tertre-Roteboeuf which produced a sensational wine to round off the decade.

The best is yet to come...?

It is fair to say that, next to the consistency of the 1980s, the 1990s was a more variable decade to end the millennium, but what was to come next might just be the greatest of them all…

Bordeaux vintages of the 1990s

Related articles

Anne Krebiehl MW, Freddy Bulmer and Roger Jones tasted 163 wines, with 6 Outstanding and 57 Highly recommended

New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc: Panel tasting scores

163 wines tasted

Exceptional 0

Outstanding 6

Highly recommended 57

Recommended 90

Commended 10

Entry criteria: UK retailers and agents were invited to submit their latest release, still, dry Sauvignon Blanc wines from any region in New Zealand

Over two days, three of us tasted 163 New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs that presented a brilliant overview of what’s on the market right now.

Most wines, four-fifths in fact, hailed from Marlborough and most, just under two-thirds, from the 2025 vintage.

Two things stood out.

First: while Marlborough still rules the Sauvignon Blanc roost and provided all the top-scoring wines, other regions offer worthwhile alternatives. Second: the 2025 vintage is weaker than 2024 but still holds plenty of treasure.

Sauvignon Blancs submitted from Central Otago where temperatures differ between day and night scored really well, while wines from warmer Hawke’s Bay were weakest, showing that the latter is a better hunting ground for other varieties.

2025s are good to go

As regards the vintages, 2025 with its higher yields and tricky growing season, featuring a cool January, i.e. midsummer in the southern hemisphere, meant we could really tell the wheat from the chaff.

Vines needed careful handling and management to ensure full ripening and thus aromatic development of the crop load.

Roger Jones put it succinctly when he noted that ‘wines that had some love and care, with time on lees, or with some careful oak age, but not necessarily always with oak’, did best.

This means that you should enjoy the 2025 wines while they are young and alive with primary fruit and flavours.

Those who adore varietal Sauvignon Blanc aromas in the greener spectrum will be in for a treat, especially with wines from the Awatere Valley sub-region, which is vibrant in 2025 with pea shoot, lime and green asparagus.

Freddy Bulmer noted another clear and positive development, particularly pertinent for 2025.

He found the wines well-integrated ‘with relatively few that seemed to compensate for underripe fruit by adding sweetness, which has been a particular issue at the entry level in the past’.

See all notes and scores from the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc tasting

The judges

New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc panel tasting results:

Wines were tasted blind

Related articles

The launch of a new vintage of Penfolds Grange is always an occasion. But this year had an added sense of anticipation, since the wine being released was the 75th anniversary bottling.

‘We’ve been waiting, waiting, waiting for the 2022 Grange for some time,’ admitted chief winemaker, Peter Gago at the first global tasting of the 2026 Penfolds Collection, held in London.

‘It comes off 2018 and the terrific 2021 of last year, so there’s a little bit of pressure… But it’s risen to the occasion,’ he added, with typical understatement.

The 2022 vintage

Grange has always been a multi-vineyard, multi-district blend, aged in US oak.

For the 2022 vintage fruit was sourced from Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Coonawarra.

The growing season across South Australia was defined by a cool and measured year, with winter rainfall above average, which supported steady early vine growth.

Unsettled temperatures, wind and hail in spring affected yields for Barossa Shiraz but this was also a year that benefitted from an extended ripening period, producing small berries with a firm tannin structure.

The resulting 2022 Grange is both full-bodied and full of life; immediately approachable even at this young age (full tasting note and score below).

‘The 2022 Grange assuredly authenticates its flagship role and 75th anniversary credentials. No pressure. Both timely and lucky to avail such a stellar vintage in such a symbolic year,’ noted Gago.

‘I always like the cooler years,’ he added, drawing comparisons with the 1998 vintage. ‘The 2002 is my favourite after 2018, and that was one of the coldest years in the Barossa.’

Commenting on the immediate approachability of the 2022 Grange, he said: ‘I think a lot of people will drink it very early, but it’s going to look great in 50 years.’

2026 Penfolds Collection highlights

Aside from Grange, standout reds from this year’s collection are the St Henri 2023, Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon 2024, Magill Estate Shiraz 2024 and ‘Baby Grange’ Bin 389 Cabernet Sauvignon 2024.

Top white Yattarna Bin 144 Chardonnay 2024 also impressed. ‘The 2024 Yattarna is defined by purity and composure… A quietly assured release promising remarkable endurance,’ said Kym Schroeter, Penfolds’ white winemaker.

The collection once again includes wines from France, the US and China; testament to both Gago’s global vision for Penfolds and the extensive vineyard holdings of parent company Treasury Wine Estates.

They include Châteaux Cambon La Pelouse, Lanessan, Gironville, Bolaire and Belle-Vue in Bordeaux.

‘No longer a novelty, no fancy wordsmithing – all of these wines are unmistakably Penfolds, sourced from different hemispheres,’ says Gago.

Finally for collectors and investors, the newly updated ninth edition of Rewards of Patience by Andrew Caillard MW has also been published alongside the 2026 collection.

First published in 1995, it’s regarded as the definitive reference guide to Penfolds wines, with the new edition containing updated tasting notes on every vintage of every wine in the Penfolds portfolio, with contributions from some of the world’s leading wine critics.

When and where to buy

Wines in the 2026 Penfolds Collection were released globally on Thursday 6 August.

The five new release icon wines – Grange, St Henri, Yattarna, Bin 707 and RWT – will also be available via La Place de Bordeaux to customers in the UK and Europe from 8 September.

The following Australian wines from the collection will be available to customers in Australia and other select markets worldwide, but won’t be available in the UK or Europe: Bin 51 Eden Valley Riesling, Bin 169 Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon, Magill Estate Shiraz, Bin 150 Marananga Shiraz, Bin 21 Grenache and Bin 23 Pinot Noir.

Wines from the US and China will also be available to customers in Australia and other select markets worldwide, but won’t be available in the UK or Europe: Oakville Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Bin 149 Cabernet Sauvignon and CWT 521 Cabernet Sauvignon Marselan.

Grange La Chapelle 2022 is already available in Europe and the UK. It is a special release, so not part of the 2026 Collection.

The Penfolds Champagnes are also not part of the new collection.

The Grange legacy

The pinnacle of Penfolds’ multi-vineyard, multi-district blending philosophy, Grange is officially listed as a heritage icon of South Australia and is a sought-after bottle for collectors around the world.

First made as an experimental Shiraz bottling in 1951, it boasts an unbroken line of vintages since then.

From the start Grange was always intended to be an icon that epitomised fine Australian Shiraz.

Its creator Max Schubert (1915-1994), first chief winemaker at Penfolds, had travelled to Bordeaux and Germany in 1950, returning with a resolve to create an Australian red capable of ageing for decades; a wine that could rival Europe’s greatest bottles.

Aiming for consistency and commercial appeal, Schubert sought out fruit of exceptional ripeness – regardless of which vineyard region it was planted in.

This approach led to the multi-regional blend philosophy that Penfolds still embraces today. Ageing in new American oak added the finishing touch to the wine’s revolutionary style.

At the time, Schubert’s bosses and colleagues at Penfolds disapproved of his new wine. They were particularly critical of the high volatile acidity that has since become a hallmark of Grange.

Ordered to stop production, Schubert made subsequent vintages in secret, but an in-house tasting in 1960 proved the wine’s worth. In 1962, the 1955 vintage won honours at the Royal Sydney Wine Show and the same vintage was declared a Decanter Wine Legend decades later in 2017.

2026 Penfolds Collection: tasting notes and scores

NOTE: All white wines were double-decanted before tasting. Red wines were served as you’d open them at home and were not decanted. Tasting notes are written by Julie Sheppard, tasting in London and David Sly, tasting in Adelaide, South Australia.

Related articles

‘We never wanted to make wine’, says Youmna Asseily, and she means it literally.

When she and her husband Tony went looking for a property outside Bordeaux in the early 2000s, a vineyard was not the point.

They were looking for peace and privacy, but this year marks 20 years since the Asseilys bought Château Biac and ended up restoring it to its former winemaking glory.

The long way to Langoiran

Both originally from Lebanon, Tony had spent his career in finance in London. Youmna had lived in Switzerland and then in Lebanon before the two settled in London together to raise their children.

For the next 25 years the family lived between Beirut and London, never quite able to go home for good.

In 1990, with flights repeatedly delayed, the family chose to holiday in Entre-deux-Mers, as it turned out, just four kilometres from Château Biac.

They kept coming back to Entre-deux-Mers each summer for a decade and, in 2000, they rented the guesthouse in Biac and fell in love with the place.

The same year, Tony dissolved his wealth management company and began looking for something new to do. Youmna wanted to paint, and Tony wanted to write. Wine was not on the list at all.

What was on the list, when they sat down and made one, was oddly specific: half an hour from Bordeaux, 35 minutes from the airport, close to a motorway, near a town with everything they needed close by, a view over the Garonne, and, above all, somewhere private, not visible from the road.

Château Biac answered every point on it. The previous owners wanted to sell the main house but keep the vineyards and holiday homes.

Talks stalled over the split, and it took until 2006 for a contract to finally be signed.

A renaissance

Despite once carrying a serious reputation – Cocks & Féret's second edition guide to Bordeaux in 1868 rated Biac among the finest in the region – the property had been neglected for years.

The famous Bordeaux enologist Denis Dubourdieu, nicknamed the pope of white wine, who had once consulted there, told the Asseilys the terroir itself was exceptional regardless of its state.

The Asseilys soon gathered a top team around them.

Patrick Léon, a Château Mouton Rothschild retiree who had tried and failed to buy Biac himself years earlier, waited five or six months to be sure the couple were serious before agreeing to take the vineyard on.

Christine Sourdès, a consultant to Château Guiraud and Château de Myrat, and the first woman to open her own laboratory in the Sauternes-Graves area, came the following year to oversee the sweet wine.

Gilles Rey, an agronomist for Mouton Rothschild and, by his own account, familiar with practically every corner of Bordeaux, joined in 2006 to rebuild the vineyard itself.

Cellar master Sébastien Dupouy has been with the estate since 2008 – the year of Biac's first vintage under the new team.

The winery, meanwhile, was emptied of all the old stock and restored in six months flat.

The vineyard garden

Château Biac runs to 9.5ha split across 14 separate plots. The parcels are vinified separately in 13 small vats. Harvest dates are set plot by plot.

Rey has helped push the estate toward extreme precision, but it's Youmna who sums up the philosophy behind it.

‘We see it more as a garden than a vineyard,’ she says.

The blend changes every vintage – no formula, no house style to defend. As Youmna puts it, no two vintages, like no two children, are quite the same.

What stays constant is the combination of freshness and real ripeness, and the fact that Biac picks later than almost anyone else in the area. Harvest is done entirely by hand and sorted across four stations by a team of local workers.

The range itself has settled, too. There were once three reds, but in 2018 the Asseilys pared the line-up back to two – Château Biac and Félix de Biac.

Alongside them sit a dry white – Félicie de Biac – and a sweet white Cadillac – Secret de Biac.

There's a whisky too, born out of a necessity rather than a grand plan: new barrels are bought every year for the dry white and the sweet wine, which left the estate with a growing stock of good, used oak and not much to do with it.

A joint project with a distillery on the Isle of Harris followed almost as a matter of course, and the resulting single malt, aged in those ex-sweet-wine barrels, goes out under the name Haerach of Biac.

A name and a family behind

For a long time almost nobody outside the estate knew any of this.

Bottles were never sent out to critics or journalists. Biac was never sold en primeur – the Asseilys wanted to offer clients a wine that was ready to drink.

That changed by chance rather than design.

Daniel Boulud tasted the wine on a two-day visit, loved it, and began pouring it in his restaurants.

Jean Moueix director of leading négociant Duclot came separately and reached the same conclusion, and Biac has worked exclusively with Duclot ever since.

In 2013, eldest daughter Yasmina, who worked in finance in New York, took over the mission of building the American market.

Son Gabriel, previously in IT and trained in chemistry, joined as winemaker in January 2019, a few weeks after Patrick Léon's death.

Léon's son Bertrand has stayed on to work alongside him, as has Christine Sourdès.

The names on the labels trace back further still, to Youmna's own family – the Shihab (or Chehab) dynasty, which ruled Lebanon between the 16th and 18th centuries.

Félix de Biac takes its name from the family's coat of arms, a mountain cat representing strength and the protection of life, and the label itself features a stylised Kufic script.

Ask Youmna what the estate has taught her after 20 years of ownership, and she does not talk about wine scores.

‘You do something that will outlive you,’ she says. ‘It gives you the possibility to learn, to stretch yourself, to do something for the future. Agriculture gives you a lot of humility.’

Biac, in the end, seems to have given the family less a wine estate than a place to simply be together. The wine, it turns out, was what happened along the way.

A taste of Château Biac

Related articles

On a sunny April day, just before en primeur week, I stopped by to see the result.

What I found was the beginning of a new era for this fifth growth in the Haut-Médoc appellation south of Margaux. It’s a property reborn.

What a contrast to the Cantemerle I saw on my first visit to Bordeaux more than 40 years ago. Back then, the old cellar sported a dirt floor.

A few chickens pecked among the barrels. The grey-with-age limestone château and its ivy-covered tower seemed to echo a distant romantic past.

The cellarmaster dribbled wine from an ancient barrel in a smudged glass for me to taste, and later he proudly pulled out the château’s weather records, thick ledgers with tiny handwriting on yellowing paper.

The 20^th century proprietors kept a meticulous log of temperatures, precipitation, and weather events, and today they’re a brilliant source for tracking climate change.

Back then, Cantemerle seemed ripe for rescuing. There was the size of the property, nearly 500 acres, a long, fascinating history, complete with medieval lords, 19^th century awards in Paris, a visionary widow, and, of course, the gravelly terroir ideal for making great red wine.

Fast forward to its revival, which began with new ownership in 1981. The final part of the revamp was finished in time for the 2025 vintage, signalling a bright future for the wines, always at the top of the list of best value-for-money Bordeaux.

But on my visit, I learned there was much more.

A surprising history

Longevity testifies to tenacity and resilience, and Cantemerle’s origins go back to the 12^th century, way before Bordeaux’s most famous châteaux in the Médoc were founded.

It started as a fort that acted as a toll point, and the first record of vines was in 1354, when lord Ponset de Cantemerle paid a debt with a barrel of wine.

One theory suggests the name comes from le merle y chante, the song of the blackbird.

Then came various owners, but its golden age was during the 300-year tenure of the Villeneuve-Durfort family, which took charge in 1579 and oversaw it until 1892. The château as we know it today was built after the French Revolution.

Most important to its legacy was feisty visionary widow Caroline Villeneuve de Durfort, whose husband died in 1834.

Though her son inherited, he was only 19, and responsibility for the estate initially fell to Caroline. Then her son died tragically young, and she was left completely in charge.

She modernised everything, from the château to the winemaking, and pioneered an innovative method for fighting mildew.

She successfully sued a neighbour for using the name Cantemerle to sell his wine, but her unique contribution was making sure the estate was included in the 1855 classification.

One of my favourite Bordeaux tales is how she accomplished it. The famous list was based on the sales prices that local courtiers recorded, and she had long sold all the wine in the Netherlands, finally switching to Bordeaux négociants in 1853 or 1854.

When she discovered Cantemerle hadn’t been included, she was furious, demanded a meeting with the deciding brokers and brought 40 years of sales receipts to prove Cantemerle’s wine prices were higher than a few other châteaux on the list. It was added as a fifth growth at the last minute.

Then came the devastation of phylloxera, with Cantemerle among the worst hit estates in the Médoc. The influential Dubos family stepped in, owned it for nearly a century, and restored its reputation.

But, weakened by World War II, it was eventually on the road to ruin.

A real fixer-upper

I’m a huge fan of comeback stories, and so, apparently, was Albert Parment, the head of mutual insurance company SMABTP.

A passionate Bordeaux aficionado, he saw run-down Cantemerle as a unique long-term investment opportunity and, in 1981, paid 25 million francs (the equivalent of nearly US$6m) for it.

SMABTP was the first major insurance company to acquire a Bordeaux vineyard, and Parment poured in millions more to restore it.

First up was replanting and expanding the vineyard, which had shrunk to just 20 hectares. The idea was to bring it back to the 100ha it was at the time of the 1855 classification, using Mexican workers imported from California.

But the replant also included a shift in varieties, doubling the amount of Cabernet Sauvignon to nearly 70% by grafting over much of the Cabernet Franc, a change that’s reflected in current vintages of the wine.

