80 % Grenache and 20% Syrah. Nice freshness in the nose with herbal and wild blackberry notes. The palate is fruity and spicy with wild raspberry, rosemary and thyme notes. This is a balanced, well-structured and mineral Rhone red.

Bodega Muga was founded in 1932 and remains in family hands today with 250 hectares in La Rioja Alta and long standing contracts with owners of another 150 hectares of vineyards spread among five main vineyards on clay and limestone soils with a wide variety of microclimates. 

The Muga wines are exciting and interesting Spanish blends of indigenous grapes with Tempranillo in the lead, supported by Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano for the reds. 

If you’re a fan of Spanish wine, try this gorgeous next level reserve out for size. 

Chateau Thivin is the oldest estate on Mont Brouilly, which has remained in family hands for several generations. Grown on steep slopes, harvested manually and vinified using low intervention techniques so as to maximise terroir expression. 

The Brouilly appellation is capable of producing excellent and complex wines, quite unlike the maligned Beaujolais Nouveau. Brouilly produces fruit forward, medium bodied wines, typically from the Gamay grape. 

Le Sept Vignes is a blend of the seven plots of Chateau Thivin, in an effort to represent the region's terroir. This is a delicious, medium bodied red, with slight tannins and a persistent, juicy red-fruit character. Complex yet easy-drinking in it's youth. This wine will grow in elegance given a few years age. 

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.

Giacomo Fenocchio is regarded as one of the best Barolo producers today. Here's a piece that sums up why he is so highly respected and what makes his wines an authentic expression of Piemonte as a wine region.

What the critics say

"Woodland-berry, new leather, camphor and fragrant blue-flower aromas align in the glass. Showing youthful tension and depth, the palate is still immaturely austere but delivers juicy cherry, raspberry and licorice alongside firm, refined tannins. Fresh acidity keeps it well balanced. Drink 2024–2041." 

96 points
Wine Enthusiast

"The Villero cru is quickly gaining in prestige and celebrity. The 2016 Barolo Villero raises the bar on this group of new releases from Giacomo Fenocchio. If some of the other Baroli are slightly muddled in aromas, this wine shows a greater degree of focus and precision. You are aware of clear aromas of black fruit, plum, spice, leather and cured tobacco. The tannins are textured but integrated into the rich fiber of this vintage."  

92 points
Robert Parker Wine Advocate

Giacomo Fenocchio's winemaking philosophy

"Claudio Fenocchio took over from his father Giacomo in 1989 – probably the moment of greatest pressure to follow the ‘modern’ winemaking path of short fermentations and aging in new barriques. In fact, it’s difficult now to understand how much pressure was exerted – from peers and neighbors, old and young, from the press, importers, customers, and that mysterious thing called “the market”. It took a strong will to resist, and a strong devotion to tradition. Lucky for us that Claudio stuck with the best of tradition – organic farming, long fermentations, and aging in large Slavonian oak casks. Easy for us too, since we get to drink his wines. Here’s a rare group of Fenocchio bottles spanning the generations, and ending with the beautiful 2016s."

From Chambers Street Wines

A lovely fruit forward and pure sparkling wine made in the same way as Champagne from 45% Chardonnay, 35% Pinot Noir and 20% Gamay. Nine months on the lees gives this real depth with subtle notes of brioche combining with its citrus and stone fruit flavours.

This big, powerful lush velvety red from California is made from one of the most popular grapes in that vast, warm wine region, namely Zinfandel. 

Also known fondly as Zin, it's one of California's most successful red grapes, which thrives in the hot dry climate and makes beautiful full bodied wines, such as this. 

The Zinfandel grape is also widely grown in southern Italy where it's known as Primitivo because it is one of the first to ripen (hence, 'primi' for first) and it is grown in eastern Europe where it's called, variously, Tribidrag,  Crljenak Kaštelanski and Kratošija. DNZ analysis has shown that the grapes known by these names are all genetically identical to the Croatian Crljenak Kaštelanski and Italian Primitivo.

Vouvray is a French wine appellation devoted to the great Chenin Blanc grape, which is expressed vibrantly in this gorgeously fresh and light bodied but intensely flavoursome white wine. Its high acidity and expansive fresh flavours make Chenin Blanc one of the most versatile wines with its bold and bright lemon, honey and floral aromas. High acidity adds length and backbone to the palate of this lovely wine. 

The history, mystery of a long established winery

The Domaine Marc Bredif winery is one of the great names of the Loire. The estate has enjoyed a long and colourful history, having been established in 1893 under the original name of Château les Roches. In 1919, not long after the end of the First World War, Marc Bredif took over from his Uncle and renamed the property to mark the change of ownership. His focus was simple, to forge an unrivalled reputation for excellence amongst the estates of the Loire Valley.
He invested heavily in the estate during the 1930’s, building a tremendous circular storage room in the heart of its cellars, which today houses venerable vintages of sweet Vouvray, some of which date back to the 1900’s. The property managed to survive the Second War World War relatively unharmed and remained under family control until the 1980’s. As is so often the case, family intrigue and financial necessity meant that the Domaine had to be sold, and in 1980 Baron Patrick de Ladoucette acquired the estate. Thankfully, the Baron was every bit the conscientious owner and has given new life to Marc Bredif – investing heavily and expanding their holdings to include some of the most prized Vouvray vineyards – 20 hectares in total. Picking exclusively by hand, the Domaine produces some of the most profound and immortal expressions of Chenin Blanc, in a range of styles to suit all wine lovers.

