William Fèvre Petit Chablis 2014, Burgundy, France (£16.60 Wine Importers, Hailsham Cellars, Bubbles and Wine, The Wine Shop, John Hattersley Wines) Forget the Petit bit, this is fresh, vibrant wine with a light nectarine note alongside the floral citrus flavours and a crisp mineral note on the finish. Good for […]
Simon
Guigal Gigondas 2011, Rhône, France (£24.26 Chordale Wine Merchants, Bubbles And Wine Ltd, Roberts and Speight Ltd, Portland Wine Company, Fenwick Ltd, R Campbell & Sons Ltd, Clifton Cellars, Hailsham Cellars, Liquorice) Dumb initially, this opens up over the course of a couple of hours to reveal its core of […]
Assorted reds from France, South Africa & Portugal

Grattamacco Bolgheri Vermentino 2014, Tuscany, Italy (£25 Laithwaites) Rich and juicy but always vibrant, with pithy lemon and rounder muskier pear fruit joined by notes of herbs and pine, and a tense finish to hold it all together. Very good. S Cave de Turckheim Gewürztraminer Grand Cru Brand 2011, Alsace, […]
Assorted Aromatic Whites from Italy, France & Argentina
Goring Brut NV, Sussex, England (£31.45 Corking Wines) I love the gentle, ripe lime, apple and even raspberry flavours in this perky young wine. It’s crisp but never scrawny, and alongside the toasty notes, there’s a light hedgerow character to remind you of its origins. Good now but feels like […]
Assorted Sparklers from England & Italy
Miguel Torres Manso de Velasco Cabernet Sauvignon 2011, Curicó, Chile (£28.99 Soho Wine Supply, Portland Wine Company, Hoults Wine Merchants, Telford Wines) A dark, brooding beast of a wine when you first open it, still crouching and waiting to pounce. But soon it comes to life, showing some classic Chilean […]
Miguel Torres Manso de Velasco Cabernet Sauvignon 2011, Curicó, Chile
Would love to report that these were great, but they’re only OK… The Doctors’ Sauvignon Blanc 2015, Marlborough, New Zealand (£9-£10 Waitrose, Booths) Reasonable mix of citrus and passionfruit with a touch of rhubarb, slightly on the soft side, due perhaps to age (2016 is current vintage in NZ), or […]