Another ambitious woman, Laure Canu, arrived from Château Angelus to oversee the final phase (which started in 2022) and chart Cantemerle’s future course.

The renovated château, its stone façade cleaned, impresses, but the innovations in the huge vat room and underground cellar stunned me, especially a ceiling crafted from the recycled staves of 600 old barrels.

The delicious 2025 wine owes its quality partly to the parcel-by-parcel viticulture and winemaking that’s now de rigueur in Bordeaux châteaux with new cellars.

The vast vat room holds 114 shiny, conical stainless-steel vats, so each plot can be vinified separately, while the latest satellite technology tracks individual vines.

On a wall monitor with an interactive vineyard map winemaker Gregory Thibault showed me how he can zero in on the state of each vine, giving him the ability to pick old and young vines in each micro-plot at exactly the right moment.

The design of it all is, of course, eco-conscious, like the geothermal loop system that powers water from a pond to the entire facility.

Nature and the oenotourism future

Even as drinking wine is declining, wine tourism is rapidly expanding, and SMABPT – and Laure Canu – saw the trend.

The atmosphere in the new wine bar and boutique, featuring wine pairings, the chateau’s honey, children’s colouring books, and more, reminded me of the latest tasting rooms in the Napa Valley.

Cantemerle goes further, opening its park and woodland to visitors for the first time, as have other huge Bordeaux properties such as Châteaux Giscours in Margaux and Olivier in Pessac-Léognan.

While wandering the shady winding paths of Cantemerle’s leafy park, designed in the 18^th century, you get a sense of what biodiversity means: century-old trees, giant ferns, and about 160 species of plants and animals, including wild boar.

A wooden vat in the center of a labyrinth has been converted for observing wildlife. Hazelnut trees shelter ladybugs needed in the vineyard. There’s guided Japanese forest bathing, a floral cooking workshop, and, of course, you can picnic.

But what most fascinated me is their unique botanical project of collecting seeds from the estate’s plants, cultivating them, and then making space in the vineyard to replant them and create hedges and ‘ecological corridors’ connecting it to all those natural areas.

Spending a day at the revived Cantemerle is like immersing yourself in Bordeaux’s green future, discovering how important the ecosystem is to wine and people, while sipping great affordable wines that will only get better.

And there’s more to come. This year, Canu told me, they plan to graft over a hectare of vines to Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon.

Château Cantemerle: 2010-2023

Wines are listed by vintage youngest to oldest

Related articles

If you have ever found yourself lounging around the shores of Lake Garda in northern Italy, chances are you’ve enjoyed a glass of Lugana.

But even if you’re staycationing this summer, this boutique white wine region is well worth investigating.

Spanning the border between Lombardy and Veneto, Lugana’s breezy white wines – plus a smattering of vibrant sparklers – are made from Turbiana. This local variety is a bit of a chameleon; delicately fruit-forward on its own, but with enough structural complexity to give winemakers endless room to play with different styles.

‘We don’t want to cover the character of Lugana,’ says Alessandro Cutolo of Marangona, an organic 35-hectare family estate. His vineyards are in Lombardy, yet his cellar just over the road is in Veneto. He prefers unlined cement and Tava terracotta amphorae for their gentle oxidative capabilities, preserving the grape's bright fruit and translating its signature minerality and salinity straight to the glass.

Meanwhile, Roberto Girelli, the fourth-generation winemaker at nearby Montonale, champions stainless steel, although he employs Austrian oak for his tiny-production, single-vineyard ‘Orestilla’. ‘My goal is to represent the soil and the minerality of Lugana in the wine,’ he explains.

Le Morette is one of around 20 wineries (of a total of just over 100) experimenting with Riserva bottlings, pushing the boundaries of ageability for what was until recently considered a young and fresh wine.

‘With time in bottle, you have more the influence of the soil and less the influence of the grape,’ explains Cutolo.

It's in the soil

To truly understand Lugana, you have to look down. Established in 1905, Ottella is one of the region's historic pioneers. In 1964, chief winemaker Lodovico’s grandfather, also called Lodovico, designed a map of the Lugana denomination based on its unique clay soils. This compact, mineral-rich white clay is key to Lugana's character; it naturally tames the vigour of the bounteous Turbiana grape, resulting in whites that boast impressive weight, concentration, and a hallmark longevity that punches far above their casual 'summer-sipper' weight.

Four Lugana to change your mind

Related articles

In the department of Chuquisaqa in southern Bolivia, 150km from the border with Argentina at an elevation of 2,400m, the Cinti Valley shapes one of the most spectacular vineyard landscapes imaginable.

Spanning approximately 80km north to south, its main geological feature is a vast canyon of millefeuille pink sandstone, whose skyscraping vertical rock faces appear hyperreal in dazzling high-altitude sun.

At the base of this canyon, lush green valleys skirt the Rio Grande and Rio Chica rivers.

Closer inspection reveals them to be ‘forest’ vineyards, where ancient, ungrafted criolla grapevines wind up into the canopy of molle (pink peppercorn), algarrobo (white carob) and chañar (green wood) trees.

Small-scale and high-altitude

Though viticulture has existed in Cinti since the arrival of the first Spanish missionaries more than 500 years ago, this remote region’s emergence as a South American premium wine region of note is new.

The majority of Bolivia’s wine production – mostly large wineries working with international varieties – centres on Tarija, a three-hour drive across deep valleys and mountain passes to the south.

Wine is also made in a tiny coffee-producing sub-region of Santa Cruz called Samaipata.

Cochabamba, a region far better known for producing coca, also has a smattering of wineries.

But Cinti stands out from them all.

The valley encompasses three principal districts – Camargo, Villa Abecia and Las Carreras, all characterised by extreme high-altitude viticulture and small-scale production that is necessarily focused on premium wines.

Typically, wine is subordinate to the production of singani – a clear brandy made from Moscatel de Alejandría and Bolivia’s national spirit – but in recent years the region’s winemakers have begun to show greater ambition.

Paradise regained

The first vines were planted in Cinti in the mid- to late 1500s, brought by Dominican Spanish missionaries who followed the route of the conquistadores from Peru.

Augustinian monks further established viticulture in the valley, also producing singani and wine for the silver mining settlement of Potosí to the north.

At the time, Potosí was home to the largest silver deposit in the world, which bore the riches upon which the Spanish Empire was founded.

Towards the end of the 16^th century, Jesuits arrived in the valley, continuing to industrialise winemaking and distillation as they extended their influence from La Plata (present-day Sucre) and Potosí into the southern valleys of Chuquisaca.

To this day, along the northern Cinti Valley, ruins of adobe haciendas provide evidence of the Jesuits’ industry.

Some have been preserved by wine and singani makers who continue the work their families have been doing in Cinti for generations.

Following the Jesuits’ expulsion in 1767, four families – Vacaflores, Rivera, Mendoza and Leyton – rose to prominence.

These families retain a presence in the valley through several important wine and singani producers: Luis Balanza, fifth-generation owner of Hacienda Virreinal Real Compañía Baja in Camargo, of Vacaflores lineage; Jaime Rivera, fifth-generation owner of Bodega Cepa de Oro in Camargo; Patricia Mendoza, fifth-generation owner of Bodega Yokich in Camargo (raised in Cinti, trained at Plumpton College, Sussex); and fourth-generation Marcelo Vacaflores of Bodega San Francisco de la Horca in Camargo.

To these names one should add other important wine producers with Cinti family roots: Jorge ‘Don Piti’ Samos, of Bodega La Encantada in Villa Abecia, and Alejandro Medina of the négociant label Bitoque, also co-owner of the natural wine-focused restaurant Bibi-Ji in Santa Barbara alongside Rajat Parr.

Sister act

With similarly deep roots in wine and singani, though based in Tarija, is Jardín Oculto (secret garden).

Established in 2019 by sisters Maria José and Mercedes Granier – and from 2020 until 2024 guided in the cellar by well-travelled British winemaker Nayan Gowda – this winery offers perhaps the clearest evidence of Cinti’s winemaking ambition.

The Graniers’ link to Cinti comes through their great-grandfather, Julio Ortiz, the owner of Bodega San Pedro at its productive peak in the 1920s.

Founded in the 16^th century, San Pedro grew to become the biggest distillery in Bolivia. As Maria José explains, when the distillery fell into decline in the 1990s – the cumulative effect of the decline of Potosí, geographic isolation and competition from other distilleries – the knock-on effect for Cinti was huge.

While grapes were once transported from Tarija to be processed at San Pedro, suddenly the tide turned; Tarija’s wine industry grew as Cinti shrunk.

Then came the intervention of Cees van Casteren, a Dutch Master of Wine recruited by the Dutch-funded Fautapo Foundation to help prepare Bolivian wineries for export.

In 2014, Van Casteren introduced Maria José Granier to Cinti’s extraordinary ‘forest’ vineyards, ultimately persuading her to purchase the historic Hacienda San Roque in Camargo.

In 2018 he organised the first MW trip to Bolivia, visiting wineries in Cinti and Tarija.

‘It’s impossible to talk about Bolivian wine today without talking about Cees,' says Maria José Garnier.

'He recognised right away how special the Cinti Valley's arboreal viticulture is, and he became a dedicated advocate for it.’

Arbolito viticulture

Cinti’s arboreal, or ‘arbolito’ (‘little tree’), vineyards are a powerful living symbol of Bolivia’s little-known viticultural history. Maria José estimates that 15-20% of Cinti’s 300ha of vineyards are of the arbolito kind.

Some, including Jardín Oculto’s San Roque, are single-ownership and dedicated to winegrape cultivation.

Others remain fully functioning polycultures of stunning fecundity and colour, in which as many as a dozen people may each own a parcel of a quarter or half a hectare.

The arbolito vines tower over gobelet-style vines and, occasionally, V-shaped trellises planted to optimise crop yields within a densely planted area.

Anecdotal estimates of their age range from 100 to 200 years, if not more.

But they are no mere historical curio; they can produce extraordinary wines, often with a gargantuan fruitload – 30kg of grapes per vine is not unusual – which defies all that is taught about grapevine cultivation in textbooks.

Helios McNaught, husband of Maria José Granier, has overall responsibility for the management of Jardín Oculto’s vineyards.

He believes one of their most important tasks is to apply a modern, scientific understanding of viticulture to this ancient heritage.

‘It’s about respecting and trying to understand why people did what they did,’ he says, ‘but also when to know that’s not enough [...] Each year we try to make small adjustments, like in the pruning, because you can’t make large adjustments to a complex ecosystem without messing it up.'

Cinti’s unique terroir

While the concept of ‘terroir’ is relatively new in Cinti, the valley’s favourable conditions for producing superior wine grapes have long been understood.

Its extreme high altitude generates a big diurnal temperature shift – around harvest, daytime highs of 35°C can drop to 15°C – which helps the grapes to retain acidity.

The altitude intensifies the UV exposure, thickening grape skins and encouraging the development of complex aromas and flavours.

Frequent winds and a semi-arid climate foster vine health, while a complex geology – in which sandstone, shale and quartz are found within deep alluvial gravels, alongside sand and calcareous deposits – gives a distinct mineral dimension to the wines.

Another crucial terroir element is the river water used for traditional channel irrigation in the vineyards.

The water of the Rio Grande contains unusually high levels of sodium ions and other dissolved minerals from the ancient shales over which the river runs for several kilometres before it reaches Cinti.

In the Rio Chica, the water is described as ‘agua dulce’, fed by fresh snowmelt and rainwater that descends from the Andes.

This makes it possible to distinguish between Cinti wines based on their water source: salty-mineral from the Rio Grande, softer and more fruit-led from the Rio Chica.

The rise of criollas

Central to Cinti’s identity is its dedication to criolla grape varieties. In the past five to 10 years South America has witnessed an explosion of criolla wines as South American wine producers have honed in on their own viticultural heritage.

In Bolivia, this has been fuelled by La Paz’s newfound status as one of the gastronomic capitals of the world, with stellar restaurants like Gustu and Arami offering 100% Bolivian wine lists on which criolla wines predominate.

The three most important Cinti criollas are Negra Criolla (Listán Prieto/País/Criolla Chica), Moscatel de Alejandría and Vischoqueña, the latter a crossing of Negra Criolla and Moscatel that is unique to Bolivia.

Cinti’s mixed-planted arbolito vineyards feature more than a dozen other criollas. These include Imporeña and Uvilla and others that DNA analysis has so far failed to identify.

Genetic jewel box

Much investment in research is needed to fully catalogue and preserve these rare varieties, which have evolved in isolation in this remote valley for centuries, though this work is already under way.

At Bodega Yokich in Camargo, winemaker Patricia Mendoza and her family are the custodians of Cinti’s only grapevine genetic bank.

Based on the extensive work of her father and grandfather – once the vineyard manager of San Pedro – they are working not only to preserve Cinti’s grape varieties, but also to propagate and distribute them to vineyard owners across Bolivia.

‘The main concern for my grandfather, especially, and my father was that in a few years the old vineyards were going to disappear and then we would lose the genetic diversity that we had,’ Mendoza explains.

‘Nowadays, some of those vineyards no longer exist, but we have the genetic material here. This is a huge responsibility for us, as the new generation. We also work with the governments, for example in Chuquisaca, in Potosí, in Santa Cruz… so the genetic material from the Cinti Valley is all around Bolivia now.’

A new chapter

Bolivia is still trying to find its own identity as a wine country. For now, one is more likely to hear about the big, oak-aged Tannats or Cabernets of Tarija than about the more esoteric delights of Cinti’s high-altitude criollas – if one is to hear about Bolivian wine at all.

‘We used to look up a lot to Argentina,’ Maria José Granier admits. ‘Now we're trying to learn more about what we have, and that’s very important.’

Momentum is building, in Bolivia generally, in Cinti especially. Clear evidence came with the establishment of Denominación de Origen Valle de Cinti – the only DO for wine in Bolivia – in 2014.

Comprising 11 bodegas divided between the valley’s three main winegrowing districts, the DO has an explicit objective to protect the wines and viticultural heritage of the Cinti Valley.

Locally, considerable hope also now exists on the political front: first, from the election in 2025 of centre-right President Rodrigo Paz, who marked his overturning of almost two decades of socialist rule with the declaration that Bolivia was ‘open for business’.

Secondly, the installation of a new mayor for the Cinti region, Marcela Mendoza, whose family owns the Yokich estate in Camargo.

With a sympathetic new mayor’s influence, and appeals to previously overlooked constitutional provisions for support – critically important is statute 774, introduced in 2016 to protect and promote Bolivian singani and wine – Cinti’s artisan producers hope to be able to apply for low-interest government loans that will enable them to purchase new winery equipment, develop their businesses and make even better wines.

With this momentum continuing to build, it won’t be long before the wines of this remote canyon reach their deserved global audience.

Exploring the wines of the Cinti Valley

Related articles

‘Everyday drinking’ is an important concept, but what, exactly, do we mean?

A topic such as this should write itself, yet I found the subject slippery while actually writing it.

Part of the reason is that it is necessarily a moving target, changing with the seasons and the weather, where one is located, and with whom one is dining.

The other difficulty is that one is spoiled for choice – how can the topic be narrowed to a reasonable scope if each day brings an exciting new possibility?

Below are my coups de cœur (heart throb) Burgundy producers, as the French would say; the vignerons I turn to for excellent mid-week drinking.

These personal choices are made on impulse rather than logic, and they are organised geographically for simplicity's sake.

The necessary criteria are quality, availability and price. To qualify for everyday drinking, it must be good, readily available in shops or restaurants, and at least reasonably affordable.

Chablis/Auxerrois

A quick look at my personal website reveals a profusion of Chablis. Once ridiculously undervalued, Chablis in recent years has taken off in renown, and in price, yet northern Burgundy still holds surprising value.

Domaine Jean-Hugues & Guilhem Goisot is not as well-known, particularly to anglophone drinkers, as the best Chablis producers, but it also sits at the top of the hierarchy.

It is based in the charmingly obscure town of St-Bris, where the appellation wines are Sauvignon de St-Bris, a close Kimmeridgian cousin of Sancerre.

The Goisot clan produces perhaps the most expressive versions available of this appellation (often on north-facing slopes, sometimes co-planted with Sauvignon Gris), but when the exposure or soils are better suited to Chardonnay (east-facing) or Pinot Noir (south-facing) these grapes are grown and bottled as Bourgogne Côtes d’Auxerre.

At an extraordinarily reasonable price point, they also produce a winning Aligoté that is widely available.

Côte de Nuits

The Côte de Nuits is the land of grand cru Pinot Noir and one might imagine a struggle to find everyday wines. Luckily, this is not the case at all.