Smooth, fruity Italian red blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah grapes. This Tuscan wine is a lovely introduction to the great world of Italian reds in the Antinori stable; a family company that has been continuously producing wine back to the 1300s.

What the critics say...

"It's delightfully fruited and fragrant on the nose with dark plum."

Sam Kim, Wine Orbit

This is one of Marchese Antinori's top Tuscan wines and is made from the Peppoli Vineyard in the Chianti Classico DOCG. This wine was first made in 1985 and is a full bodied Chianti Classico with firm smooth tannins and high acidity, which is balanced by the ripe dark fruit characters and silky finish. 

It was aged in large Slovenian oak barrels with a small portion aged in stainless steel to retain fresh fruit flavours and balance. 

THE CHIANTI CLASSICO APPELLATION

Chianti Classico is the heart of the wider Chianti production zone and its wines are distinguished by a trademarked black rooster on their labels. The wines of Chianti Classico are higher in quality and noticeably so in taste than wines labelled Chianti, which come from a broader area in Tuscany. The wines taste better because the vines are planted on hillsides with a higher degree of  iron rich soils and a greater diurnal temperature range, which provides more powerful, riper fruit flavours, which are balanced by higher acidity thanks to the cooler night time temperatures. 

The Sangiovese grape must make up 80% of all wines labelled Chianti Classico compared to 70% Sangiovese for wines labelled Chianti. 

Chianti was first defined as a wine producing sub region within Tuscany in 1716 by the Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo III, whose wanted to protect the integrity of the wines and prevent fraud. The Chianti Classico Wine Consortium was formed in 1924 with the distinctive Black Rooster trademark chosen to feature on the labels. 

Benanti is a Sicilian winery with vineyards on the slopes of Mt Etna. This Etna Bianco is sourced from fruit from the eastern and southern slopes of the mountain. The unique terroir of this micro-climate gives the wine its distinctly Sicilian profile. Benanti Etna Bianco is made from the indigenous Carricante grape. This grape brings juicy acidity and fresh fruit aromatics, which is preserved by steel ageing. The palate is dry, refreshing and mineral, with a good persistent finish.

This wine is named after Lantignié, where Alexandre Burgaud is based, located to the west of the famous Morgon Cru in Beaujolais. He owns just five hectares and the vines have an average age over 60.

This is a bright, vibrant Gamay with moderate acidity and soft tannins, cherry and raspberry flavours and a pleasant finish.

Grape 100% Gamay

Superbly balanced Blanc de Blanc Champagne.

Serge Gallois is a small-scale grower-champagne (récoltant-coopérateur) situated in the famous "Côte des Blancs" area of Champagne, known for its chalky soils that bring finesse and elegance to the wines.  

This is a Premier Cru wine, meaning that the grapes are sourced from high quality cru-rated vineyards from the village of Vertue - one of the highest rated villages in the Côte des Blancs. This is made with 100% Chardonnay and matured for 3 years on lees before bottling.

Bright, fine bead, aromatic and delicate florals combine with autolytic notes of brioche, citrus and stonefruit on the nose and palate.  Lovely freshness and minerality."

Moscato d’Asti Gianni Doglia produced with 100% Moscato Bianco
Place of production: Fraz. Annunziata, Castagnole Lanze (Asti) Italy
Harvest: Beginning of September
Yield: 9000 kg per hectare/Ha

Vinification:
To preserve in the wine all of the fragrance of the fruit you need to adopt a particular technique of harvesting and vini cation. In fact, the grapes, from vineyards owned by the company, are harvested manually in the vineyard and lied with care in boxes for the transportation to the winery; here they are pressed gently and the must obtained is preserved in cooling vats (-1,5° C) until it is time to vinify it in the autoclave. The fermentation takes place at a controlled temperature and with the help of selected yeasts until it reaches 5% alcohol. Afterwards the wine will be altered and bottled. This is how you obtain a lively wine with strong and intense varietal characteristics.

5% ABV

Color: straw yellow with green hues.
Nose: intense and exciting. The varietal aromatic tones are articulated in delicate oral notes like jasmine, rose, sage, mint with fruity tones of peach, apricot, pineapple and banana.
Taste: A Natural slightly sparkling wine; the sweet and aromatic taste is accompanied from a fresh citrus finish with a long persistence.
Food coupling:
The Moscato d’Asti is an excellent wine for dessert that goes well with pastries and fruit cakes; moreover, thanks to the moderate alcohol content is a pleasant refreshing drink in the summer. More provocative is the coupling with cold cuts and cheeses; a provocation that will amaze you.