High School Wines

Concentrated cassis and plum with a hint of liquorice. Some evolved secondary and tertiary characteristics of forest floor leaves and tobacco.  A classic, elegant Bordeaux red drinking very well now.

Country: France

Region: Bordeaux, Haut Medoc

Grapes: 50% Merlot and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon

ABV: 13.5%

Food match: fillet steak and frites or boeuf bourguignon

A great example of well rounded Bordeaux wine at a reasonable price. Difficult to find!

An approachable style of Claret that has a ripe and round plummy nose with a hint of wood spice, cinnamon and nutmeg. Full­ bodied and well structured, this is a lean and quite austere wine with gentle tannins.

Country: France

Region: Bordeaux

ABV: 14%

Grapes:  60% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon

Food Match:  Lamb, hard cheeses

Chateau Buisson ­Redon - The 41 hectare single block estate, owned by the Seze family since 1918, produces Chateau Buisson­ Redon and, with parcels sited within Fronsac AOC, Chateau Mayne­ Vieille. 

The Three Squirrels Sparkling Brut is a rare blend of Muller Thurgau, Huxelrebe and Reichensteiner made in the traditional method.  The wine is aged on the lees and in bottle for at least 5 years before release. Brioche, toast and nectarine on the nose, with a rich and textured palate and long elegant finish.

Country: England

Region: Grown and fermented in Hertfordshire, secondary ferment and ageing in West Sussex

Grapes: Muller Thurgau, Huxelrebe and Reichensteiner

ABV: 12.5%

A pretty pale-yellow gold tints. Floral aromas and a touch of citrus come through on the nose, which develops buttery and brioche-like notes with age. Full and supple on the palate, long finish.

Country: France

Region: Burgundy

Grapes: Chardonnay

ABV: 12%

Jaffelin Wine

Food match: Great with smoked salmon and cream cheese canapés

A brilliant Petit Chablis - ripe and untouched by oak. May well become your new go-to wine.

Showing all the characteristics of the terroir, as well as lemony freshness and vivacity, underpinned by light minerality.

Country: France

Region: Chablis

ABV: 12%

Grapes:  100% Chardonnay

Family Story

A boutique French winery, Domaine Besson, is family owned and operated by Camille Besson and her brother Adrien, fourth generation winemakers. The estate has 21 hectares of vines that make wines for four Chablis AOC appellations: Petit Chablis, Chablis, Chablis Premier Cru and Chablis Grand Cru. Adrien is the viticulturalist and vineyard manager while Camille is the winemaker.

Traditional method English sparkling with notes of brioche, golden apples and citrus aromas. 

Country: England

Region: Hertfordshire

Grapes: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier

ABV:12.5%

Fresh floral aromas combine with characteristic sweet brioche overtones, balanced by peach skin and baked biscuit flavours with a crisp citrus finish.

Grapes: Pinot Noir 70% , Chardonnay 30%

Country: France

Region: Champagne 

Food match: Drinks very nicely well chilled on its own of course (but not on your own - this is the sociable drink par excellence after all!), but also recommended with light nibbles, salads and simple fish dishes.

Classic slow second fermentation in bottle followed by maturing on the lees for at least 22 months before being disgorged and released for sale.

Fairly restrained on the nose, savoury herbs and citrus on the palate. Well balanced with a suggestion of "hot stone" minerality. A light and fruity wine that marries perfectly with oysters and all shellfish

Country: France

Region: Burgundy, Chablis

Grapes: Chardonnay

ABV: 13%

Vineyards are in the Hautes Côtes, at the top of the slopes just above Domaine de la Motte's Chablis classified plots and so achieve good ripeness. The soil is Portlandian, which is less chalky than Kimmeridgian, and typically produces wines which are less mineral and more fruity, well suited to earlier drinking. Having said that, Motte’s wine has real finesse with good fruit character – very much their house style. Cool-fermented in stainless steel, malolactic fermentation is also in stainless steel and the wine is unoaked.

The vintage is dense in colour, retaining a purplish-blue hint typical of wines that are slow to develop. Chewy and rich, with dried fruits and fresh herbs. Full and chewy.