Even top producers can still make wines here that are beautiful and affordable, and Domaine Trapet must surely be at the front rank.

Given the quality here, all the wines could qualify as reasonably priced, but the Passetoutgrain à Minima, a blend of Gamay and Pinot Noir from the ‘wrong side of the tracks’ in Gevrey, is a true bargain, as are the Gevrey village-level cuvées 1859 and Ostrea.

These are cuvées produced by Domaine Trapet Père & Fils, formerly directed by Jean-Louis Trapet, whose sons Pierre and Louis are now at the helm.

They have also launched their own label, Pierre & Louis Trapet, where they produce classic styles and some more experimental bottlings.

Worthy of note, the wines from Trapet’s cousin domaine, Domaine Rossignol-Trapet, are also of extraordinary value from superb terroirs.

For the summer months it may be useful to highlight Burgundy’s only ‘cru’ rosé from Marsannay. I often mark the beginning of summer by buying in a case of pink for hotter weather.

The classic producer is Domaine Bruno Clair, whose careful combination of direct press and maceration on the skins produces a delightfully elegant summer rosé.

Bruno’s cousins at Domaine Bart and his neighbour Sylvain Pataille also offer worthy renditions.

Côte de Beaune

The wines of Domaine Henri & Gilles Buisson are among the most frequent weekday visitors on my dinner table. The domaine is located in St-Romain, where they farm 19ha of certified organic vineyards.

Although the family has lived in the village since the 12th century and trace their work as vignerons to 1758, they have bottled wine under the family name only since 1947, the year in which the village received its own appellation.

Before 1947, St-Romain was considered part of the Hautes-Côtes, tucked away in a valley behind Meursault in the region’s upper slopes, which is why the village is less well-known to many.

The higher elevations meant that in the past the grapes ripened with difficulty, but with a changing climate, St-Romain has come into its own to produce wines with lush, forward fruit that still retain plenty of structure, making them excellent companions to food.

The vineyard-designated St-Romain wines are the star of the show at Buisson, but the red and white Bourgogne-level wines are delicious as well at an eminently affordable price.

Côte Chalonnaise

The Côte Chalonnaise is home to many diverse wine styles. One producer has mastered several: Bruno Lorenzon is producing some of the finest wines anywhere in the Côte Chalonnaise.

Although he is based in Mercurey, known for red wines, his 30 years at the family domaine have given him the experience to produce stunning wines in both colours.

He now produces wines from 9ha of vines, six in Mercurey and three in Montagny. As he noted: ‘I’m a white wine guy who makes Pinot Noir in a Chardonnay way.’

He sometimes delights in running counter to received wisdom, deriding the early-picked, reductive style currently in fashion for Chardonnay in very amusing terms, quoting Henri Jayer: ‘A wine must be good from the beginning’.

He presses whole bunches of Chardonnay delicately and vinifies in a minimalist way without chaptalising, acidifying, or adding sulphur, to sublime results.

In either colour or terroir, the master of Mercurey delivers beautiful wines of precision and impressive depth of flavour.

Mâconnais

The Mâconnais is a fertile hunting ground for the everyday value wines that often appear at my house.

The region is broad and varied, and numerous producers are making great wine at great prices.

Across the appellations of the Mâconnais, from Pouilly-Fuissé premier cru to Mâcon-Villages and beyond, however, the style pioneered by Jean-Marie Guffens and Julian Desplans at Maison Verget consistently delivers satisfaction.

They adapt the winemaking style to each cuvée across a broad range, but in general, the wines are concentrated and aromatic, with a slightly smoky, reductive edge imparted by the winemaking.

Despite picking fairly ripe fruit, the wines never lose their balance and retain a lively freshness that makes them refreshing even in a warm vintage.

Even in an era of skyrocketing prices, these producers show that Burgundy still offers abundant choices for everyday drinking.

Favourite Burgundy producers for everyday drinking

Related articles

How do you measure the greatness of any given wine appellation? One way might be to count the number of outstanding producers.

If using this method in the Southern Rhône, Cairanne would come out looking particularly strong.

Cairanne was promoted to Cru status in 2016, and there was never any doubt that it deserved this commendation. Ten years on, its wines are even better.

The Cairanne style is all about balance, elegance and consistency. Its reds have the characteristic generosity of the east bank, but more restrained than punchier appellations such as Rasteau and Châteauneuf.

Its whites too inhabit a comfortable middle ground. They have affable confidence rather than oaky swagger; they are proudly Southern Rhône, and with drinkability.

Both colours are approachable on release, and both can develop beguiling complexity with a decade (or more) in bottle.

And they’re not expensive; on the contrary, Cairanne offers some of the best value drinking in the Rhône Valley.

As in all appellations, the producer is what counts. Below is a list of some personal favourites.

If you can’t find them, there are countless other excellent producers to choose from, including Domaine Brusset, Domaine les Hautes Cances, Domaine Rabasse Charavin and La Cave de Cairanne.

Domaine Alary

The Alary family settled in Cairanne in 1692, and has been cultivating land here ever since.

It was Denis Alary who helped spearhead the passage to Cru in 2016; he has since passed the baton to his son Jean-Etienne.

They make numerous Cairanne cuvées, all with a unique raison d’être, and they excel at both white and red. Their white Estévenas is deep and rich but not heavy.

Of their reds, their Jean de Verde is the essence of Cairanne Grenache, and their red Estévenas is highly distinctive, brimming with mocha and black olive, thanks to its old vine Syrah.

Their 2016 Estévenas red was drinking brilliantly this year, with another decade ahead of it.

Domaine Richaud

If Domaine Alary embodies classical Cairanne, then Richaud personifies its wild side.

Richaud might not be the most consistently reliable estate in the appellation, but when the wines are on form, they’re unbeatable.

Don’t let the simple labels fool you: these can be highly complex wines.

Marcel Richaud has largely passed on the estate to his children Thomas and Claire now. They work organically, add nothing to their wines, or take anything away; yields are very low.

Even their cuvée classique is fresh, zesty and exuberant; their 50% Mourvèdre L’Ebresecade can be phenomenal; powerful and concentrated but crackling with energy. Their white is also delicious, rich or fresh, as the vintage dictates.

Les Chemins de Sève

What Loïc Massart has achieved since establishing his estate in 2013 is nothing short of extraordinary.

In a matter of 13 years, Les Chemins de Sève is among the top names of the appellation. The winery might be new but their vines are up to 85 years old.

He makes two red Cairannes. Métamorphose is 70% Grenache and 30% Syrah, aged in concrete for a round, approachable, juicy but structured style.

Apanage is 50/50 Grenache/Syrah, aged in recent barrels for a darker, more intense expression.

His white Cairanne Opale (40% Roussanne, 30% Clairette, 30% Grenache Blanc) is also highly accomplished. His 2014 Opale and 2015 Apanage, some of his first attempts, were still showing very well in 2026.

Domaine des Amadieu

Yves-Jean Houser, took over this 7ha estate in 2007 and promptly converted it to biodynamics.

His style is uncompromising – authentic wines with no make-up that offer a clear-eyed vision of this terroir.

His whites are broad, rich, supported by mineral freshness rather than acidity. I prefer his vibrant and invigorating reds.

Garrigues is juicily delicious, Vieilles Vignes more structured, made for the dinner table. His first vintage, 2007, was still holding up well in 2026, complex and compelling.

Clos Romane

Clos Romane is a fourth generation organic family estate in the heart of the village, their 30ha of vineyards are dotted around various soils and appellations.

Their wines have been improving from year to year and are now reliably excellent. The style here is all about richness and power, in both colours.

Domaine A. Berthet-Rayne

The Berthet-Rayne family has been making wine in Cairanne since 1880. Current owner André is the fourth generation, his daughter Alexandra joined the estate in 2017.

Their reds are very good, especially their Castel Mireio, which is particularly refined.

A generous 20% of their estate is planted with whites however, a house speciality; their Castel Mireio white is often among the best in the appellation.

Domaine Oratoire Saint-Martin

There were two branches of the Alary family who were instrumental in the history of wine in Cairanne. Domaine Alary is home to one; Domaine Oratoire Saint-Martin was, until recently, home to the other.

This latter estate was run by tenth generation brothers Frédéric and François Alary until 2020, when they sold the estate to the Abeille-Fabre family of Château Mont-Redon in Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

The estate is still being run biodynamically. Red wines are medium-bodied in style and can be enjoyable in good vintages.

Their strength here is their whites (which was always the case) which, in vintages like 2024, can be among the finest in the Southern Rhône.

Related articles

This isn’t the time for bold, oaky or concentrated Champagnes that demand large glasses (which warm up faster) and mild serving temperatures.

We want wines that offer ultimate refreshment value, and can be served very cold.

The key is to look for clean-cut Champagnes that, even if uncomplicated and affordable, don’t skimp on class.

Which styles to go for?

Head for Chardonnay-dominant Champagnes, made exclusively from Champagne’s brightest, zestiest grape variety.

Chardonnay tends to be a little lighter on its feet than Pinot Noir, often with slightly higher acidity and lots of refreshing citrus flavour.

For the clean-cut, polished examples, look for classic blanc de blancs from Champagne’s top maisons.

There are crisp, youthful and affordable non-vintage blanc de blancs from the likes of Henriot; classy, longer-aged versions such as Charles Heidsieck’s Blanc de Blancs; or purity and poise from Laurent-Perrier’s Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature.

Independent growers in Champagne make a range of Chardonnay-led styles, sometimes crisp and snappy, sometimes bolder and more suited to the table.

In the former camp, Etienne Calsac makes Les Rocheforts from Chardonnay, ripe but bristling with refreshing bitter citrus and stony intensity – a real pick-me up.

Other parts of Champagne, though, can still turn out beautiful and refreshing Chardonnays, even if they are often a little rounder and less piercing.

Charpentier’s Terre d’Emotion Blanc de Blancs, from the far western end of the Marne Valley towards Paris, shows beautiful clarity and texture from this under-rated biodynamic grower.

Rosé refreshment

There are plenty of rosé Champagnes that feature Chardonnay heavily, too.

Up-and-coming boutique house Lallier is a Chardonnay expert based in the Côte des Blancs, and its Réflexion R.021 Rosé sits beautifully between pink-grapefruit snappiness and fresh strawberry juiciness.

Pushing the Chardonnay influence even further brings us to what is informally called rosé des blancs, or rosé from white grapes – essentially blanc de blancs with a splash of light red Pinot Noir added before being bottled for second fermentation.

You get the colour, and a lick of red fruit, but the build is pure, racy refreshment.

Delamotte Rosé, from the Chardonnay-specialist house, is a sophisticated treat, while in independent Champagne you could look towards the slightly more fruit-forward, rounder A Bergère Rosé NV from just to the south of the Côte des Blancs.

Four Champagnes to beat the heat

Related articles

Washington is a winemakers’ playground. Unburdened by strict rules, they can freely experiment with grape varieties, wine styles, vine-growing practices and blends to produce some of the most impressive wines in the US.

Here, Rhône varieties such as Syrah are transformed into wines that don’t mimic their predecessors, but rather express their own regional character or follow winemakers’ unbridled imaginations.

‘You’re free to make your own wine the way you choose,’ says Brian Rudin, winemaker and general manager of Echolands Winery, a two-time Decanter World Wine Awards Platinum winner that also makes multiple Syrah bottlings.

‘You don’t need to make it the way your grandparents did.’

Syrah has been a leader among these experiments since it was planted in Washington 40 years ago, with a rapidly developing range of styles true to the terroirs of the Walla Walla Valley, Red Mountain AVA and beyond.

The grape variety appeals to winemakers and wine lovers for creating approachable, food-friendly wines with ripe fruit flavours, complexity and general lushness.

The rise of Washington Syrah

‘Syrah can be a good introductory wine to newcomers – and we certainly need newcomers – but, at the same time, satisfy the needs of the most advanced wine aficionado,’ says Dick Boushey, a pioneering Washington grapegrower.

‘Syrah’s diversity and adaptability are its strengths. Syrah can take the increased heat that we have seen up and down the West Coast. So, it is a variety that is sustainable for the future.’

The first Washington Syrah plantings are credited to Mike Sauer and his family in 1986, in their Red Willow Vineyard in Yakima Valley.

By contrast, Cabernet Sauvignon was introduced to the state in 1941, with Merlot following in 1965, according to the Washington State Wine Commission, bringing the state renown with bottlings from the likes of Leonetti Cellars and Quilceda Creek.

However, Syrah is now a close competitor with Merlot for the second most-planted red variety, with more than 6,300 hectares to Cabernet’s 19,400+ hectares.

Besides being bottled as a single-varietal wine, Syrah is also used in many blends with other Rhône varieties or Cabernet, a decisive factor in its growth.

Producers such as Columbia Winery and now-closed McCrea Cellars encouraged the early plantings of Syrah, while the bold, modern wines from the likes of K Vintners and Cayuse Vineyards helped put Washington Syrah on the radar of a wider range of wine drinkers.

How Washington Syrah styles differ by region

Washington’s major wine regions yield several distinctive styles of Syrah, according to Boushey.

In the warmer parts of the broad Columbia Valley AVA, the wines tend to be inky, ripe and dark – similar to bold California wines.

In cooler areas, like the foothills of Yakima Valley, the wines show more acidity, savoury notes and lower alcohol levels.

In southeastern Walla Walla Valley, where the AVA spreads across the border between Washington and Oregon, Syrah has become the signature variety of The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater.

Here, the cobblestone-filled soils become the main story, leading to wines with signature notes of earth, meat, iodine and herbs.

‘The radiant heat from the exposed basalt stones contributes greatly to the profile that Rocks wines carry,’ says Trey Busch, winemaker of Sleight of Hands Cellars, a Washington winery that owns Stoney Vines Vineyard in The Rocks. (Because the district falls entirely within Oregon, many Washington wineries end up making wines from both states.)

Busch continues: ‘The vines spend more time "shut down" during the hottest days, preserving energy and simply surviving in such a harsh climate. The vine roots also go extremely deep since there is not much soil or moisture-holding capacity.’

How Washington Syrah styles are shaped in the vineyard

Straddling the windswept ridgeline of Red Mountain, WeatherEye Vineyards makes its own Syrah and provides fruit to wineries such as Liminal and MTN/ART.

There, vineyard manager Ryan Johnson has been fine-tuning the viticulture to coax out Syrah’s best qualities. Working with a little less than three hectares of the 16-hectare vineyard planted with Syrah, he became one of the few Washington growers to use the échalas system, with each vine is trained on its own tall stake.

Since Red Mountain is hot, windy and dry, Ryan increased the vine density, creating more natural shade to protect the fruit. As a result, he gets complex, singular wines from this site.

‘Syrah is very site-driven and also very strongly influenced viticulturally,’ Johnson explains. ‘You can farm it conventionally, you can grow it like Cabernet, you can treat it in the cellar like generic reds, and you'll get a generic red wine. But if you match the right training system, the right terroir and the right clone, and then manage your irrigation and nutrition at the highest level, you’ll get that ultimate expression.’

Responding to current market demands, more young Washington winemakers are turning towards lighter wines, Syrah included.

Since 2019, Kelsey Albro Itämeri of Itä Wines has been picking the fruit she sources from Les Collines Vineyard in southeastern Walla Walla very early to avoid overripeness.

That way she doesn’t need to make water or acid additions to adjust the alcohol level and balance of the wines. As a result, Itä Syrah comes in at only 12% abv, with low levels of tannins.

‘If you want to taste the place, Syrah does an excellent job of doing that,’ says Itämeri.

‘It is also delicious. It’s a little bit wild and a little feral and has some magnetism to it. It’s not just fruity. It is also savoury. It has the edge. It makes you think. As people grow in their love of wine, they don’t just want a fruit bomb, they want a wine that is interesting.’

11 Washington-made Syrahs to try

Wine selection and tasting notes by Gwendolyn Elliott

Related articles

Active inertia

In September 2024, I was in Joško Gravner’s cellar near Gorizia in Italy’s Collio region when, after passing rows of clay qvevri and amphorae, I came across something wholly unexpected: a square glass vessel that looked as though it had come from the future.

Despite the fact that humans have been making glass for roughly two millennia longer than they have been using oak, the former’s use in winemaking is a surprisingly recent development.

The 10,000-litre EnoKube – designed for its properties of thermal inertia and resistance – entered Gravner’s vinification process months later.

‘We consider glass to be an inert and pure material that can contribute to the proper maturation of wine,’ estate director Mateja Gravner (pictured, above) explains.

It’s now used to complete a cycle that begins with fermentation in qvevri, continues in large barrels (up to 7,000-litre) and ends in the bottle, ‘which is nothing other than smaller glass’.

