The Alary family's involvement in viticulture and wine production dates back as far as 1692. The estate now comprises 29 hectares of vines of which 26 hectares are Grenache dominant and 3 are Rousanne dominant - with holdings in Rasteau and Cairanne.

The wine is a deep red colour and opens with a nose of dried fruit, ripe plums and savoury notes. The palate is broad and rich with dark plum fruits and good tannin structure leading to a long mineral finish.

Unfined, unfiltered and organic.

This Gigondas by Domaine Espiers is deep, rich and fruity. The nose is complex and savoury, with black olive and pepper notes held together by a ripe dark fruit backdrop. The palate reveals a ripe, layered wine with mild tannins and a long finish.

This is the top wine of this old estate in Chateauneuf du Pape, produced from a single block of their oldest vines, many of which being over 100 years old.  Very concentrated and hedonistic wine.  100% Grenache,  undergrowth, truffle, toast, light notes of vanilla; red fruit: redcurrants, raspberries, sour cherries, maintaining a fresh acidity and endless length. The complexity of a fine Pinot Noir but the power of a mighty Rhone wine.

Chateauneuf du Pape is definitely the most famous and arguably the most prestigious of the Southern Rhone 'Cru' wine appellations, covering 3,200 hectares of vines across 5 communes (about three times the size of Martinborough).

Wine was made here from Roman times, but became famous with the Papacy in town and beyond to royal courts. The best vineyards are on gentle hill slopes, with deep clay & limestone soils with large rounded river stones 'galets' on top. By rules inacted in the 1920s, no vineyards were to be planted on land that was not arid enough to support plantings of both lavender and vines.

Domaine Juliette Avril is a family winery of four generations in the heart of Chateauneuf town - growing for centuries in the region and helped to create the rules of the appellation in 1928.  The vineyards are the classic mix of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, and small amounts of the other 10 grape varieties permitted. An impressive half of the vines are over 50 years old.

Winemaking

Temperature controlled ferment in steel, aged in high quality demi-muid (600L) barrels for 12 months, with a light filtration.  The top wine of the estate - from a single estate of old vines.

This wine has biodynamic certification with Demeter and is a dark and complex dry red made from 50% Grenache, 25% Mourvedre and 25% Syrah. It's from the Lirac appellation in the southern Rhone Valley, which is famous for its high quality reds as well as dry pale rosés.

A great Syrah from the northern Rhone appellation of Cornas, famous for its staunch full bodied dry flavoured reds and long ageability of wines made from here. This powerful red from Ferraton Pere & Fils has dark black fruit flavours, strong spicy aromas and a hint of black pepper, tar and earthiness all adding great complexity to an outstanding and youthful wine. 

Drinks well now, if decanted, and begs to be cellared for up to and potentially beyond 10 years. 

Produced from an assemblage of different plots in the commune of Ampuis, the white Cotes du Rhone from Domaine Jamet is northern in character. Mainly produced from Marsanne and Viognier grapes, this wine is fresh, with minerality, and provides immediate enjoyment.

Appelation - Cotes du Rhone
Geology - Schist and clay-limestone soil
Grape varieties - 60% Marsanne, 30% Viognier, 7% Roussane, 3% Grenache Blanc
Vinification - Alcoholic and malolactic fermentation partly in barrels and partly in tanks
Maturation - 50 % oak barrels and 50 % stainless steel tanks
Plot - Lezardes, Cognet, Plomb, Tartaras, Champrond.

100% Syrah from the Schist soils of Domaine Jamet some 4km from Ampuis located on a plateau, known as 'Le Vallin'. Here we find a great variety of terroirs, exposure and vine age which Jamet uses to the max in driving complexity in his wines.

This Cote-Rotie is produced from twenty parcels, using whole bunches, maceration of about three weeks and is ageing in oak for 22 months - 15% new.

The parcels are found in 15 different locations - Fongeant, Cote Blonde, Landonne, Cote Rozier, Plomb, Chavaroche, Moutonnes, Lesardes, Gerine, Truchet, Leyat, Bonnivieres, Cote Bodin, Tartaras and Rochins.

A great Syrah with black plum, blackberry and ripe red cherry notes from French winemaker Jean-Baptiste Souillard. 

This spicy full bodied red is new in store and offers great drinking now as well as ageing potential for up to a decade, potentially beyond. 

This cuvee is made up of a blend of 60% Grenache and 40% Syrah, from the Garrigues plateau located near the village of Sarrians. This wine is highly perfumed with aromas of ripe red berries and smoky minerality. The generous palate offers intense red berry and lavender flavors and a touch of white pepper.

Burgundy-trained Stéphane Ogier is a northern Rhône wunderkind, says Master of Wine Jancis Robinson. He makes this full bodied, fresh southern Rhône blend of about 60% Grenache and 40% Syrah from vines substantially grown in Violès on Le Plan de Dieu supplemented by some from Visan. Soils are a mixture of limestone and blue clay. Average vine density is 7,000 vines per hectare with the average age a very heartening 30 to 50 years. Vines are hand-harvested – yields averaging 40 hl/ha – before being sorted in both vineyard and cellar.

 Ogier joined his father Michel in 1997 to work the family vineyards and built a glamorous new winery just south of Ampuis overlooked by the steep Côte Rôtie terraces. And he has now built a second winery in the southern Rhône to make wines like Le Temps est Venu without having to ship the grapes too far.

The Domaine des Espiers is located in the heart of Vaucluse, between the banks of the Ouvèze and Dentelles de Montmirail. This is an excellent value Cote du Rhone with smooth tannins, warm berry fruit flavours and a medium body. 

This is a stunning new addition to our southern French wine range and comes from winemaker Xavier Vignon. Xavier has become internationally known for being the winemaker of several of the best domaines in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and the Rhone, such as Le Nerthe, Marcoux and Grand Veneur.

This Cotes du Rhone is his own take on the traditional southern French theme with its smooth, spicy, juicy flavours, over delivering on style, quality and price - as is typical of the best Cotes du Rhone reds.

50% Grenache- 40% Mourvèdre - 5% Cinsault - 5% Syrah

Domaine de Beaurenard is family owned and operated (over seven generations) and is one of the leading estates of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. The Coulon brothers, Daniel and Frederic, have taken over from Paul and Regine, and craft some of the most fruity, charming and supple wines of the whole Appellation. With the modernization of the cellars in the late 80s, the quality of the wines has gone from excellent to often exceptional - and the vineyards are now organic and biodynamic.

All 13 of the permitted grape varieties are used here including some vines so old they’re not sure of the variety. Terrific stuff.