£20 to 30

Lemon yellow in colour. A fruity and intense nose, with hints of ripe bananas and tropical fruit like guava and kiwi. The palate is dry, medium-bodied, balanced with a long finish. A great example of elegant, unoaked Chardonnay from Northern Italy.

Country: Italy

Region: Alto Adige 

Grapes: Chardonnay

ABV: 13.5% 

Food Matches: Vegetable risottos or creamy root vegetable soups, pan fried sea bass or veal dishes.

A top notch wild and organic Bandol!

Mourvèdre at its best! Wild flavours of fresh earth, black pepper, cinnamon, bay, cloves and blackberry. The finish is fresh and quite dry. A great way to discover Mourvèdre-dominant wine.

Country: France

Region: Bandol

ABV: 14.5%

Grapes: Mourvèdre 70%, Grenache 20%, Cinsault 10%

Organic

Domaine Lafran-Veyrolles is an estate with a superb terroir and is widely recognised as one of the top three producers in the appellation. Jean-Marie Castell runs this small, traditional estate with just 10ha of vines on the famous red clay soil of Bandol. The estate is nestled in the protective hillsides of the Cadière d'Azur and benefits from a maritime climate. The domaine works with minimal intervention: extremely low yields, organic viticulture and and natural winemaking including very limited sulphur dioxide.

Massaya Rose is made with 100% Cinsault, grown on hillside vineyards in the Beqaa Valley, at an altitude of around 1000m. This beautifully balanced and expressive rosé has lovely freshness, due to the altitude and is aged in stainless steel vats for 8 months. It is bottled in late spring the following year after harvest.

Country: Lebanon

Region: Bekaa Valley

Grapes: Cinsault

ABV: 13%

Food match: Mediterranean chicken or fish dishes with grilled vegetables, tabbouleh

St Laurent is a beautiful little-known grape variety. Very similar to low yield Pinot Noir but more tannic and full bodied. Delicious.

Bitter dark cherry and ripe mulberry on the nose. Juicy red fruit and red plum skin flavours on the palate, super soft tannins. Light and easy drinking, perfect summer red for sipping on the veranda. Will match well with just about anything because of soft tannins and fruitiness, even slightly spicey dishes.

Country: Austria

Region: Thermenregion, Lower Austria

ABV 13.5%

Grape Variety: St Laurent

Food Match: This wine works well with game bird or roast duck. Enjoy with venison sausages or tagliatelle with chicken liver and porcine.

ORGANIC

Now in its fourth generation of winemakers, the 40 hectare estate is run by Johann Reinisch's three sons: Hannes, Michael and Christian. With a 2,000 year legacy of wine growing in the region, the Reinischs maintain traditions with vineyards planted with 65 % red and 35 % white vines. The winery is best known for their excellent Pinot Noir and St. Laurent grown in vineyards from both the stony, alluvial gravel soils of Tattendorf (rich in both chalk and lime) near the winery and the elevated, nutrient rich soils of Gumpoldskirchen.

A very classy Nebbiolo from Alba with an affordable price tag.

Delicious lifted aromatics of liquorice, redcurrant and ripe red fruit on the nose, mingling with sour cherry, blossom and notes of leather on the palate. A richly flavoured and multi-layered wine combining vibrant acidity, perfectly poised tannins and rich spicy fruit. 

Country: Italy

Region: Piemonte

ABV: 14% 

Grape: Nebbiolo

Food Match: Serve with grilled steak and red meat, or alternatively robust pasta dishes with wild boar or rabbit ragu

Aromas of red berries and rose petals, light to medium bodied with very supple, ripe tannins and a juicy cranberry and pomegranate finish.

Country: Georgia

Region: Samegrelo

Grapes: Ojaleshi

ABV: 12.5%

Food Match: Great summer barbeque red that can be chilled in hot weather.

Giuaani Winery is located in the historic village of Manavi, the heartland of Georgian wine producing region, Kakheti. The Manavi village, cradled by the southern slopes of the minor Caucasus, is a home to one of the 29 PDOs (Protected Denomination of Origin) of Georgia. Its unique soil composition and microclimate provides perfect conditions for vine cultivation, especially for Kakhuri Mtsvane grape variety, and for the production of Manavi PDO white dry wines.

Aromas and flavours of cherries, plums, spices, tobacco and liquorice - everything a Chianti should be.