A year earlier, when I was interviewing Frank Cornelissen about his move away from skin-contact whites, he drew a careful distinction between Gravner’s use of oak and extended maceration, and his own shift toward neutral vessels in pursuit of purer terroir expression.

Standing before the EnoKube, the connection felt oddly circular, prompting a broader question about the role of glass in shaping wine.

For Mateja, the move comes within a broader context.

‘For a couple of decades, there has been a return to less invasive winemaking,’ she says, ‘where the container takes on the role of service – that is, of “connecting” – much more than [directly] influencing the flavour and development of the content.

Clear case

Pre-dating Gravner’s EnoKube are 220-litre glass Wineglobes, produced in Bordeaux by the Paetzold family from 2015, after an initial request from Burgundy producer Arnaud Ente in 2014.

CEO Marie Paetzold says Ente ‘wanted a material that cannot transfer any metals inside the wine’, in contrast to cement and terracotta. ‘They impact the taste.’

What surprised them, Paetzold explains, was the absence of expected reduction (the introduction, in the absence of oxygen during fermentation, of unwelcome sulphury aromas that suppress fruit character).

By convention, limiting oxygen should have pushed wines in that direction. Instead, those ageing in Wineglobes stayed open.

‘It evolved during the ageing process,’ she says. ‘We were surprised by the liveliness and the purity in the glass.’

The aim was not only preservation, but expression: ‘We keep 100% of the potential of the grapes,’ she says, ‘but we still wanted the result of a great wine, with the polish, the harmony you expect from oak.’

The difference lay in the glass itself. Tinted versions, requiring added metals, produced tighter, more austere wines more prone to reduction.

Fully transparent glass, free of metals, behaved differently altogether, yielding ‘purity, liveliness, energy, vibrancy’, she says. ‘It was important to protect, but also to express the wine during the ageing process.’

Other advantages of Wineglobes (and other glass vessels) include the durability (they last forever in theory); the ability, thanks to glass being easier to clean, to reduce the amount of sulphur used to one third of what would be expected in a wooden barrel; and that, unlike wooden barrels, you don’t lose liquid to evaporation.

Assessing the options

In Etna, Sicily, Frank Cornelissen (pictured, above) uses fibreglass epoxy tanks with a similar aim.

‘They bring whatever the grape brings,’ he explains. ‘They are basically tubes and you mould the bottom, you reinforce it to be able to hold the pressure and whatever else.’

Large tanks are used – 5,000, 8,000, even 10,000 litres – round in shape, so the lees can float freely and easily into suspension in the tank when the seasons change.

The trade-off is cellar space efficiency, but for Cornelissen it’s preferable to the alternatives.

‘Stainless steel has an issue with reduction. In other words, steel tanks suffocate the wine, causing unpleasant odours, and the metal surfaces disrupt its natural, living chemistry.’

Cornelissen traces his early attraction to amphorae to a purely logical thought process: because vines grow in soil, clay buried back into the earth felt like the most coherent expression of place – ‘the perfect intellectual way of making wine’, he says.

In practice, consistency proved elusive.

Differences in the clay and its firing meant that results varied from batch to batch, eventually leading to liners and then a gradual shift towards fibreglass.

Georgian qvevri offered a historical precedent, but their beeswax coating left a persistent honeyed note, incompatible with wines aimed at purity and precision.

‘Other materials, like ceramic, I like,’ Cornelissen adds. ‘But they do have an openness, so there is an exchange of oxygen that is a little bit more evolved than, for example, with the fibreglass tanks’.

For him, such vessels can work where fruit is more robust, but in terroirs such as Burgundy and Etna they are less appropriate.

‘That needs to be put into perspective,’ he says. ‘Suppose I had chosen Burgundy [as opposed to Etna] as the area to go and produce wines – there, oak does have a historical logic to it. And so then it becomes much more complex just to skip a historical ingredient.’

Still, he qualifies: ‘I think you can also make great Burgundy in fibreglass tanks.’

Not set in stone

Arnaud Ente was the first big name in Burgundy to head in that direction, having adopted Wineglobes for all vinification and ageing in 2023 (he started with white premier cru wines and reds in 2019).

Another Burgundy producer moving away from oak – with similar aims, but a different choice of vessel, is Charles Lachaux (pictured, above).

His wines have also been held in greater esteem by critics since he switched production to sandstone tanks, with ageing upped to 36 months.

‘I didn’t want to use glass because glass doesn’t breathe,’ Lachaux told me over the phone just before the new year, as he was about to bottle the 2022 vintage.

‘Since the [sandstone] ceramic vessel still allows oxygen to go through, it’s not completely hermetic – it still has a certain porosity. And it’s neutral compared to concrete.’

The vessels are ‘only sandstone and water, there is nothing else’, he adds, ‘so it’s pure and there is no conductivity’.

He also prefers them to clay amphorae, which ‘still let some oxygen breathe in’, and this ‘doesn’t suit the fragility of Pinot Noir; even more so for long élevage’. He compares the ceramic vessels to low-temperature cooking, which you feel in the wines.

‘They’re more accomplished, more defined, but they are raw at the same time, which is quite particular.’

This is something he was looking for, because ‘it’s a way to be more transparent to the vintage, appellation and terroir’

Pros and cons

Other producers express a similar scepticism about the ability of wines to breathe in glass vessels.

‘I like the purity of it,’ says Eric Narioo, producer with his wife Anna Martens of Vino di Anna in Etna, but the problem is ‘it doesn’t breathe at all.’

What this means for him is a slower fermentation, and more reductive notes than you would get if using wooden containers.

They produce Vigna Pirao, a red field blend of pre-phylloxera, ungrafted Nerello Mascalese (and other varieties) – and one of 13 cuvées – in glass demijohns, but to counter the reduction problem, the wine settles in 600-litre chestnut barrels for six weeks.

‘There, it kind of recomposes itself, and then the wine is happier,’ Narioo says. ‘It does breathe before going back into the bottle.’

But the reasons for not adopting Wineglobes aren’t always technical.

For Rajat Parr in the US, using them became financially untenable. After producing his pink-skinned Chardonnay grown on Phelan Farm in San Luis Obispo Coast, California, for three straight vintages (2021-2023), he reversed course.

‘I loved it because the maceration was really even. The [Wineglobe] opening was small. And ageing it was great… It was completely pure.’

What he didn’t like was the turbidity, which meant the wines needed more time to settle – he was ageing them in the Wineglobe for just one year, but it would have taken two to three years to reach his preferred level of clarity, he says.

This, in the end, led him to sell his Wineglobe. ‘If I had a lot of money, I would have bought more of them and figured out a way to settle the wines longer.’

All in the mix

Still, winemakers are increasingly turning towards glass – and other neutral vessels – to create purer expressions of terroir.

Many, like Gravner, see them as part of a broader cellar, which doesn’t necessitate abandoning oak entirely.

At Domaine François Chidaine in the Loire, for instance, Pierre Chidaine makes a Chenin Blanc from an even mix of oak and Wineglobes (his mother Manuéla insisted that 100% glass would be too much of a stylistic shift).

What is clear is that the search for neutrality – containers that exercise little or no influence on the wines during production – will increasingly come into play, even if producers don’t make a total switch.

Felix Gabillet, winemaker at England’s Hambledon Wine Estate, for instance, has recently brought in clay, ceramic and glass (Wineglobes) alongside the stainless steel and oak they already work with.

‘The main objective,’ he explains, ‘is to preserve the fruit and the minerality and salinity of the terroir, to bring maturity and complexity without masking the wine with oak.’

The Hambledon team did the first tasting post-fermentation of those vessels in November 2025, and they were very pleased with the results.

‘There is a difference in texture and volume already between them and in comparison with our standard tanks and oak barrels,’ he says. ‘Each of those vessels brings something very interesting.’

The future, it appears, is a greater mix of vessels in wine cellars.

For Antoine Arraou of Château Lafitte in Jurançon – who works with everything from stainless steel and oak barrels to concrete eggs, stoneware, terracotta and porcelain – the key is to find what works best for the raw material.

‘I don’t believe any grape variety is inherently meant for a particular vessel,’ he says.

Still: ‘True neutrality exists,’ he insists, ‘at least, the form of neutrality that best respects the grape.’

Hart’s pick: 10 varied and fascinating wines made using alternative vessels

Related articles

The cool breath of February blows gently, swaying the Spanish moss draped across the arms of a live oak.

A small group has gathered at the Green-Meldrim House, a historic home in Savannah, Georgia.

Gas lanterns cast a warm glow across the threshold as we step inside the 1853 gothic revival style manor for an after-hours tour called Potable Gold.

The docent, an affable yet studious man in his mid-60s, hands us each a glass of cut crystal filled with liquid the hue of the afternoon sun. We take a sip of ambrosia, then follow him into the parlour to hear about Madeira parties in the southern states.

Madeira held a special position in the social lives of early Americans, the docent says as we take seats around a mahogany table. He offers a second pour of wine.

Candlelight flickers as we imagine men in similar rooms across the East Coast drinking the afternoon away.

The drink of a future President

For nearly 200 years, Madeira reigned as the favoured drink of the political elite. Perhaps no one embodied that national devotion more than George Washington.

Though 18th-century invoices rarely listed grape names, Washington was clear about what wine he liked.

In a 1763 letter to his island suppliers, Washington requested ‘a rich oily wine,’ which could only come from the inclusion of Malmsey (Malvasia).

Correspondence and ledgers, shared publicly on the National Archives’ Founders Online, detail Washington’s regular purchases.

An account of expenses as the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army logs his purchase of 108 bottles of Madeira on a single day in October 1775. Washington prosecuted a revolution without letting his supply run dry.

If Madeira could win a war, it would be the toast of victory. Every Founder filled a cup to celebrate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on 4 July, 1776.

How Madeira became America’s wine

Madeira’s grip on America began with the island’s geography and a quirk of British law. Sitting at the nexus of the Atlantic trade winds, Madeira offered a logical provisioning stop for merchant ships headed west for the Indies and New World.

The island’s producers loaded pipes of Madeira into ship holds as ballast. Long voyages through the tropics left an unusual imprint. Heat, oxygen, and the constant rocking of the ship ‘cooked’ the wine into a new oxidised style that Americans soon loved.

A second economic advantage came from the British Parliament. Dating to the 1660s, the Navigation Acts required European goods bound for American colonies to pass through British ports on British ships.

Madeira, whether an oversight or not, eluded the provision by virtue of location. The exemption allowed Madeira to flow freely to the colonies. Bartholomew Broadbent, of the import company Broadbent Selections, believes it may have been ‘America’s first tax loophole'.

Exuberance for Madeira stretched up and down the eastern seaboard. However, the ‘south had a unique love affair with the wine,’ writes Emanuel Berk of the Rare Wine Co. Berk ranks among the foremost authorities on Madeira, having spent decades documenting its American history.

North-South divide

‘The Southern elite’s leisurely way of life allowed for liberal indulgence,’ he writes in his booklet Antebellum Nectar.

Charleston, the wealthiest city in the colonies, was thought to possess the only ‘true leisure-class society,’ admired by 18th- and 19th-century Northerners who welcomed invitations to festive repasts.

Such affairs started mid-afternoon and lasted through the evening, as hosts showed off their collections as both social currency and lubrication.

Curiously, tastes in Madeira differed between the south and the north. Casks rarely bore the name of the producer, and final style decisions fell to the buyer.

Collectors in the Northeast transferred their wine from cask to glass demijohn for extended ageing, while Southerners bottled directly from cask within a year or two of receipt, explains Berk.

The low country Carolina taste for lighter, drier wines, against the sweeter palate of the North, bred a snobbish conviction that ‘the Yankees never understood the wine,’ says Berk.

Madeira on the decline

The Madeira of the early republic bears little resemblance to the wine today. Before the 1850s, producers shipped Madeira within two or three years of the vintage.

The wine had a paler hue and tasted ‘dry and incredibly vibrant,’ says Berk.

Two crises would change that. In 1851 the powdery mildew oidium struck island vineyards, cutting production by 80%. Phylloxera followed in 1872, crippling growers for two decades.

As harvests shrank, producers held the wine in barrels. The longer time in wood gave Madeira a dark colour and nutty, caramel depth.

‘Post-Oidium, Madeira just fundamentally changed,’ says Berk. ‘It became this much more powerful, concentrated wine.’

Concurrently, the American market faded. Champagne, especially popular in Charleston, became the wine of celebration.

Then the Civil War erased the Southern market overnight. Cocktail culture poached some remaining enthusiasts before Prohibition shut the door.

By the 1920s, a wine that had defined American taste had all but vanished.

A modern revival

In 1989, Broadbent set out to reintroduce Madeira to America. Before his San Francisco tasting, few restaurants in the country served it, among them Bern’s in Tampa, known for its legendary cellar.

He poured 19 wines going back to 1845. ‘Despite a very jaded wine trade, we had a massive turn out of about 300 people,’ he says. Within a week, city restaurants sought Madeira for their wine lists.

He dealt in old vintages, including an 1845 Cossart Gordon he sold for around $60 a bottle. ‘I actually got criticised for doing my job too well,’ he says, after selling 100 cases to one buyer. That wine now fetches about $3,000/bottle.

Given the wine’s prominent position in early America, how did the country forget that connection?

Broadbent put the question to a guest in one of his seminars, a schoolteacher who offered an answer. American textbooks, she said, stripped every reference to alcohol. The Founders’ wine had been edited out of national memory.

Around the same time, Berk started Rare Wine Co. after he chanced upon hundreds of cases of 19th-century Madeira from a London merchant unloading them at a deep discount.

As he sold through that stock, he conceived of a new project. He partnered with Ricardo Freitas of Barbeito to develop the Historic Series, paying homage to the regional palates of the past, from the driest Charleston Sercial to the sweetest New York Malmsey.

Despite interest, Madeira remains far from enjoying a market comeback. While Broadbent sees the 250th story circulating, he credits tourism as a significant driver of interest.

‘Portugal has become a major tourist destination. Madeira is already swamped with tourists but within maybe four years it will be as packed as the Amalfi Coast.

'Fifteen years ago, I received maybe two people a year telling me they wanted to go to Madeira. Today I am contacted at least once a week,’ says Broadbent.

A visit to the source

While both importers sell older vintages, drinkers chasing a taste of history will find the island itself the richest ground.

Pereira D’Oliveira in Funchal, imported by Rare Wine Co., has aged wines in cask since 1850. The tasting room display of 19th-century selections provides eye candy for giddy oenophiles.

At Blandy’s, where the family’s wine lodge dates to 1824, guests can visit the museum before tasting vintages dating back to 1920.

‘It’s amazing to think how over 200 years ago, they were making wines with much more limited resources, but are also so legendary,’ says Chris Blandy, Chairman of Blandy’s Madeira.

Freitas, however, may be the island’s most forward-looking producer precisely because he looks to the past. He makes drier, more delicate wines, closer to what crossed the Atlantic in pipes than to wines made in the 20th century.

This year, Rare Wine Co. released its Declaration of Independence Madeira to mark the 250th anniversary of that seminal American moment.

Blended to reflect historical tastes, it's a wine that might have fuelled a long afternoon in a Lowcountry parlour – or an American revolution.

Madeira and America: a shared history in 10 wines

Related articles

Melania Battison, Andrea Briccarello and Bruno Besa tasted 61 wines with 3 Outstanding and 25 Highly recommended.

North Italian Pinot Grigio: Panel tasting scores

61 wines tasted

Exceptional 0

Outstanding 3

Highly recommended 25

Recommended 30

Commended 3

Entry criteria: producers and UK agents were invited to submit their Pinot Grigio wines, from any vintage, from a northern Italian region: Aosta, Emilia Romagna, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Liguria, Lombardy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Piedmont or Veneto.

Quality and diversity

Tasting 61 Pinot Grigios might sound like a dream to some, or a slow-burning endurance test to others. I’ll admit I approached it with cautious optimism.

And sure enough, somewhere between glass number 15 and 40, I was reminded why this grape deserves far more credit than it often gets.

Having spent time in Friuli Venezia Giulia, in Italy’s northeast, I’ve seen first-hand what Pinot Grigio can achieve when it’s taken seriously – and how frustrating it is that so much of the good stuff rarely travels beyond Italian borders.

The denomination is evolving rapidly, not just in volume but in quality and demand.

Three key regions in northern Italy were represented in this tasting, each with distinct traits that genuinely help consumers navigate the category, whether browsing a wine list or standing indecisively in a supermarket aisle.

Friuli Venezia Giulia, in particular, refused to be boxed in. As Bruno Besa neatly put it: ‘There isn’t a common denominator here.’ Quite right.