Country: France

Region: St Emilion, Bordeaux

ABV: 13.5%

Grapes: Merlot

A delicious, fruit forward English sparkling made in the Charmat method, AKA the Prosecco method. Soft bubbles, aromas a flavours of ripe pear, green apples and citrus.

Country: England

Region: Grown and fermented in Hertfordshire

Grapes: Muller Thurgau, Huxelrebe and Reichensteiner

ABV: 12.5%

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

A beautiful fresh nose of medium intensity with aromas of nectarine, lime, acacia and apricot. This is complemented by toasted bread notes & delicate creaminess on the palate.

Country: France

Region: Champagne

Grapes: Pinot Meunier 85% , Pinot Noir 15%

ABV: 12.5%

Food pairing: canapés, mushroom based starters, cheese and all manner of poultry dishes. Although, simply sipping it as an aperitif works very well too.

By carefully blending Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir grapes, all grown in Hertfordshire's Little Hadham, this is a handcrafted, delicate Rosé version of English Sparkling Wine.

Country: England

Region: Hertfordshire

Grapes: Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier

ABV: 12.5%

The Four Acres Estate is a small family run vineyard and orchard set on a hillside above the Ash Valley in Little Hadham, Hertfordshire.
After a lifetime spent in the travel industry, Platon Loizou decided that he wanted to get back to his Cypriot roots and fulfil a long-term dream of making wine. Since 2010 he has been out in all weathers, getting closer to nature tending his precious vines, nurturing them from saplings to maturity, bolstering his knowledge by consulting at every step with some of the best vintners in the country.

Aged on the lees for at least 36 months with a small proportion fermented in old oak barrels, the result is rich and creamy with a clean and moreish finish. Pale golden in colour, with fine beads of bubbles in the glass. On the nose, Brut Reserve 2021 has aromas of green apple, bright lemon citrus and nectarine. On the palate, the wine is elegant and soft, brimming with orchard fruits alongside white peach and a hint of orange citrus.. A long, clean and fresh finish.

Country: England

Region: Kent

Grapes: 71% Chardonnay,
18% Pinot Noir,
11% Pinot Meunier

ABV: 12%

Aromas of crushed, black fruit, damson, mint, oak and mocha.

Rich, almost succulent black fruit which has great purity and exuberance. Impressive concentration and elegance.

Country: France

Region: Pomerol. Bordeaux

Grapes: Merlot, Cabernet Franc

ABV: 13.5%

This tiny property of 1.3 hectares has seven parcels spread throughout the Pomerol appellation, positioned between Clos René, Château Trotanoy, Château Nénin, and next to Château Le Pin.

Château Feytit-Guillot truly benefits from these wonderful plots on the plateau. The vines have an average age of forty years and are always entirely hand-picked before undergoing traditional fermentation and aging in oak barrels for 14 months. The wine is pure and understated for a Pomerol, with a fresh nose and floral aromas on the palate. It is also one of the best value Pomerols on the market.

Pomerol is a much respected red wine appellation in the Bordeaux region of South ­Western France. Both historically and physically, it stands apart from other Bordeaux appellations. It does not conform to the accepted image of a Bordeaux wine­ district as being a wealthy, Chateau-­laden area with an all ­important classification system. Pomerol is none of these things, yet has managed to earn itself a place among the world's most revered wine region.

Delicate, pale lemon yellow colour with aromas of citrus, grass and hay. Fresh and zippy finish.

Country: France

Region: Bordeaux

ABV: 14.5%

Grapes: Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon

Entre-deux-Mers is a large wine sub-region of Bordeaux in southwestern France. Its name translates literally as "between two seas", although the seas in question are in fact rivers – the Garonne and Dordogne, which respectively form the area's southern and northern boundaries.

A Champagne of great finesse and elegance from the Chardonnay and a lovely rich character and structure from the Pinot Noir. The 2016 is a wonderfully fresh and expressive vintage.