Country: Italy

Region: Tuscany

ABV: 13.5%

Grapes: 80% Sangiovese 20% Syrah

Organic

Perfectly balanced, toasty yeast aromas, apricot and red apple. Intense toasty, creamy palate and a vibrant, long finish. This is just sooooo yummy!

Country: France

Region: Loire

Grapes: Chenin Blanc

ABV: 12.5%

Intense red fruit aromas on the nose and palate, this medium-bodied Nebbiolo beauty from Produttori del Barbaresco has hints of white pepper and liquorice supported by bright tannins and a fresh acidity. A great introduction to the fine wines of Northern Italy.

Country: Italy

Region: Piedmont

Grapes: Nebbiolo

ABV: 14%

Food Match: Antipasto, pasta dishes with tomato sauce or slow cooked red meat stews. Very versatile.

Deep purple/red colour with an opaque core. On the nose it is rich with sweet red and black berry notes, some vanilla and sweet spice. On the palate it is much weightier than the nose suggests.  Very opulent, but elegant and balanced at the same time.

Country: South Africa

Region: Stellenbosch

ABV: 14%

Grape: Shiraz

Fresh and floral with red currant and raspberry hints. A very elegant and minerally example of this native Sicilian variety. Delicate, soft red fruits and a subtle garrigue-ness.

Country: Italy

Region: Etna, Sicily

Grapes: 100% Nerelo Mascalese

ABV: 14%

A natural, beautifully golden sparkling wine. The aroma is dominated by apple, quince and citrus fruit notes. Medium-bodied, with a pleasantly fresh fruit-forward finish.

Country: Bulgaria

Region: Danube Plain

Grapes: Riesling 

ABV: 11,5 %

Food Match: Aperitif, shellfish, salads, fish & chips.

A top-flight wine from the KWV, who although are a very large wine producer, also makes some incredible quality smaller batch wines. 

This fruit driven wine shows aromas of spice, pencil shavings and white chocolate. The complex, layered palate delivers a silky soft finish with lingering tannins. The juicy and fleshy characteristics of this extraordinary wine contribute to its bold structure and complexity.

Country: South Africa

Region: Stellenbosch

ABV: 14.5%

Grapes: Cabernet Franc

Le Colombier is the flagship red blend from Massaya made from Grenache Noir, Cinsault and Tempranillo sourced from around 40 year old hillside vineyards in the Bekaa Valley. The grapes are hand picked, fermented in stainless steel and then aged for a year in large vats. A bright, juicy red with hints of spice and pepper.

Country: Lebanon

Region: Bekaa Valley

Grapes: Grenache Noir, Cinsault and Tempranillo

ABV: 14.5%

Food match: Roast lamb or lamb tagine with Mediterranean grilled vegetables

Bright, light straw colour. Fragrant, fresh spring flowers on the nose and fresh fruit-driven palate of green apple, pear, white peach and grapefruit. Dry, crisp, and mineral, with a slight saline. The fruit and mineral balance is so delicious! Very long, clean and precise.

Country: Italy

Region: Tuscany

Grapes: 50% Petit Manseng 50% Viognier 

ABV: 13% 

Food Match: soups, aperitif, soft fresh cheese or antipasto.

Certified Organic

An excellent vintage in the Southern Rhone, full-bodied and creamy-textured for the estate. Hints of wood char and roasted meat mark the nose, while the flavours of mocha and brown sugar carry through the plush, velvety finish.

Country: France

Region: Rhone Valley

Grapes: Grenache, Syrah

ABV: 15%

A wonderfully complex and textured barrel fermented white Douro with a long, fresh and minerally finish. Made from four different indigenous grape varieties from very high altitude vineyards.

Country: Portugal

Region: Douro Valley

Grapes: 46% Rabigato, 29% Viosinho, 24% Gouveio,1% Fernão Pires

ABV: 12.5%

Food Matches: Great with seafood or fleshy pan fried white fish dishes.

Jamie Goode in Wine Anorak: 12.5% alcohol. A blend of local white varieties from Pedra Alta’s highest plots. Complex and nicely restrained with taut lemony fruit and some notes of pear and white peach. Lively and precise with good acidity and nice purity, this has the potential to develop with time, and it’s almost Burgundian in style. 94/100 

Superb concentration, complexity, amplified aromatics, and depth of flavour going on in this Georgian qvevri wine. Dried apricots and ripe peaches. Well rounded, with a sophisticated tannic structure, vibrant acidity with a long honeyed finish.