'There is a style for everyone’

The range moved from bright, youthful examples to bottle-aged wines and traditional yet adventurous, copper-hued ramato styles – a result of the natural greyish-pink pigments in the grape’s skins, which will colour the wine if extended maceration is allowed.

Represented in four of the top six wines, ramato stole the show: textured and characterful, they’re proof that Pinot Grigio has a backbone and personality.

Yet across all styles, elegance was the unifying thread in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region.

Veneto, meanwhile, reminded us why Pinot Grigio conquered the market in the first place. The quality-to-price ratio remains unbeatable. These wines were defined by freshness, energy and accessibility – less contemplative perhaps, but joyfully drinkable.

Alto Adige (Südtirol) felt shaped by its alpine climate, delivering precision and consistency: zesty acidity, citrus clarity and subtle texture, thanks in part to the grapes’ thicker skins and the cooler nights.

As Andrea Briccarello concluded: ‘There is a style for everyone.’

After 61 glasses, I can agree and confirm that Pinot Grigio’s greatest strength is versatility without pomposity.

See all notes and scores from the north Italian Pinot Grigio tasting

The judges

North Italian Pinot Grigio panel tasting results:

Wines were tasted blind

Related articles

For New Zealand’s aromatic whites ‘small but mighty’ could become the catchphrase – excluding Sauvignon Blanc, which obviously needs no introduction.

Making up just a tiny fraction of New Zealand’s total production, and often representing a labour of love for those who champion them, these aromatic varieties are nevertheless behind some of the country’s most thrilling and distinctive white wines.

Collectively, they make up less than 8% of New Zealand’s total planted area (including reds), bolstered considerably by the rise of Pinot Gris, whose plantings are nearly five times that of Riesling (see box), which in turn dwarfs Gewurztraminer. Albariño, generating real excitement in recent years, still boasts just 65ha, while semi-aromatic Chenin Blanc has dwindled to a mere 22ha, albeit in dedicated hands.

There aren’t a lot of these wines around, but they offer exceptional quality and remarkable value for drinkers willing to seek them out.

Paul Pujol, winemaker and general manager at Prophet’s Rock in Central Otago – and formerly the winemaker at Alsace’s Kuentz-Bas, the first non-family member to hold the position in the domaine’s 200-year history – is a passionate producer of Pinot Gris and Riesling (alongside a soon-to-be-released four-variety blend including Gewurztraminer and Muscat).

‘Outside Europe, there aren’t many places you can achieve the vibrancy, purity, intensity and freshness, and the true cool-climate expression of aromatic whites that we get in New Zealand,’ he says.

He feels that the varieties have been overshadowed by Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc.

Perfect conditions

The quality and distinctiveness of these varieties stem from New Zealand’s southerly, largely maritime-influenced growing conditions.

These create long, cool, generally sunny seasons, often combined with significant diurnal temperature shifts, that intensify varietal expression while enabling a wide range of styles, from bone dry to botrytis-affected.

Most wines are made with at least a few grams of residual sugar, offset by vibrant natural acidity that gives the best examples appealingly clean finishes.

Winemaking is largely centred around the use of stainless steel containers to preserve fruit purity, though producers are increasingly turning to older oak, concrete and clay amphorae, with ageing on the fine lees adding texture and complexity.

At Framingham in Marlborough – renowned for producing half a dozen (or more) Riesling styles each season – winemaker Andrew Brown notes that the commercial realities remain challenging.

These wines largely depend on cellar door and retailer hand-selling to find their audience.

‘We are passionate about making the best examples of Riesling we can; the scope may be restricted if we didn’t have the cellar door as a sales channel,’ he says.

But he sees heads increasingly turning.

‘There are some really great examples coming out of NZ at the moment – more textural, restrained and ageworthy.’

Anna Flowerday (pictured, above) of Te Whare Ra, whose Riesling and Gewurztraminer vines are among Marlborough’s oldest, puts it simply: ‘We truly believe that aromatic whites are the unsung heroes. Overseas visitors are constantly blown away by the quality.’

New Zealand's finest non-Sauvignon aromatics

Related articles

High up on the Col de Durbize, near the top of the Chiroubles appellation in Beaujolais, the view is breathtaking.

Due south, across a rippling wave of vineyard-covered hills, the mounded form of the Côte de Brouilly towers over the landscape. Beyond it, a flat plain spills away towards the Saône river.

On a cloudless day you can often catch a glimpse of Mont Blanc in the far distance, its snow-capped shoulders marking the highest point of the Alps.

The sloping vineyards to the north of the col are punctuated by copses of trees and sunshine-yellow gorse bushes.

Even though you’re less than 3km from the village, it’s peaceful up here, the silence interrupted only by the loud song of blackbirds and the occasional quiet hum of a peloton of cyclists whooshing by.

It’s not just the view that takes your breath away. Even on a sunny spring day, you can feel the wind that blows over the col.

Its name, Durbize, is a portmanteau of bize, the moniker used in the Alps for a cold, dry mountain wind, and dur (meaning ‘hard’), a reference to just how biting that wind can feel when it really gets going.

The bize is often keenly felt by the producers working the steep vineyards that spread out over the slopes beneath and behind the col.

It’s worth bearing in mind that although the Col de Durbize, perched at 500m above sea level, is one of the highest points in the region, some of the Chiroubles vineyards are situated even higher.

Work your heart out

Furthermore, not only is Chiroubles the highest of the 10 crus of Beaujolais – its highest-quality sub-regions – it also features the region’s most vertiginous slopes.

Toiling up and down the sharp inclines in this hilly cru is not for the faint of heart or the weak of limb.

The growers’ task is made even harder by the nature of the vines they’re tending. The vineyards of Beaujolais’ crus are largely populated by ancient bush vines, almost entirely Gamay, many of them so low to the ground that they look like bonsai versions of the more vigorous plants seen elsewhere.

Bending and kneeling to prune these vines, and to harvest the low-hanging bunches, takes a physical toll on Chiroubles’ growers over time.

‘I love being up there in my vineyards. I love the landscape, and the feeling that I’m surrounded by nature, and I love the views,’ says Domaine de la Grosse Pierre’s Pauline Passot.

Then she sighs. ‘It’s incredibly hard work and I have to work my heart out. The vineyards are so steep they just can’t be mechanised – everything has to be done by hand.’

But although those steep slopes, buffeting winds and old vines may be a tribulation for grape-growers, they are a distinct advantage in the context of climate change.

While the Chiroubles cru may have struggled to ripen its grapes in past years, when chaptalisation (adding sugar to the fermenting must to increase potential alcohol) was the norm in the region, the freshness derived from elevation and wind is now a positive blessing in a changing climate, when those tending vines grown in riper sites sometimes struggle to keep alcohol levels under control.

Rocky descent

The final piece in the puzzle of the distinctive terroir of Chiroubles is geology. It’s the only one of the 10 crus to be composed exclusively of the pink granite soils for which the region is renowned.

Even Fleurie, the cru most strongly associated with pink granite in most people’s minds, has a fan of alluvial soils situated in the southeast of the appellation.

In some parts of the Chiroubles appellation, geology and topography combine to create incredibly shallow soils in which the bedrock lies exposed, while elsewhere these rocks have decomposed to create relatively deep, free-draining granitic sands.

It’s this combination of elevation, cooling influences and granite soils that gives the wines of Chiroubles a unique tension and energy, while vine age (many of these plants are well over 80 years old) lends concentration and focus.

Chiroubles is typically fine-boned and perfumed: the Beaujolais equivalent, perhaps, of Volnay or Chambolle-Musigny.

Unfortunately for the region’s growers, however, Chiroubles doesn’t command anywhere near the price of the wines of the Côte d’Or, despite their stylistic similarities.

As a result, it’s perhaps unsurprising that over the course of the two years I spent researching my book The Wines of Beaujolais (£35 Académie du Vin Library, September 2025), Chiroubles lost nearly 15% of its vineyard area – and a recent trip to the region suggests that a further 5%-10% of vineyards have been abandoned in the past 12 months.

All this in a cru that is already the second smallest of the 10 in terms of area.

Commercial realities

‘Lost’ is a euphemism in this particular context. What typically happens is that, when a grower retires, he struggles to find anyone to take over his vineyards. These are then left to lie fallow, the grasses growing wild between the tightly spaced vines.

For many growers, farming a hectare or two of Chiroubles is, it would appear, far more trouble than it’s worth.

As Passot points out: ‘Very few people want to take on these difficult vineyards, especially when it’s hard to make a return on the investment in the time and money it takes to farm them.’

She’s not wrong. A quick back-of-an-envelope calculation suggests that the steepest hillside vineyards in Beaujolais cost two or three times more to farm than those that lie on flatter land – possibly even more if you farm organically, as many of the best producers do.

The story of Jules Métras’ La Montagne, one of the finest wines made in Chiroubles, is a perfect illustration of the potential loss to the wine world.

The 2024 vintage of this wine – and of its stablemate, the Vieilles Vignes Chiroubles – is the last Métras will ever bottle.

When I visited him last year, he told me he was giving up his long-term lease on the vineyards with great regret, but with a pragmatic eye on both the commercial realities of the situation and his own physical limitations.

Métras’ father Yvon, one of the pioneers of the natural wine movement in Beaujolais, has recently retired from the viticultural fray, handing over the management of his Fleurie vineyards to his son.

Métras, having decided that he wanted to keep his production on a small enough scale to enable him to operate as a one-man band, was faced with a decision about whether to keep his father’s vineyards or the ones he’d been farming under his own label.

Ultimately, much as he felt an affinity for his plots in Chiroubles, Métras’ calculation was driven by the pragmatics.

‘It’s just far easier to sell Fleurie than it is to sell Chiroubles,’ he shrugged, adding that another factor that influenced him was having watched some of his relatives farm Chiroubles’ sloping vineyards until they reached their 60s.

‘All those years of climbing up and down those hills, tending those low-lying vines, simply wore them out,’ he told me.

And there’s a further issue that makes Chiroubles a challenge for any producer. The hailstorms that sweep through the region with increasing frequency seem to strike the cru with both monotonous regularity and devastating consequences.

Most of the growers in Chiroubles tell me that they count on losing a significant proportion of their crop at least one year in three.

Sometimes, when the hailstorms roll through, they’ll escape with relatively minor damage, but in the worst-case scenarios, 70% or 80% of a vineyard’s potential harvest can be lost in the space of half an hour or so.

For the love of it

And yet this troublesome, capricious cru has a way of working its way into the hearts and souls of those who take the trouble to get to know it.

‘The people who farm these vineyards are doing it for love,’ says Michele Smith of Domaine Chapel, who farms 3ha of vineyards spread across three of Chiroubles’ lieux-dits (‘named locations’).

‘They’re doing it because they believe in the cru. I think that eventually this will resonate with people. Chiroubles deserves the same amount of respect as the more prestigious appellations – maybe even more because of the challenges that it brings. These wines just have the most amazing energy and vibrancy.’

But if the wines of Chiroubles are so good, why are they so difficult to sell?

One of the cru’s greatest problems is that, unlike the larger, more famous crus of Morgon and Fleurie, Chiroubles doesn’t have a big winemaking name – either in its past or in its present – to drive its image.

Most of the grapes grown in the cru have been absorbed into big (and often rather bland) négociant blends, humdrum wines that aren’t likely to attract discerning palates or turn collectors’ heads.

Nevertheless, the wines recommended below are evidence that great winemakers – if not famous ones – are prepared to carry a torch for Chiroubles.

Another issue that may play its part in Chiroubles’ travails is that the distinctive identity of each of the 10 Beaujolais crus isn’t yet widely recognised.

One importer told me, off the record, that the typical response from retailers and restaurants (ones that happily list a couple of dozen wines from Burgundy or a generous handful of Piedmontese Nebbiolos) is: ‘Thanks, but we already have a Beaujolais’.

Given that, for an outlet that believes that listing Beaujolais is a box-ticking exercise, the first cab off the rank is usually either a Morgon or a Fleurie (or possibly a Moulin-à-Vent if they’re feeling really adventurous), poor little Chiroubles rarely gets a look in.

The exhortation to ‘use it or lose it’ is a familiar one to any gym-goer over the age of 40, but it’s less frequently heard in the context of wine.

Nevertheless, the clock is ticking for Chiroubles. It’s time we all realised that the hills of Beaujolais conceal a hidden treasure.

If we don’t, there’s a risk that this particular pot of elegant, perfumed vinous gold will disappear from our lives forever.

Gamay at the extreme: Natasha’s pick of 10 Chiroubles to try

Related articles

The story of Clos Cibonne represents not just the history of coastal Provence, but also of one family's stubborn belief in their traditions.

It has resulted in one of Provence's most iconic cult wines, often regarded by other Provence winemakers as not being Provence-like because of its atypical style.

Over 200 years of history

The estate traces its origins back to the late 18th century, when naval captain Jean-Baptiste de Cibon, based in nearby Toulon, built a hilltop bastide (a type of fortified manor) with a direct view of the sea, and called it Château Cibon.

Upon Cibon’s death in 1797, the property, a symbol of elite ownership, was taken over by France’s new Republic after the French Revolution, divided into small lots and sold to the general public.

A portion was sold to the Roux family, although not the Château Cibon bastide.

Provence's fortunes grow

The 19th century saw the development of the coastal industry. In 1857 the Cap Garonne sandstone quarry was opened on the hill just to the south of Cibon.

Copper and lead were discovered in 1862, and by the 1890s the copper was being used for Bordeaux mixture – a fungicide used on grapevines to prevent downy mildew.

The advent of the railway from 1859 revolutionised Provence, opening up the region to trade and to tourists seeking the summer sun.

The Roux family profited from this prosperity, planting citrus groves, vineyards and other horticulture to supply tourists and hotels.

Following the devastation of phylloxera in the 1880s, many vineyards were re-planted with high-yielding varieties, and Tibouren, Provence’s only indigenous variety, was abandoned.

Tibouren’s susceptibility to powdery mildew, uneven ripening and oxidative characters made it unpopular, endearing it only to those who loved its rich apricot flavours.

Early rebels, the Roux family was one of the few to replant the grape.

Part of the landscape

By the 1930s, Marius Roux (1875-1958) had developed the estate’s wine production. He bought large 5,000-litre beer barrels from southern Germany and, like the Otts at nearby Clos Mireille, started to sell his wine in bottles.

The current label design dates from this era.

Marius was followed by his son André (1905-1989), who changed the name from Château Cibon to Clos Cibonne.

André was active in getting Clos Cibonne recognised as a cru classé in 1955. The key requirements were that the wine was sold in bottle and could prove its ageing potential.

By the time the appellation rules were being written up in the 1970s, they had a clear precedent allowing them to continue selling their wines with Tibouren on the label – no other Côtes de Provence wines are permitted to label their wine varietally.

Following André's death in 1989, his daughter Jacqueline took over the estate with her husband, Emile Mourchou.

Emile restructured the estate by buying land, replanting Tibouren and developing a new cellar, choosing to retain some of the 5,000-litre foudres.

Their daughter Brigitte and husband Claude Desforges took over the estate in 2003, bringing the cellar up to date with modern technology.

Clos Cibonne catches the attention of sommeliers

It was around this time that local sommeliers were increasingly talking about Clos Cibonne’s exceptional wines.

Faced with the growth in popularity and fame for Provence rosé, there was considerable pressure on the family to change from their traditional dark glass bottles to a clear glass bottle, and to adapt to a modern image of pale, fresh Provence rosé.

Instead, they resisted this pressure, and the wines have retained their unique rich and concentrated style, and are still bottled in dark glass.

Clos Cibonne today

Some of the wines go through malolactic fermentation, and some develop a layer of flor while in foudres, although any oxidative flor character is barely noticeable.

As Claude acknowledges, their aim is to make good wine, not just rosé.

Claude continued to buy adjacent parcels that once made up the original Château Cibon property, bringing the estate to its current size of 24ha – except the original bastide, which still has numerous owners.

Although close to the sea, the vineyards nestle behind a range of low, coastal hills (on the other side of the hills lies the coastal region of La Londe).

The vineyards are located on the Colle Noire massif, and erosion has given rise to a mix of soil types.

Tibouren has different flavour profiles depending on its location and soil type: high up, the schist gives spicy flavours; in the middle there is clay-limestone and loam, with the more silty soils giving citrus freshness.

The warmer, sandier soils on the lower slopes are used for red wine.

The surrounding flat land is criss-crossed with drainage channels, lined with canes and reeds, and has a high water table – a problem for mildew-susceptible Tibouren.

