Lovely dry, full bodied French Chardonnay, made by Cave de Lugny, a cooperative of over 250 winemakers in the Macon region in southern Burgundy. The Macon region is the warmest area of the world's most famous Chardonnay wine region and provides high quantities of grapes to make accessibly priced, very good quality dry whites like this one. 

Two of our favourite things; Chardonnay and great champagne combine in this beautiful bubbly from Laurent-Perrier. 

Champagne Laurent-Perrier was founded in 1812 by Andr? Michel Pierlot and took the name Vve Laurent-Perrier when Mathilde Emilie Perrier, the widow of Eug?ne Laurent, combined the two family names after she decided to expand the business.

Eug?nie Hortense Laurent, her daughter, inherited the House in 1925 and sold it to Marie-Louise Lanson de Nonancourt in 1939.

What the critics say...

Decanter World Wine Awards 2021 ? 95 points

?A briary salty and floral nose kicks off anticipation; elegant and ethereal. There?s line and precision and an impressive use of reserves to give gravity. Superb!?

James Suckling - 94 points 
?A dense and flavorful chardonnay with creamy texture and flavor. Lots of citrus and grapefruit and very vinous. A blanc de blancs with weight yet freshness. Pure chardonnay with no dosage. A new wine. Lovely finish. 40% 2009 and 60% 2012.?

Lovely crisp structure and fleshy mouthfeel from a superb Chablis producer in a wine that reveals white fruit notes such as peach, and has a persistent mineral structure. In the mouth, a stony sensation which is so typical of Chablis makes this a round and pure wine.

Chablis is the northernmost wine region in Burgundy, which produces only Chardonnay. The cooler climate gives these wines crispness, acidity and a flinty minerality.

Veuve Clicquot is one of the world's biggest selling champagnes and is produced by Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey in a range of styles and packaging. 

Veuve is named after the late, great Widow Clicquot, who was left not only a widow aged 27 but also in charge of running a champagne house. Her legacy is to have left both the brand and the region in better condition than she found them, mostly famously by inventing riddling; the turning of the bottle to remove the yeast sediment into its neck, prior to disgorgement. This resulted in higher quality, cleaner, fresher bubbles in both look and taste. Her quest was quality and she is widely credited with having raised it significantly in the Champagne region and in the bottles it produces.

This magnum of yellow label non vintage (NV) champagne is typically made up of 55% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Meunier.

Louis Jadot owns one of the largest holdings of top level vineyards in Burgunday so has access to outstanding grapes in good volumes, so wines like this lively fresh young Chardonnay benefit hugely. This wine is a regional blend from Burgundy, made from grapes grown in both the Cotes d’Or and Macon, which combine to add flesh, weight and depth along with purity of acidity for freshness. 

The innovative style of this cuvée remains loyal to the discreet and balanced charm of the three Champenois grape varieties. No sugar has been added to the dosage.

This is a champagne with complex and seductive aromas of dried fruits and brioche combined with floral notes. These are further enhanced by the subtle charm of lemon verbena.

On the palate It exhibits a charming biscuity flavour with notes of white flesh fruits and a full and harmonious minerality which results in a sensational balanced finish.

Enjoy with gambas, grilled scallops and ceviche.

Paquet Victoire Pinot Noir 2023 is a bright, supple red showing lifted aromas of cherry, raspberry and wild strawberry, with subtle floral and earthy undertones. The palate is medium-bodied and silky, driven by fresh acidity and fine-grained tannins. Gentle spice and a touch of forest floor add depth, finishing clean, elegant and refreshingly vibrant on the finish with mineral lift.

Tasting Note: This is a high-altitude wine (450m), with warm, sunny days and cool nights. The result is a fine, elegant, fresh wine with a fine tannic structure. A fine finish of tension and freshness.