Country: France

Region: Ay, Champagne

ABV: 12.5%

Grapes:  Chardonnay 61%,Pinot Noir 39%

Founded in Aÿ in 1584 by Pierre Gosset, Gosset is the oldest wine house in Champagne. It also remains one of the most prestigious, considered by many collectors and connoisseurs as the world’s preeminent name in luxury champagne. In 2009, this storied winemaker celebrated a landmark 425-year anniversary.

Gosset's reputation for excellence starts on the vines. The Champagnes are composed almost entirely of grapes from Premier Cru and Grand Cru vineyards. Unlike most Champagne producers, this illustrious wine house purposely avoids malolactic fermentation and always performs riddling and disgorging of prestige cuvées and large-format bottles by hand. Gosset Champagnes are made with infinite care and kept in dark cellars for at least three years – and up to five for vintage and prestige cuvées – before release.

'Great value' and 'white Burgundy' are not two phrases that normally go together.. but hunt through the Maconnais and there are amazing finds such as this one.

A light and fruity Chardonnay in the Burgundian style, with a perfect balance of concentration, acidity and minerality. Refreshing and very quaffable!

Country: France

Region: Macon, Burgundy

ABV: 13%

Grapes: Chardonnay

The Talmard name has been ever-present in the Mâconnais since the 17th century, with generation upon generation of the family involved in the business and culture of wine. Located in Uchizy, just to the north of Mâcon itself, the estate is now run by Mallory and
Benjamin along with their son, Marco. Talmard own 40 hectares of vineyards spread throughout Southern Burgundy, all planted to Chardonnay, with low, controlled yields of around 66 hl/ha. The objective with all wines is to allow the terroir to speak, with fermentation mainly in stainless steel using indigenous yeasts.

From a warmer vintage, this shows riper yet still mineral fruit with added depth from a small (around 10%) addition of oak-aged wine into the blend. This is very typical of the Motte style and gives richness and balance to the wine. A deliciously precise expression of classic chalky Chablis terroir.

Country: France

Region: Burgundy, Chablis

Grapes: Chardonnay

ABV: 13%

A classic Chablis from vines grown on the famous Kimmeridgian clay.

Super, easy drinking, modern everyday Claret. A lovely fruit expression on very soft and delicate tannins.

Country: France

Region: Bordeaux

Grapes: Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon

ABV: 13%

Velvety smooth, rich, concentrated and supple. Flavours of cassis, bramble and black cherry with a sheen of vanilla from the oak ageing.

Country: France

Region: Bordeaux, Margaux

ABV:13.5%

Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot

Serve 12 to 14 degrees C

Food Match: Red meat dishes such as beef Wellington or roast lamb.

Bright golden colour, wide aromatic complexity ranging from granny smith apple to lemon and honey with a hint of brioche. Dense and elegant with a persistent mousse.

Country: France

Region: Champagne, Epernay

ABV: 12%

Grapes:  33% Pinot Meunier, 33% Chardonnay, 34% Pinot Noir

Bright golden colour, wide aromatic complexity ranging from granny smith apple to lemon and honey with notes of toast brioche. Dense, yeasty and elegant with a persistent mousse.

Country: France

Region: Champagne

ABV: 12%

Grapes:   47% Pinot Meunier, 43% Pinot Noir, 10% Chardonnay

A Cellar Door team favourite. An elegant sparkling blanc de noirs which shows concentration, elegance and freshness.An excellent, fruit forward Champagne with tart red berry fruits, strawberry and raspberry, classic notes of baked bread resulting from 24 months on the lees.

Country: France

Region:  Champagne, Côte des Bar

ABV: 12%

Grapes: Pinot Noir

Champagne Guy de Forez is based in the picturesque village of Les Riceys, in the southern part of the Côte des Bar. The village boasts the largest vineyard area in Champagne (866 ha), and today, its wines are in high demand from the Grandes Marques houses for their outstanding quality Pinot Noir grapes.

Super, easy drinking, modern everyday Claret. A lovely fruit expression on very soft and delicate tannins.

Country: France

Region: Bordeaux

Grapes: Merlot

ABV: 13%