Nevertheless, Cibonne has been cultivated organically since 2012, and certified since 2020.

Tibouren buds early, but luckily spring frosts are not a problem, and it achieves good sugar levels, even when one of the first grapes to be harvested.

The combination of ripe fruit and oak gives the wines great concentration.

Defiant wines

Clos Cibonne remains a family-owned domaine, increasingly rare in Provence, and Claude’s son Olivier is currently taking over.

He says he has no intention of changing the style of the wines. He also aims to continue the tradition of making special cuvées to honour family members: cuvées Caroline (his sister), Olivier, Marius, as well as new cuvées to mark the birth of Olivier’s children: Simon (born in 2023) and Valentin (born in 2019).

The rosés remain the standout wines in the range. Their ageing potential means they can be cellared and can accompany complex food pairings.

The wines may be idiosyncratic, not always perfect, defy market trends, and show more vintage variation than most rosés, but they definitely stand out from the crowd.

Clos Cibonne through time

Related articles

Judgement+50

To celebrate the 50-year legacy of the Judgement of Paris, the International Wine and Food Society hosted what it believes is the biggest ever coordinated blind tasting. In eight locations in the UK, Australia and South Africa, 221 people tasted and scored the same six Chardonnays and six Bordeaux red blends.

Another 800 people took part in events in Asia and the US. In London, Bella Spurrier, wife of the late Steven Spurrier – instigator of the Judgement of Paris and, for 27 years, Decanter’s consultant editor – joined the flagship tasting.

And, once again, French wines were denied the spoils.

Kumeu River’s Coddington Chardonnay 2024 (£41.30 Noble Grape) from NZ prevailed in London and globally.

It pipped (in descending order by London score) Concha y Toro’s Amelia 2023 from Chile, Louis Jadot’s Puligny-Montrachet 2022, Chateau Montelena 2022 (whose 1973 Chardonnay triumphed in 1976), Domaine Leflaive’s Mâcon-Verzé 2022 and Restless River’s Ava Marie 2020 from South Africa.

Shafer’s TD-9 2019 from Napa (£82 Ad Hoc Wine Shop) won globally for the reds, but Kanonkop’s Paul Sauer 2019 from South Africa was the winner in London (with Shafer in second), seeing off Domaine de Chevalier 2017, Moss Wood 2021 from WA, Nicolás Catena Zapata 2020 from Argentina and Château Langoa Barton 2018.

Oscars night with Clarendelle

Getting your wine poured in front of Hollywood’s biggest stars and a global TV audience is quite a coup. If any Bordeaux name could pull it off, it would be the Haut-Brion family.

For the fourth year running, Clarendelle and Domaine Clarence Dillon returned as the Academy’s official wine partner, their reds, whites and rosés served at several events during the 98th Oscars.

I enjoyed a more relaxed version at home, opening the Clarendelle Bordeaux Red 2018 (US$20-$22 Widely available) and Bordeaux White 2024 (£20.70 The Wine Shelf).

The 2018 red is lovely – bright ruby, with fresh cherry and blackcurrant fruit, a touch of spice and that classic, supple Bordeaux frame.

The 2024 white is crisp and bright, full of lemon and grapefruit zest, with pear and subtle lychee notes underneath.

Fresh, harmonious and moreish. Clarendelle is the approachable side of the Haut-Brion stable – inspired by the great estate and made with the same rigour and team, but for more everyday drinking.

A Bunch of great-value summer wines

It’s a common assumption that supermarkets have a monopoly on wines priced at the lower end, for everyday drinking.

The Bunch spring/ summer press tasting (which UK politician Michael Gove wandered into), held at a private member’s club near Westminster, showed that the terms ‘value wine’ and ‘independent merchant’ aren’t mutually exclusive.

The bunch of leading UK indies (Corney & Barrow, Haynes Hanson & Clark, Lea & Sandeman, Private Cellar, Tanners and Yapp Brothers) traditionally come together every autumn to show a small selection from their current range.

This was their first ever spring/ summer tasting and it naturally majored on whites, rosés and lighter reds. Standout whites for value included Moulin de Gassac’s Languedoc Viognier 2025 (£13.25) and Cuisine en Famille’s Les Bras m’en Tombent Blanc 2025, from the Rhône (£14.95), both from Yapp.

Haynes Hanson & Clark showed an expressive and aromatic 2025 Provence rosé from Domaine Pique Roque (£16.35); while on the lighter-red side,

Tanners fielded Braida’s deliciously fresh, strawberry-sweet, lightly sparkling 2025 Brachetto d’Acqui (£16.90) and a crunchy, rose-scented 2023 Criolla from the El-Bayeh estate in Argentina’s Jujuy region (£16.90), both ideal for balmy-evening sipping.

120 years of shared history

The Wine Society first bought sparkling wines from Alfred Gratien’s Saumur sister house, Gratien & Meyer, in 1906.

The Champagne maison would soon become the producer of Cuvée 33, now known as The Society’s Champagne Brut NV (£36.50).

Together, the two companies have weathered many – and ongoing – storms: two world wars, energy crises, a global pandemic, Brexit, insane duty increases… the list goes on.

Through it all, two unshakable foundations have remained: mutual commitment and the society’s members’ love for Gratien bubbles.

As the society prepares to release a collection of special cuvées to celebrate the 120th anniversary of this exceptional relationship – including late-disgorged magnums of Alfred Gratien Cuvée Paradis 2008 – I went up to Stevenage to meet Nicolas Jaeger and Pierre Charon, cellar masters at Alfred Gratien and Gratien & Meyer respectively.

What followed was more than a stand-out tasting – I was privileged to hear living history told through exceptional wines and enduring institutional and personal bonds; all of which should be celebrated and never taken for granted.

Summer bliss at the English cellar door

Why not escape the urban heat and embark on a day trip to an English winery?

Maybe head for a tasting and lunch at Gusbourne’s cellar door, The Nest, which stays open late on Saturdays in summer.

Alongside the 51 Degrees North Brut 2016 (95 points, £195), the Blanc de Blancs 2020 (£65) is another must-try: precise and focused, with lemon-zest freshness, honeyed camomile and creamy brioche.

In Hampshire, the 2022 releases of Black Chalk’s top cuvées – Paragon Blanc de Blancs and Inversion Blanc de Noirs – are just out (both £65).

Savour the range’s signature razor-sharp acidity (thanks to the absence of malolactic conversion) and vivid fruit from the warm vintage when visiting the modern, industrial-style cellar door or attending events at the estate’s distinctive Circle Vineyard, where different grape varieties are planted in each quarter.

Meanwhile, in Sussex, Weyborne Estate’s historic manor house, draped in wisteria and gazing across the South Downs from an elevated vantage point, is worth keeping an eye on as its conversion into a luxury hotel gets underway.

Named after Lord Tennyson’s The Ballad of Oriana, the estate’s Oriana Golden Spur 2022 (£48) combines oxidative richness with a salted spiciness – a gastronomic delight.

Related articles

After being walloped by what he called a ‘cosmic brick’ – a lifelong love of Pinot Noir from Burgundy – David Lett embarked on a quest to see where else, if anywhere else, this fickle grape could reach the same pinnacle of quality.

His search led him to Oregon’s Willamette Valley and, in 1965, he established the region’s first plantings of Pinot Noir.

The connection between Burgundy and Pinot’s new promised land, once merely cosmic, was now concrete.

We last reported on the France-Willamette Valley connection in 2019 and, as you might expect, much has changed.

Here’s the latest, along with reviews of 10 noteworthy Oregon wines from French-owned wineries.

New French investments and appointments: Beaux Frères and Ponzi

The famous Beaux Frères winery, founded by Michael G Etzel in the 1980s, was acquired in 2017 by French firm Maisons & Domaines Henriot.

In 2022, Henriot merged with Artémis Domaines, the fine-wine hegemon behind Bordeaux first growth Château Latour and Burgundy grand cru Clos de Tart.

Big changes ensued. Mikey (Michael D) Etzel, who had taken over winemaking duties from his father in 2017, remains Beaux Frères’ CEO and technical director, but has passed the winemaker title to Evening Land alumnus Damien Lapuyade.

Don’t let the French surname fool you: Lapuyade is a strapping American, born and raised in Napa Valley.

Lapuyade revels in the resources that Artémis provides. ‘It opens the door to all these prestigious domaines that have centuries of experience farming and growing grapes and making world-class wine,’ he says.

‘The transfer of knowledge, the cross-pollination – it’s an amazing opportunity.’

Pioneering winery Ponzi Vineyards, which was acquired by Champagne Bollinger in 2021, also looks different at the top.

Jean-Baptiste (JB) Rivail, a sharp-dressed Frenchman raised in the Rhône Valley, is now CEO of the estate, which had been headed by a Ponzi family member since its founding in 1970.

Rivail, whose own family has a nearly two-century history in the wine business, arrived with Bollinger’s checkbook and license to use it.

‘The trust they put in us is just unbelievable,’ he says. Translation: What Ponzi needs, Ponzi gets.

This is a welcome change for Max Bruening, the Ponzi veteran who inherited the winemaker role from Luisa Ponzi in 2024.

‘I didn't know what CapEx was!’ he says, noting how, before Bollinger, the winery had to make tough maintenance and investment tradeoffs.

Growing resources

Now, Ponzi has a $500,000 Bucher sorting line, new stainless steel and concrete tanks, more land, and a consulting contract with Italy-based vine consultants Simonit & Sirch, who work with elites like Burgundy’s Domaine Leroy.

‘The knowledge here in Oregon has been built on great people and cross-collaboration,’ Rivail says. ‘But international investors come with things you know are working in other regions.’

Some locals welcome the outside capital. ‘It validates everything we've been working for,’ says Josh Bergström, a homegrown Oregon vintner who studied in France and is married to a Burgundian.

‘It lends gravitas to the region, to the pioneers who knew Pinot could be great here. With other beverages taking [wine’s] market share, we need families who have been around for generations on our side.’

Not everyone is enthused. 'Neutral at best' is how independent winemaker Saul Mutchnick of Championship Bottle describes the overall effect of outside money on the Willamette Valley.

Though he acknowledges the important role such investments have played in establishing the region, Mutchnick laments how small labels often lose access to prime vineyard sites when moneyed interests move in.

He cites the Koosah Vineyard (purchased by Résonance Wines, which is owned by French stalwart Louis Jadot) and Bunker Hill Vineyard (Lingua Franca/Constellation Brands) as examples.

A two-way street: Burgundy also benefits

Burgundy has long been the world’s Pinot Noir lodestar and, at one time, inexperienced Willamette Valley vintners were eager to glean any knowledge they could from their winemaking idols. But these days, the knowledge flows both ways.

‘When we travel to Burgundy now, there’s a sense of collegiality that I don’t think used to exist,’ says Lapuyade. ‘There seems to be this mutual respect, where they’re asking as many questions to Oregon winemakers on what’s working and what’s not working.’

Véronique Boss-Drouhin, head winemaker for both Domaine Drouhin Oregon and Maison Joseph Drouhin, says the family’s Burgundy team is inspired by their Willamette Valley counterparts, noting events like the annual Oregon Pinot Camp. ‘Burgundy should have done that years ago!’

For Louis Jadot, Résonance serves as a model for effective customer relations; in 2027, the winery will host a cruise through Burgundy for its clients.

Naturally, the trip will include a visit to Jadot, and Résonance winemaker Guillaume Large will be on board.

‘How you make somebody fall in love with the wines and the brand and the story isn't through leading with the sales pitch,’ says Taylor Theis, the winery’s director of consumer sales and marketing,

Oregon Chardonnay rising: New project Atomique3

Chardonnay is on a tear in the Willamette Valley, and many vintners trace its success to Dominique Lafon, who came from Burgundy in 2007 as consulting winemaker for Evening Land.

‘He started bringing some cultural practices on how to translate this terroir,’ says Mikey Etzel, showing the locals when to pick (earlier) and how much fruit to extract (less).

Atomique3, a superb Chardonnay-only Willamette Valley label launched in the 2021 vintage, bears the influence of another Burgundy legend: Meursault’s Jean-Marc Roulot.

Atomique3’s principals – Felipe Ramirez, a Chilean who earned his Master’s degree in Montpellier in the south of France, and renowned soil expert Pedro Parra – recruited Roulot to consult.

Atomique3’s four core Chardonnays are based on soil type, which will come as no surprise to anyone who knows Parra, who has built a career on soil and even authored a book about it.

Ramirez, who drives around the Willamette Valley with chunks of basalt on the dashboard of his truck, is no less obsessed.

‘The only thing that never changes is the soil,’ he says. ‘The weather changes every year, people change, decisions change. The plans change. But the soil – you need thousands of years to see those changes.’

The Hills are still hot: Résonance, Drouhin and Nicolas-Jay

In 2022, Résonance expanded to the Eola-Amity Hills, purchasing the outstanding Koosah Vineyard, a former Christmas tree farm planted with vines in 2016.

This acquisition doubled Résonance’s Chardonnay holdings, and it now bottles a single-vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from the site.

The same year, Domaine Drouhin purchased Methven Family Vineyards, adding to the Eola-Amity Hills presence it established in 2013, when the family purchased Roserock Vineyard (which it has now spun into the Roserock label).

The 80-acre Methven property has 30 acres of vines, but the move was largely logistical: Methven is a 15-minute drive from Roserock, which lacks a dedicated production facility.

With an existing winery, water, power and ample space, Methven ticked all the boxes. ‘We were blessed to find this place,’ says Boss-Drouhin.

The facility is now known as Roserock North, and the winemaker there is French-born Drouhin veteran Isabelle DuTartre, Boss-Drouhin’s lifelong friend and her partner in Caballus Wines, which also makes Willamette Pinot Noir.

In the Dundee Hills, Nicolas-Jay, the partnership between Jean-Nicolas Méo and Jay Boberg, acquired a 52-acre site on the AVA’s north side in 2019.

They planted 25 acres of vines and renovated the property’s barn into a production winery and tasting room. In 2026, Noah Roberts was named production winemaker.

An Oregon wine legend bids adieu

Laurent Montalieu, who came to Oregon from Bordeaux in 1988, established himself as a juggernaut over the next three-plus decades.

In 2003, he founded NW Wine Company, the Willamette Valley’s first custom-crush facility – although he prefers the term ‘custom winegrowing,’ which he believes better captures the company’s range.

Over the years, NW Wine Company grew to encompass brands like Hyland Estates and Domaine Loubejac. In 2021, Montalieu sold it in what was the largest transaction in Oregon wine history.

He retired from NW Wine Company in 2024 but is still on the board, and French-born Anne Sery is now director of winemaking.

Montalieu also remains owner and winemaker at Soléna Estate, which he founded in 2000 and named after his daughter, Soléna Andrus Montalieu.

One day the winery will be hers, but it’s hard to imagine her father sitting idle in Oregon. Says Montalieu, ‘I will never retire from Soléna’.

10 fantastique Oregon wines with a French Connection

Related articles

Italian cuisine has long been a world favourite for its authentic flavours and guileless recipes rooted in simplicity and quality.

In fact, the country's cooking was officially granted Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity status by UNESCO last year.

While pasta is a mainstay of Italy's mealtimes and a symbol of the country's culinary traditions (54% of Italians eat pasta daily (Nextplora [2024]), it's also a paragon of versatility and inclusion.

From celebrated fine dining restaurants to community kitchens run by volunteers, pasta always has a place on Italian tables.

One of the world's top chefs, Massimo Bottura, who played an influential role in the UNESCO candidacy – which was conceived by Maddalena Fossati, editor of La Cucina Italiana magazine – runs the gamut, from his triple-Michelin-starred Osteria Francescana to the international Food for Soul network of refectories, where nourishing meals are created from surplus foods for those in need.

Just say pasta

Although it's easy to just say pasta, when it comes to shapes, sauces, techniques and wine pairings, there is a universe of complexities.

Officially, over 300 pasta shapes exist, with more invented almost daily. Thanks to 3D printing, you can even order special occasion pasta to resemble anything from Easter bunnies to Christmas trees.

Ingredients for pasta are simple: flour and water. While in southern Italy durum wheat flour (semola or semolina) for dry pasta is most common, soft wheat is the typical flour of the north, where fresh pasta is more widespread; as it's lower in gluten, egg is often added for greater structure.

For hand-rolled pasta, a board and rolling pin (preferably beechwood) are essential, while cutter rollers are handy for getting the dimensions right. Pasta machines use teflon or bronze dies, the latter preferable for porous pasta that catches more of whichever delicious sauce it's served with.

Other tools include guitar-like frames for spaghetti alla chitarra, and gnocchi boards resembling butter pats for ridged pasta and gnocchi, again aimed at increasing sauce-clinging power.

