Idee Folle translates to ‘crazy idea’. This is an unusual blend of white wine grapes (Gros Manseng, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay) which has had an eau-de-vie added to halt fermentation, retaining the wine’s residual sugars.

Château de Fesles Bonnezeaux is a yellow, almost ochre-coloured wine. It has an expressive, vinous nose with notes of lemon, citrus fruit and white flowers. This wine is nicely alcoholic, warm and spicy on the palate. This Bonnezaux has a semi-dry style and a slight taste of peach kernel. Bonnezeaux is 100% Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley.

"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

This is a bright, bone dry Pinot Gris with an underlying salinity. The nose is zesty and layered with lemon and grapefruit notes. These flavours continue on the palate, and are met with a mineral touch and bright acidity. 

"Tasted at the Mouton-Rothschild vertical in London, the 2010 Mouton-Rothschild is a modern-day benchmark for the First Growth and here, side-by-side with the 2009, it certainly has its nose in front. It is in possession of quite breathtaking delineation and precision, a crystalline bouquet with black fruit laced with minerals, potent pencil shaving notes, a touch of cold slate. It is totally entrancing. The palate has beguiling symmetry, but for me what really distinguishes this Mouton is its effortlessness. Like watching Usain Bolt in his prime sprinting to another world record, this wine is almost self-effacing in terms of its brilliance. Will Philippe Dhalluin ever better this Mouton-Rothschild? Keep it in the cellar for 15 years, if you know what's good for you." Tasted May 2016.

Rating 99

Les Fondraux is semi-sweet: it always has some residual sugar, wich gives concentration and fullness to the palate. White flowers dominate the nose and help bring into focus all of the wine's freshness, fullness, minerality and vivacity. Whilst young, the wine matches perfectly with river fish, charcuterie, goat's cheese, and sweet-and-sour dishes. With age, the flavours can manage more spicy foods and white meat. - Champalou note.

Only old vine Grenache (between 75-90 years) is used to make this wine. This is a deep, rich and vibrant red. The nose is very complex with notes of raspberry, licourice and spices. This is an opulent, generously fruity wine. Drink from now through to 2027.

Domaine Clusel-Roch is located in Vérenay, the northernmost village in Côte Rôtie, with a winegrowing history that predates the region’s fame. Although the estate comprises a mere 3.5 ha, their plots are small-but-mighty, consistently producing intensely coveted cuvées. Now run by Gilbert Clusel, his wife Brigitte, and their son Guillaume, the Clusel-Roch family was among the first to adopt organic farming practices in the area, when Gilbert’s grandfather planted the core vineyard of the winery in 1935.

Syrah is the star here, and Clusel-Roch’s vineyards are not planted with just any syrah, but with the unique, low-yielding clone known as serine. Their single vineyard bottlings are in great demand (and limited quantity), but this cuvée provides a rare opportunity to get an affordable taste of Clusel-Roch’s inimitable style

This bottle is classic Northern Rhône syrah, with a woody smoke over spice, plush blackberry, black raspberry, currant, and hints of crushed herbs.

A light ruby colour in the glass with gentle red berry and subtle earthy aromas on the nose. On the palate the wine is light with an elegant and refined mouthfeel and gentle red fruits flavours. Precise winemaking resulting in quality Pinot Noir.

One of the great pink champagnes, combining toasted red fruit flavours and the freshness of a great, complex wine with long lees ageing. Delicious. 

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

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

A beautiful peachy expression of the viognier grape grown on the sand and granite steep terraced slopes of the northern Rhone.

Fermentation is at low temperatures, a third in new barrels and the rest in stainless steel tanks. The wine undergoes 100% Malolactic fermentation and is aged in 100% new oak.

Brilliant clear golden yellow in the glass with a nose that is Intensely floral and fruity; violets, apricots, peaches and citrus.

The palate is fresh, round and unctuous with lighter acidity and round fleshy fruits.

Commercial description

The Côte-Rôtie « La Mouline » is one of the most emblematic of the Guigal domain’s wines. Small quantities are produced each year from a vineyard in the heart of the ‘Côte Blonde’. This is a voluptuous, silky and intensely aromatic wine.

Soil type
Terraced wines in the shape of a Roman amphitheatre. Gneis with lighly coloured silicone soil with limestone lœss.

Grape variety
89 % Syrah, 11 % Viognier.

Average age of vines
about 75 years

Winemaking
Thermoregulated stainless steel tanks. Traditional pumping over. Alcoholic fermentation/ 4 week maceration..

Ageing
42 months in new oak

Average yield
35 Hl / hectare.

Tasting notes
Eye : Ruby red with red vermillion tints.
Nose : Small red fruits, blackberry and floral violet aromas.Intensely aromatic, powerful but full of finesse.
Palate : Supple with balance between the finesse of the aromas and an explosive richness due to the concentration of the wine. Greatly expressive of the terroir.
Overall : A feminine wine with voluptuous silky texture and intense aromas.

Commercial description

Cote-Rotie "La Turque" is one of the flagship of the Domaine Guigal. A powerful wine with spicy notes, its terroirs from the Cote Brune with “blond accents” lends it a great elegance.

Soil type
Silicone limestone with schistes producing clay soil rich in iron oxyde.

Grape variety
93 % Syrah, 7% Viogner.

Average age of vines
25 years

Winemaking
Thermoregulated stainless steel tanks. Automated punching down. Alcoholic fermentation/4 week maceration.

Ageing
42 months in new oak.

Average yield
35 Hl / hectare.

Tasting notes
Eye : Deep ruby red with dark tints.
Nose : Small red fruit, blackberry, morello cherry Intensely aromatic, powerful and elegant.
Palate : Supple attack with a balanced supple structure, concentration and elegant tannins. Fully expressive of the terroir.
Overall : With all the virility of the Côte Brune, La Turque also has all the subtlety and femininity of the Côte Blonde.

This Gewurztraminer offers a next level experience both for lovers of the powerfully scented Gewurz' grape and for wine fans in general because the wines of Domaine Marcel Deiss have a justified cult following.

Domaine Marcel Deiss is located in Bergheim, a small village nestling in the heart of the wine region of Alsace, equal distance from the northern and southern boundaries of the region. The current winemaker is Jean-Michel Deiss, who was born into a long-established family of wine growers, living at Bergheim since 1744.

Today he manages the domaine, which consists of 26 hectares (52 acres) of hillside vineyards spread over nine communes and approximately 20 kilometres.

All Deiss wines are certified organic, made from grapes grown biodynamically and they break new ground in style and quality. Many are field blends, made in homage to historical growing methods where many different grape varieties grew together alongside each other, were picked together and fermented together.