Country: Georgia

Region: Kakheti

Grapes: Kisi

ABV: 13%

Food Match: Spicy dishes, seafood such as shellfish and salmon, aged hard cheeses.

"Amber in colour with kumquat, sun-dried apricot and marzipan on the nose, candied orange peel, dried peach and tangerine zest on the palate, supported by muscular but polished tannins, thanks to controlled extraction. Fantastic depth, the lovely dried apricot notes follow to the long finish." 92 points, Sylvia Wu, Decanter (September 2022)

Read all about Penny's recent trip to the cradle of wine, Georgia in her blog here.

This wine has an attractive shiny light ruby colour. It is both refined and very frank on the nose and palate. It opens to aromas of red fruits. Its silky tannins support the balance of a wine, such that it can be kept for some time (5 to 7 years) while remaining pleasant in its youth.

Country: France

Region: Burgundy

Grapes: Pinot Noir

Food Match:  Serves well as an aperitif for fresh and savoury tapas, soft-boiled eggs or roasted fish.

Maison Chanzy is a highly respected Burgundian producer, their wines are a classical demonstration of premium vineyard sites in Côte Chalonnaise, Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits.

Their range has been carefully engineered by winemaker Max Blondelle, whose primary task is to create wines that eloquently communicate their respective terroir, whilst remaining hands-off in his approach. As such, Chanzy are one of the few Burgundy producers to achieve Haute Valeur Environnementale level 3; the most highly regarded certification for agriculture in France.

Pinot noir is the heritage of Red Burgundy. The Pinot Noir grape was born in Burgundy and has carried the name since 1375. Pinot Noir is the hereditary source to all of the great red wines from Burgundy vineyards. Pinot Noir is jealously desired, but it is fragile and it requires very careful care during its vegetative period.

Yummy Burgundian Chardonnay from next door to Pouilly-Fuissé. Clean, fleshy white fruit aroma with a subtle honeyed finish.

Country: France

Region: Burgundy

Grapes: Chardonnay

ABV: 13%

Inky, dark purple in colour. The nose is pure and concentrated with aromas ripe dark fruit, violets and blackberry. Very well balanced palate with fresh acidity, ripe and supple tannin,  dark stone fruits, juicy yet concentrated with a very long finish. This wine will age well for 5-10 years if you can keep it that long!

Country: Argentina

Region: Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza 

Vegan/Vegetarian

Grapes:   Malbec

ABV: 13.5% 

Patricio Pereyra Pato is the owner and visionary of Bodegas Don Rosendo, Lujan de Cuyo A small estate with organic vineyards in some of the best sub-regions of Mendoza (including La Consulta and Agrelo) and with the superb Gabriela Zavala leading the winemaking, the quality is astonishingly high.

A brilliant Petit Chablis - ripe and untouched by oak. Showing all the characteristics of the terroir, as well as lemony freshness and vivacity, underpinned by tight minerality.

Country: France

Region: Chablis

ABV: 12.5%

Grapes:  100% Chardonnay

Ruby red in colour with flecks of garnet. Aromas of sweet spice: cinnamon, black pepper and cloves, supported by a ripe red fruit, black cherry and plum fruit. Complex, concentrated, yet elegant tannins, with a fresh minerality.  

Country: Bulgaria

Region: Struma Valley

Grapes: Early Melnik

ABV: 14%

Food Match: Roasts, game, saddle of venison, intense mature cheeses. 

Aromatic violet and lavendar nose with notes of ripe red and black berry fruits and a creamy, roast coffee beans. The palate is elegant, textured and simply delicious with  black plum, black cherry and cassis fruit, there is a savoury, liquorice character too. 

Country: South Africa

Region: Stellenbosch 

Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo, Carignan and Carménère

ABV: 14%

Food match: Great with braaied red meat and boerwors, but also amazing for just sipping in front of the fireplace on a cold wintery evening.

Located in the quintessential txakoli town of Getaria overlooking the Bay of Biscay, Akarregi Txiki is an extremely traditional winery which has been making wine in this farmhouse for generations. Fermented in stainless steel vats and left on lees with for minimum 3 months. Bottled with some residual CO2 pressure to give it the characteristic spritz. Crisp and delicate with hints of lemon leaves, lime and salty freshness, complimented by a delicate spritz.

Country: Spain

Region: Getariako Txakolina

Grapes: Hondarrabi Zuri  

ABV: 11.5%