Pasta heartlands

While every region has its must-try specialities, Emilia Romagna is considered the heartland of fresh egg pasta. Here, dishes are taken so seriously that official recipes are stored at Bologna's Chamber of Commerce, along with a golden sample representing the perfect width of tagliatelle (8mm).

It's hard to overstate the visceral attachment to certain specialities, and traditions are defended passionately: in a move to put a lid on one of the world's (but not Bologna's) favourite pasta dishes, the city mayor even led a 2019 campaign stating that ‘spaghetti bolognese does not exist’, in favour of authentic tagliatelle with ragout. Bolognese (beef and pork) ragout, that is.

Wherever you go you'll find a variation on the ragout theme, from duck in Veneto (with thick spaghetti-like bigoli) to wild boar, popular with pappardelle (wide ribbon pasta) and Chianti Classico or Montefalco Sagrantino in Tuscany and Umbria.

Emilia Romagna is most famous for its filled pasta. Dainty tortellini (weighing just 5g each, filled with mortadella, prosciutto, pork, Parmigiano Reggiano and nutmeg) are supposedly inspired by Venus's perfect navel, and served in a steaming broth suitable for any celebration.

One of chef Bottura's initiatives in his hometown, Modena, is Tortellante, a non-profit association centred on tortellini-making for people with autism (including his own son); the results are served at the on-site Bottega with Lambrusco that's often added to the broth.

Neighbouring cities Bologna and Modena have long disputed paternity of tortellini but generally agree on Castelfranco Emilia, a half-way house with a dedicated festival each September.

Filled delights

Whether they recall hats, crescents or body parts, the various crimped-edged shapes of filled pasta are conceived with the aim of keeping what's inside in.

In recent years pumpkin-filled pasta, originally from Mantua and Ferrara, has risen in popularity for its sweet and savoury flavours.

Exact recipes vary and are a closely guarded secret for cjarsons, another sweet-savoury pasta from Friuli in north-east Italy; common ingredients include dried fruit, herbs, spices, cocoa and jam with potato and ricotta. A structured Collio Bianco is ideal with such intense flavours.

In Sardinia, the closure of typical culurgiones (with potato, pecorino cheese, mint and garlic) is auspicious, resembling an ear of wheat for prosperity, while Piedmont speciality, agnolotti del plin (with roast meats) is purely practical, named after the pinching action used to seal them.

Curiously, agnolotti are sometimes served dry, in a linen napkin, and dunked into a cup of Barbera wine.

Long stories

Serving pasta in linen isn't limited to Piedmont: Rome restaurant La Ciambella serves cacio e pepe pasta (with pecorino romano cheese and black pepper) in a napkin. It's drier than usual, aimed at evoking the farmers of yesteryear who would eat while out in the fields.

Cacio e pepe is considered the mother of Rome's most famous pasta specialities, pecorino cheese and pepper being common to all. Add guanciale for alla gricia, and egg too for carbonara, or tomato for amatriciana.

Each sauce has its appropriate long pasta: tonnarelli (square-sectioned) for cacio e pepe, bucatini (hollow) with amatriciana, and spaghetti for carbonara. All work well with a structured regional white such as Frascati Superiore or Bellone.

Spaghetti (from ‘spago’, meaning string) is the tasty choice for midnight feasts and impromptu gatherings throughout Italy. In Naples and around the coast it's classically paired with clams; add mullet roe for a Sardinian favourite.

Spaghetti capital, Gragnano – the historic heart of dried pasta production south of Naples – is nowadays home to pasta-themed museums and experiences.

Pici and strangozzi are the preferred long pasta of central Italy, respectively round and square-sectioned, while Abruzzo on the east coast is home to fresh egg spaghetti alla chitarra, typically with delicious tiny meatballs.

Green pasta parties

Many Italian pasta recipes are vegetarian, incorporating pulses and seasonal vegetables. Another Abruzzo speciality, virtù teramane, traditionally eaten on 1 May, is like a culinary spring clean, with a huge variety of pulses, vegetables and pastas; whatever's left in the larder after winter. A cherry-coloured Cerasuolo, the archetypical all-rounder wine, is ideal.

Travelling south to Puglia, orecchiette alle cime di rapa (ear-shaped pasta with turnip greens) is a firm favourite on Italy's pasta map. Although turnips are a winter veg, the dish is a year-round mainstay here, as are Ligurian crowd-pleaser trofie al pesto and Sicily's pasta alla Norma (tomato, aubergine, ricotta salata and basil) – named after the opera by Catania-born composer Vincenzo Bellini.

Ultimate comfort food

Scientific research (including Barilla's 2025 study) has regularly found a correlation between pasta and emotional well-being, more so than other carbs.

There's no denying that whether its lasagne, Italy's traditional Sunday comfort food, or another of the many pasta dishes, it most certainly does have a built in feel-good factor – especially when enjoyed with a local wine.

Buon appetito!

Related articles

When you’ve lived in Australia for a while, you’ll eventually notice how many Italians – migrants or their descendants – you meet.

By then you’ll also have noticed how entrenched Italian culture, especially food and wine, is in the local landscape.

Following the major post-war waves of migration, Italy remains within the top 10 countries of birth among Australia’s overseas-born population, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data.

Many migrants from the post-war Italian diaspora chose to work in agriculture and several Australian wine regions – in particular the Riverina in New South Wales and King Valley in Victoria – boast numerous Italian families whose members have been making wine for generations.

Given this generational exposure and deep appreciation, it’s fascinating to see a small, adventurous group of Australians and New Zealanders travelling in the opposite direction.

I reached out to five of these mavericks, each of whom is carving a name for themselves in Italy, and often bringing a uniquely antipodean adventurous spirit to winemaking, shaking up centuries-old traditions along the way.

Jeffrey Chilcott

Tenute Cisa Asinari dei Marchesi di Grésy, Piedmont

After being part of the Kiwi hospitality scene during the 1980s, Jeffrey Chilcott moved to London to see some of the bands that had never made the long trip to New Zealand performing live.

After a three-month train trip around Europe, he ended up in Italy, where he caught the Nebbiolo bug, prompting him to knock on doors across the Langhe region until Celestino Vacca, the then president of Produttori del Barbaresco, offered him accommodation.

‘People said the Piemontesi may not be so open, but I found the opposite,’ Chilcott says.

In the early 1990s, he would meet with Giovanni Conterno and other old-guard producers to taste local and international wines.

‘New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc was alien to them as a wine style, and they struggled to get their heads around the overtly herbaceous and pungent nature,’ he says.

Chilcott later joined the historic Marchesi di Grésy. ‘I’m the cellar master at Marchesi and I do some travelling for them,’ he says. ‘I’m very close with the family and everyone else in the region.’

Considered one of Piedmont’s top producers, Marchesi di Grésy is renowned for a style rooted in tradition but ‘open to technology’.

Among its 35ha of vineyards, spread across the Langhe and Monferrato, is the monopole Martinenga, owned since 1797 and the jewel in the estate’s crown.

Considered a human encyclopaedia of vintages, Chilcott has witnessed the rise of the modernists, influencing his approach to Nebbiolo.

While he believes the variety demands patience, he acknowledges that incremental fine-tuning – particularly in tannin management and winery hygiene – has opened Barolo and Barbaresco to international audiences.

‘You know Campari? It has that dolce-amaro – bittersweet – quality, intrinsic to a lot of Italian food, and people,’ Chilcott says.

‘In the old days, Nebbiolo wasn’t always harmonious – the dolce [the fruit quality] was not always in harmony with the amaro [the tannins, which could dominate and require significant time to integrate].’

David Fletcher

Fletcher Wines, Piedmont

Born in Adelaide and now an Italian citizen, David Fletcher has always had itchy feet. He was working as a winemaker in Victoria, focused on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, when he first discovered Nebbiolo at a Barolo tasting – the wines stopped him in his tracks.

‘I jumped on a plane a year later to work the 2007 harvest at Ceretto, in the Langhe,’ he says. ‘I wanted to learn everything about Nebbiolo. I thought I might take that knowledge back to Australia – which I did to some extent – but I also fell in love with Italy.’

Fletcher founded his own label in 2009, initially buying grapes from Barolo and Barbaresco, and working out of other producers’ facilities.

It wasn’t until 2012, when he started working full-time as winemaker for Ceretto and stopped dividing his time between Australia and Italy, that he was able to base himself in the latter and fully focus on growing his label locally.

The project began modestly, with wines sold mainly in Australia. For sommeliers there it was exciting to pour a Barbaresco made by an Australian; for the people back in Piedmont, acceptance took longer.

‘There are Barolo families older than me and you put together,’ he says. ‘In Langhe, it’s a very hands-on, relationship-based business. In Australia, you just pick up the phone and someone will do things for you.’

The turning point came in 2015 with the purchase of the building that would become the winery – the dilapidated Babaresco train station, uniquely positioned in a valley surrounded by top-quality vineyards.

‘One morning I walked into the local café and a few pensioners came up to me, patting me on the back and saying I’d done something good for the community.’

Today, Fletcher farms 5.5ha organically, while also making Nebbiolo in Australia under the label of Fletcher, The Minion.

He uses open fermentations, with fully destemmed fruit, extending the ageing beyond minimum requirements in old barriques.

By ‘deconstructing the tradition’, Fletcher has developed a nuanced understanding of the territory.

These days, the only thing he really misses about Australia is his family, though he’s happy to be growing his own in a country where family remains at the heart of everything.

Zoe Johnson

JG Benda, Montalcino, Tuscany

A Sydney-based food and wine journalist with a British passport, Zoe Johnson first bridged the gap with Italy from afar, working in PR for Emilia-Romagna-based kitchen appliance company Smeg and Barilla, the world’s largest pasta producer.

In 2014, she was sent to Venice to assist Australian architects at the Biennale exhibition.

‘From there I decided to stay,’ she says. ‘I promised my dad I would come home after one year, but I never did – it’s still a problem.’

Her path into wine came almost by chance, at a moment when she was considering returning home as she approached 50.

‘I met John [Benda], my partner; he had previously worked in banking and finance in London, and had just bought some land here in Montalcino,’ she says. ‘The 2021 was our first vintage together.’

Though neither comes from a winemaking background, both share a deep love of Italian food and wine. Their 2ha sit at around 550m, higher than many local sites. The couple do everything together, from working in the vineyard to bottling.

The dry-farmed vineyards are certified organic; in the cellar, the approach is firmly minimal intervention, with no temperature control.

They look after distribution and direct-to-consumer events themselves. They only receive occasional guidance from a microbiologist from the University of Florence.

‘We are pruning now; my hand is very sore – I think I have arthritis from using normal cutters. But we’re so humbled,’ Johnson says.

‘I’m staying in Tuscany because if you find a purpose, it doesn’t matter where you are. And I found everything all in one place – the person I love, the job I love and the land I love.’

Trish Nelson

Gazzetta Wines, Lazio

A globetrotter from birth, Trish Nelson changed countries every five years, only arriving in Australia at age 15. Italy took a little longer.

‘I was working in Hong Kong in architectural design and got really interested in sustainable agriculture,’ she says.

‘I then moved back to Sydney and met Giorgio de Maria, sommelier at Berta and natural wine bar 121 BC.’ De Maria’s contagious passion for natural wine proved decisive.

When Nelson travelled to Italy to pursue a master’s degree in sustainable agriculture, she visited many of the producers whose wines had first inspired her in Australia.

An invitation to visit Cantina Giardino in Campania turned into a year and a half there, working in the vineyard and winery. This was followed by stints in viticulture and winemaking at Ajola in Orvieto and Le Coste, on lake Bolsena in northern Lazio, Europe’s largest volcanic lake.

It was there, two hours north of Rome, that she found her base in 2017: a small house and a run-down vineyard above the town, overlooking the lake.

The Gazzetta natural wines – made from organically farmed Procanico, Ansonica, Malvasia, Trebbiano Giallo, Aleatico, Sangiovese and Merlot grapes, among others – are fermented spontaneously, and made without added sulphur.

To stabilise the wines for export – including to de Maria, her Australian distributor – Nelson relies on extended maceration.

‘The tannins are natural preservatives,’ she explains, ‘and if you’re not adding anything and the pH of the wine is high – which it is here, given the volcanic soils – a few days of maceration helps.’

While awaiting Italian citizenship, Nelson admits that life isn’t a bed of roses.

‘It’s beautiful that tradition and regionality are so strong here,’ she says, ‘but as a foreigner, sometimes you feel like a fish out of water.’

Anna Martens

Vino di Anna, Etna

Having begun your career in microbiology at Petaluma in the Adelaide Hills in 1993 and enrolled in the Master of Wine programme six years later, your trajectory might seem set on a prestigious, if conventional, path.

That was certainly the case for Anna Martens, who, in 2004, was offered the position of assistant winemaker at the cult Tuscan estate Ornellaia, where she had previously worked, during the 2001 vintage, in the laboratory.

However, a chance encounter that year with Eric Narioo – founder of UK importer Les Caves de Pyrene and a key figure in the natural wine scene (and now Martens’ husband) – redirected her path to Sicily.

‘Etna was very different back in 2007,’ Martens says. ‘I was working for Andrea Franchetti at Passopisciaro. A few cult names from that versante [‘slope’] were on the rise, like Girolamo Russo and Alberto Graci.’

Martens had already been exposed to natural wine producers through Narioo, which convinced her to adopt a low-intervention approach.

The first Vino di Anna red, 95% Nerello Mascalese, 5% Nerello Capuccio (co-planted), was made in 2008.

‘Until that time, I’d always known that if something didn’t work out, I could add sulphur, enzymes, or filter everything,’ she says.

‘We made our first wine by literally putting whole bunches, with no sulphur, into two mastelloni [‘wine tubs’]. There was so much energy in the wine! Producers told us we were crazy, while to the older locals it was reminiscent of their family wine.’

Now splitting her time between London and the village of Solicchiata, on the northern slope of Etna, Martens says that returning to Sicily always resets her.

‘Every time I land in Catania, I take off my watch, drive with an Italian flair up to the winery, and soak in the luminosity of the place,’ she says.

Martens attributes a profound shift in both her approach to production and her lifestyle to what she has learned on Etna, through others and through the terroir itself.

‘I’ve been asked why I used to rush the wines,’ she says. ‘Energetic as I am, when I get to the winery, the surroundings ground me.’

Italian wines made by Antipodeans

Related articles

Jason Millar, David Kermode and Anne Krebiehl MW tasted 51 wines, with 2 Outstanding and 24 Highly recommended

Vintage Cap Classique: Panel tasting scores

51 wines tasted

Exceptional 0

Outstanding 2

Highly recommended 24

Recommended 23

Commended 2

Fair 0

Entry criteria: producers and UK agents were invited to submit their vintage-dated Cap Classique wines made in any style, including blanc de blancs, blanc de noirs, rosé and blends

Vintage pays dividends

This impressive tasting focused on single-vintage wines made mostly from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay on the same principles as in Champagne, with extended ageing on the lees – the expired yeast cells that accumulate in the bottle during secondary fermentation – and cool-climate fruit both notable features of the best wines.

Like all sparkling wines made in the style of Champagne, South Africa’s Cap Classique is inevitably judged against the high bar of the world’s best.

And in this wide-ranging panel tasting it certainly rose to the challenge: half of the wines scored 90 points (Highly recommended) or more. In addition, all three judges noted the exceptional value on offer given the quality in the glass.

'Absolutely unbeatable when it comes to value'

Although our two top wines are priced on a par with their equivalents in Champagne, ‘Cap Classique is absolutely unbeatable when it comes to value’, according to sparkling specialist Anne Krebiehl MW.

David Kermode agreed: ‘While non-vintage Cap Classique makes a fantastic party starter – a superior alternative to Prosecco or Crémant – it’s definitely worth climbing the quality ladder. I doubt that you’ll find anywhere that offers better value.’

To pick just one example, with more than a decade of lees ageing and a big, bold flavour, the extravagantly rich Jacques Bruére Blanc de Blancs 2013 from Bon Courage (see recommendations, below), can be found for less than £20 via independent merchants – about the price of non-vintage Crémant from France.

Go a little further up the price scale and wine lovers can easily find long-aged, vintage-dated Cap Classique wines, such as Graham Beck’s Cuvée Clive, for around the same price as a non-vintage Champagne.

Yet Cap Classique remains under the radar among Champagne drinkers, because many excellent producers lack mass-market distribution in the UK.

Any lucky readers heading to South Africa should make a special effort to taste them there.