Winemaking Notes: Density: 10,000 vines / ha Growing region: Beaujolais – Lancié Average age of vines: 40 years Yield: 45 hl / ha Soil type: Weakly decomposed granite, mid-slope. Alcoholic fermentation: In cement vats and whole bunches. Maturing: 50% in vats and 50% in 228-liter barrels. Bottling: At the Domaine in Lancié, Beaujolais

Certification: Organic

Alcohol: 13.5%

Variety: Gamay

Region: Beaujolais, France

"Composed of 78% Merlot and 22% Cabernet Franc, the 2018 Chambrun is deep garnet-purple in color with warm blackberries, black cherry pie and blueberry compote with touches of fried herbs and cedar. The palate is medium to full-bodied with bags of vibrant fruit and a firm frame of rounded tannins, finishing long and refreshing."

Rating (90 - 92)+

Reviewed by Lisa Perrotti-Brown

Domaine des Pothiers makes wines from Gamay Noir, the Beaujolais grape, only this producer is in the Cote Roannaise, in the northern Loire Valley. Eclipse is a pale pink sparkling wine made solely with Gamay Noir, using the Methode Ancestral technique; the oldest winemaking method to create sparkling wines via a fermentation in the bottle. This style is now affectionately known in wine circles as Pet Nat; an abbreviation for petillant natural, due to being naturally sparkling following its second ferment in the bottle. Unlike champagne, which is made this way, pet nat is not disgorged, so this style retains lees and therefore a touch of cloudiness. 

This bubbly is medium dry with 9% ABV, and really well balanced by crisp zingy acidity and savoury flavours. A great aperitif style.

This is a fabulous little French Chenin Blanc from Vouvray - queen of the Loire Valley appellations (wine areas) devoted to Chenin. Flavours here run the gamut of delicious lemony fruity flavours in an off dry. Florals, citrus and peach on the nose feed into a similar profile on the palate, with further white flowers and honey notes.

Pair with fish and lightly spiced Asian cuisine.

Chateau Pegau's Maclura Côtes du Rhône is a new addition to our shelves in store at Regional Wines. It's a spicy, smooth blend of 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah and 10% each of Cinsault and Mourvèdre. Its full bodied style rests on a soft tannic structure with lovely ripe flavours of dark and stewed fruit. It's a great red to drink now and over the next half decade. 

Domaine du Pegau is owned by the Feraud family, who have 21 hectares of top quality vineyards in the famous southern Rhone appellation of Chateauneuf-du-Pape as well as 25 hectares of Cote du Rhone Village vineyards, 5 hectares of Cote du RHone and 19 hectares of more humble vineyards that go into vin de table wines. The name Pegau was created in 1987 by Laurence Feraud

Each vintage, from our base in Cairanne, we are able to select exceptional Grenache and Syrah from the best Côtes du Rhône Villages to make Les Coteaux, which we then enrich with classified wine from Séguret and Sablet.

Production

Common practice in the Côtes du Rhône is to bottle the best cuvées as a single, named, village wine and the rest as more basic Côtes du Rhône Villages. Boutinot’s philosophy, on the other hand, is to start with the intention of making the very best Côtes du Rhône Villages possible by sourcing wine from the vineyards of named villages, and enriching them with a small proportion of barrel-aged wine from Sablet and Séguret. Boutinot's Côtes du Rhône Villages 'Les Coteaux' is therefore a selection of the best Grenache Noir and Syrah from some of the 17 named Côtes du Rhône Villages. We source wine from a number of growers with exceptional terroir and so have the flexibility to select only the very best fruit each vintage (rejecting parcels which do not meet our high standards). Mostly unoaked, a small proportion (15%) is part-aged for up to 20 months in a few new, but mostly older, oak barrels to bring depth and subtle notes of complexity.

Tasting notes

Immediately impressive, this wine reveals its class from the start. Brambly fruit underpinned by subtle oaky nuances, lovely sweet spice - warm star anise with a touch of cinnamon. This classic Côtes du Rhône Villages is enriched with specially-selected parcels from Séguret and Sablet.

Food match

A delicious accompaniment to hearty food: grilled meats, meaty sausages with mash or, as would be served in France, with puy lentils; shepherd's pie, mushroom ragoût or simply a good pizza.