As with the first wave of grower Champagnes a decade ago, wine drinkers must make the effort to track down vintage Cap Classique, but those in search of complexity, richness and finesse will find lots to enjoy.

See all notes and scores from the Cap Classique tasting

The judges

Vintage Cap Classique panel tasting results:

wines were tasted blind

Related articles

Occasionally people ask me if I can recommend a light Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

It’s a bit like asking a zookeeper if he has any slim hippos or short-necked giraffes.

What I usually do in this situation is direct them towards wines from naturally slimmer and more athletic nearby appellations.

After all, the very best Châteauneufs tend to be those that embrace its natural plus-size magnificence.

But thanks to the appellation’s liberal rulebook and the diversity of its soils, Châteauneuf can be a broad church.

And occasionally I do come across excellent wines that, while not exactly light, are at the lighter end of the spectrum.

Wines with drinkability and a lightness of touch, but – crucially – still taste and act like Châteauneuf.

One estate that embodies this style is Domaine Juliette Avril.

The outer fringes

Stephan Brun-Avril has an infectious energy, a broad smile and is never short of something to say.

He finds it hard to concentrate but has plenty of ideas. ‘I’m like an upside-down tree,’ he says, ‘with roots that go all over the place up in the sky.’

He says his staff help keep him grounded.

I asked if we could visit the vineyards – of course, he says. He proceeded to jump-start a (long-)retired French army Jeep, and in we hopped.

As we rumbled through the pebbly vineyards, Stephan says: ‘I’m not a typical winemaker – I’m not from Châteauneuf.’

Many top Châteauneuf winemakers went to the village school and all grew up together. But not Stephan.

He’s half Italian, and grew up in Italy. It was only after completing his studies, that he travelled to France and joined the family estate.

It can’t be easy moving from a foreign country to this tight-knit community of 2,500 people and trying to fit in.

Perhaps that’s one reason Stephan is happy to make wines that don’t follow the local template.

New estate, ancient roots

The Avril name, however, is deeply embedded here – Stephan says that members of the Avril family lived in Châteauneuf before the French Revolution (1789–1799).

Different branches of the family have long been part of the winemaking scene; Maurice Avril owned Domaine le Père Caler (now closed), and Vincent Avril owns Clos des Papes.

In 1982, local landholder Jean Avril bequeathed 20ha of Châteauneuf vineyards to his daughter Juliette Avril, and in doing so, she established her own estate.

Juliette’s daughter, Marie Lucille Brun, started working at the estate in 1988. Marie Lucille was joined by her son Stephan in 2002.

Their holdings have grown since Stephan arrived; he bought land in Cairanne, Plan de Dieu and Côtes du Rhône. But the family’s heart, and winery, remains in Châteauneuf.

‘There are really two climates in Châteauneuf-du-Pape,’ says Stephan, ‘south and north.’

They have holdings in both – half in the hot, dry lands of lieux-dits Les Gallimardes, Les Serres and Les Plagnes to the south; the other half in the higher, slightly fresher terroirs of lieux-dits of Farguerol, Coteau de l’Ange and Pied de Baud to the north.

Towards the light

In other hands, these parts of Châteauneuf make powerful wines. But Stephan creates a style that is less potent and muscular. He achieves it through a combination of methods.

Firstly, he picks relatively early to preserve acidity and keep alcohol levels in check.

Secondly, he keeps maceration times short (around 12 days) in order to preserve freshness and not to extract too much tannin. He doesn’t age the wines for very long, and he only uses larger barrels.

Thirdly, he’s beginning to coferment his Grenache with a little Cinsault and Counoise.

‘We use them for juice,’ he says, and ‘they help to temper the Grenache and naturally reduce the alcohol’.

‘What made our reputation is balance,’ he says, and he aims to make a wine that he enjoys drinking himself.

Light, but authentic

Successfully producing a lighter style of Châteauneuf isn’t easy. It’s a terroir that naturally wants to make generous, ageworthy bottles.

Picking early is a dangerous game; if your grapes aren’t fully ripe, you risk making something puny or unconvincing – a toothless crocodile or a three-legged cheetah.

But Stephan treads carefully, managing to capture a high-toned floral expression of Grenache without sacrificing the gravitas of a genuine Châteauneuf.

Most Châteauneufs find their way to the dinner table in winter months. But that’s another rule that Stephan’s wines gleefully break.

A lightly chilled, summer Châteauneuf? Look no further.

Domaine Juliette Avril wines to try

Related articles

When Ulster immigrant John Martin stopped at the Ruamāhanga River in 1875, near the southern tip of New Zealand’s North Island, it was wilderness.

Using gold-rush earnings, he laid out the streets of a village in the pattern of the union flag, naming it after himself: Martinborough.

Not much had changed in the region’s economy a century later, when in 1980 sheep and dairy farmer Clive Paton of Ata Rangi and three other growers first planted vines, at the suggestion of a government agronomist.

‘You’re basically on the road to nowhere here,’ says John Kavanagh, chief winemaker at Te Kairanga. It is cooler than across the Cook Strait in Marlborough, with very few days over 30℃ and big diurnal temperature swings. Rainfall is low.

Yet cold southerlies blow straight up from the Antarctic: grape yields are low, with the wind adversely affecting flowering and fruit set.

‘This has its pros and cons,’ says local wine writer and author Joelle Thomson. ‘Smaller crops and bunches reduce production but the Pinots from here seem to strut a deliciously savoury taste as a result.’

And so, in the space of 40 years, Martinborough has established itself as one of the world’s top sources of Pinot Noir.

Down to earth

The 1980s pioneers planted on the Martinborough terrace. This uplifted river terrace of alluvial gravels and clays, five kilometres long and a kilometre wide, remains the heart of the wine district.

‘The corporates never really got involved because there weren’t big enough tracts of land,’ says Guy McMaster, winemaker at Palliser Estate.

Then in 1999 Larry McKenna, founder of pioneer Martinborough Vineyard, planted on Te Muna Road, a few kilometres southeast of the town, an area of free-draining gravels.

The same year, Craggy Range planted 100ha of land there, a project of Australian-American millionaire Terry Peabody.

Since then, Martinborough’s scene has exploded, with wine tourism an important component. Today there are more than 20 cellar doors and an annual wine festival.

Clones and varieties

Given the relative lack of soil variation, clonal selection is especially important.

The first Pinot Noir plantings used the Abel clone, named for the customs officer said to have confiscated cuttings purloined from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti’s La Tâche vineyard.

It remains popular for Pinot Noir, though Dijon clones have since gained ground.

There is also excellent Chardonnay: ‘Martinborough Chardonnays have natural balance,’ says Martinborough Vineyard winemaker Tom Turner.

More recently, Sauvignon Blanc has inevitably made major inroads.

Perfect for Pinot

But Pinot Noir remains Martinborough’s speciality. ‘I definitely think there’s been the evolution of a style,’ says Ata Rangi winemaker Helen Masters.

‘Back [in the 1990s] the benchmark was Burgundy – high-toast new oak, three to five punch-downs a day – so a lot of the wines were monsters.’

Now, she says, they pick earlier, at 23 Brix, punch down much less, and use less new oak: ‘For me it’s a distraction from the place. The wines are more expressive, less extracted, lighter on their feet.’

While the best Martinborough Pinot Noirs can age well, they tend to be made ready to be enjoyed younger.

But while Martinborough has become a benchmark for New World Pinot Noir, it remains a challenging environment.

As Te Kairanga’s Kavanagh says: ‘To produce wine here, you need to be passionate about what you do.’

Six Martinborough names to know

Ata Rangi

Pioneer Clive Paton has retired now but Helen Masters, one of the few female New Zealand winemakers, has been in the cellar since 2003; she also grows some of the fruit on her own property.

Her trademark is elegant, structured and savoury Pinot Noirs. Despite Masters’ long experience here, her favourite vintage is 2024. ‘The wines were easy to make,’ she says. Certified organic.

Craggy Range

When Craggy Range first planted in the late 1990s, it doubled the size of Martinborough’s vineyards.

It remains the biggest producer, having added 132ha since then. Steve Smith MW, who established it, has moved on; today winemaker Ben Tombs vinifies this fruit at Craggy Range’s main base in Hawke’s Bay. Silky, elegant Pinot Noirs; a lot of Sauvignon Blanc too.

In organic conversion.

Dry River

One of the first group of pioneer wineries, Dry River was planted in 1979 by Neil McCallum.

It has always been a boutique producer, now producing an average of just 17,000 bottles a year.

Winemaker Ben McNab works with obsessive detail, washing the fruit before selecting berry by berry. These are fine, expressive Pinot Noirs, made to age.

Part certified organic.

Oraterra

Wilco Lam was a respected winemaker at Dry River before moving with the whole winemaking team to start Oraterra four years ago.

The operation still has the buzz of a start-up. They have 10ha planted – Pinot Noir plus Chardonnay and Pinot Gris – and an innovative approach.

‘It’s liberating if there’s no preconception of how the wine should be,’ says Lam.

Certified biodynamic.

Palliser

Palliser began in 1984 but now has 74ha of vineyards, making it one of the area’s largest producers.

Complex, elegant Pinot Noirs are its trademark, though it are also one of the few local wineries to make sparkling wines.

Chief winemaker Guy McMaster (ex-Escarpment) did a stage in Champagne in 2019. Impressive Syrah and Sauvignon Blanc too.

Certified organic.

Te Kairanga

Now owned by California’s Foley wines, Te Kairanga was first planted in 1984 on a bluff at the eastern edge of the Martinborough terrace.

With 95ha of vineyards, they are one of the larger producers at over 350,000 bottles a year. Slightly plusher Pinot Noirs.

They host one of the area’s biggest cellar door operations, including an impressive restaurant.

Top Martinborough wines

Related articles

The sun is shining and temperatures are rising so I’m guessing you’re in need of a cool drink… World Rum Day is celebrated on the second Saturday in July, which this year happens to coincide with World Mojito Day as well. So what better excuse to mix up this classic Cuban rum cocktail?

A bit of history…

It’s unclear who invented the Mojito, though Cuban folklore links it to the English explorer Sir Francis Drake. His crew drank a medicinal mix of mint, sugar, lime and aguardiente de caña (a sugar cane spirit) called El Draque in Elizabethan times. The same mix was used to treat cholera in mid-19th century Cuba.

Either way, a mint, lime and sugar cocktail – now made with rum – became a hit with Americans in Prohibition-era Havana, with the first recipe for a ‘Mojo Criollo’ appearing in a Cuban publication El Arte de Hacer un Cocktail y Algo Más in 1927.

The name Mojito first appeared in print in a 1932 cocktail book, Sloppy Joe’s Bar Cocktail Manual. The cocktail then found modern popularity in the 1980s thanks to Cuban immigrants in Miami.

Why is it a classic?

‘The Mojito’s roots run remarkably deep,’ says Tommy Cole, brand ambassador for Ron Santiagio de Cuba. ‘That lineage makes it one of the oldest surviving rum cocktails in the world and a genuine cornerstone of cocktail history,’ he adds.

‘In my view, the Mojito has endured for centuries because it is one of the purest expressions of Cuban cocktail culture. It is a drink built on simplicity, but simplicity is often the hardest thing to perfect,’ notes Cole.

‘With only five core ingredients – cane sugar, fresh lime juice, mint, soda water and Cuban rum – there is nowhere to hide. Every component must be in balance, and the quality of the rum becomes immediately apparent.’

Which rum to choose?

If you want to mix up a Mojito yourself at home, a light rum from Cuba is a classic choice. ‘What makes the Mojito timeless is that it captures the essence of Cuba itself,’ agrees Cole. ‘The sweetness of cane sugar, the brightness of lime, the cooling aroma of fresh mint and the lift of sparkling soda create a drink that is refreshing, social and unmistakably Caribbean.’

Distilled and blended in the Oriente region of Cuba, Ron Santiago de Cuba is a great choice. ‘The style is nuanced and aromatic, with enough complexity to bring character to a Mojito while remaining light enough to let the lime, mint and soda breathe. In a great Mojito, the rum should not dominate the drink – it should knit the ingredients together,’ says Cole.

Beyond Cuba, there are plenty of other Caribbean rums worth seeking out. Also consider agricole, a distinctive style of rum made from sugarcane (rather than molasses) that was invented in Martinique and is typical to the French-speaking islands of the Caribbean. Agricoles have a trademark grassy character that works nicely with the fresh mintiness of a Mojito.

Twists on a classic

But rum is now produced all over the world, so it’s easy to make a local Mojito. I’ve included recommendations from the UK and Australia in my selection below, but there are plenty of other quality light rums available.

You can also think outside the box and use an aged gold rum instead of a white rum to make a Golden Mojito. This changes the taste profile of the drink, moving away from fresh green flavours to something more sweet and rich, with notes of vanilla and caramel.

‘The best drinks are the ones that feel inevitable in hindsight – the Golden Mojito is one of those,’ says Alfredo Guerra, brand ambassador for Havana Club Global. ‘It is about how one simple switch unlocks a completely different drinking experience. With Havana Club Especial, you get a rounder, smoother serve, ideal for unwinding at golden hour in good company.’

Best rums for a Mojito: eight to try

Bacardí Carta Blanca

Bacardí is the original Daiquiri rum – but this big brand is a good value choice for a Mojito too. Although Bacardi was founded in Cuba in 1862, its rums are now made in Mexico and Puerto Rico. Carta Blanca has sweet tropical aromas with banana and coconut and a touch of peppery spice, leading to a light, creamy palate with notes of tropical fruit, spice and a vanilla toffee edge. Alcohol 37.5%

DropWorks Clear Drop

Founded in 2023 by rum expert Lewis Hayes, the DropWorks distillery in Nottingham is flying a flag for British rums. Made from imported molasses, Clear Drop is a blend of four rums distilled in England’s first double retort still and a column still. Clean and crisp, it’s a versatile choice for rum cocktails generally, but there’s a snappy note of green apple on the palate that I think perfectly complements the mint in a Mojito. Alc 40%

Havana Club Añejo Especial

This double-aged golden rum contains a blend of rums aged for up to five years. It rests in white oak casks before blending and is then matured for a second time in ex-whiskey casks. Spicy aromas with top notes of lime pickle, plus orange, toffee and vanilla. Rich, rounded, creamy palate; with brown sugar and caramel sweetness, plus creamy vanilla, layered with spicy dried orange peel and woody notes. Try it instead of Havana Club Original Añejo 3 Años to make a sweeter Golden Mojito. Alc 37.5%

Husk Pure Cane

This award-winning rhum agricole from Australia showcases Husk Distillery’s focus on provenance. The label tells you exactly which variety of sugarcane was used and the year of harvest, giving a very specific taste of the north coast of New South Wales. As you’d expect from a sugarcane juice agricole, it’s characteristically grassy, with banana notes, citrus hints, white pepper spice and a slightly earthy base note that complements the mint in your Mojito. Alc 40%

Planteray 3 Stars

The three stars are Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad: top sites for rum production in the Caribbean. This tasty blend mixes unaged spirits from Barbados and Jamaica with two- to three-year-old spirit from Trinidad, then adds a dash of Jamaican 10-year-old for good measure. A favourite with bartenders, 3 Stars is crisp and fresh, with plenty of spice and a grassy, almost agave-like note on the palate, balanced by sweeter tones of honey and vanilla custard. A dependable choice for Mojitos. Alc 41.2%

Rhum JM White

This is an agricole, a distinctive style of rum made from sugarcane (rather than molasses) that’s typical to the French-speaking islands of the Caribbean – in this case Martinique, where the style was invented – hence it’s labelled rhum. Agricoles have a trademark grassy character that works nicely with the fresh mintiness of a Mojito. You’ll find it here alongside bright lime citrus, floral and tropical notes, plus white pepper spice. I love this in a Mojito. Alc 50%

Ron Santiago de Cuba Carta Blanca

This Cuban molasses-based rum is aged in white oak barrels for three years and then filtered. The fresh, grassy nose is laced with banana, fudge and tropical fruit. While the palate is smooth, fresh and creamy, with banana toffee, vanilla and spice balanced by fresh green grassy notes too. A well rounded cocktail rum – but I particularly enjoy it in a refreshing minty Mojito. Alc 38%

Veritas White Rum

Two of rum’s most respected names have joined forces to make this versatile light mixing rum. A blend of pot-still spirit from Hampden in Jamaica and column-still rum from Foursquare in Barbados, Veritas kicks off with notes of banana caramel, pineapple and vanilla. The smooth palate with fruity notes of pineapple and pineapple leaf, fresh banana, and pear – plus a touch of butterscotch – makes a well-balanced Mojito. Alc 47%

Related articles