£29.95 per bottle
"Declassified claret, with glorious, rich, velvety, cedar-scented charm, from a top Pauillac château you’d pay a lot more for."
Jane MacQuitty - This week’s star buys
The Times 21.10.2023
"Thrilling, steely, bosky lemon twist of a classic chablis from a great producer, despite a tricky, frosted year."
The Times - Jane MacQuitty - This week’s star buys
2022 Château du Rouët Rosé, Villa Estérelle, Côtes de Provence (£18.95)
Château d’Esclans, Les Clans Rosé 2021 - Buy Now
Provence, France, Dry Rosé, Cork, 14.0% abv
(2023) Like it's 'big brother', the Garrus cuvée, this is where rosé gets serious, for me having more in common with quality white Burgundy than generic pinks. From a very careful selection of grapes, only the free run juice is vinified in 600-litre oak barrels for a full 11 months, with lees stirring twice weekly. Indeed, that's a winemaking recipe that would be familiar for white Burgundy too. Certainly, that sheen of almond and oatmeal is luxurious and subtle in this very pale wine, the fruit only hinting a small, intense red berries while lemon joins the picture. On the palate it is generous and creamy, but the sweet intensity of the fruit powers through. There is a little nip of tannin, but the concentration of fruit and acidity is what drives the long, dry, gastronomic finish. This and Garrus really are a different take on rosé.
95/100 Tom Cannavan
Minuty, M de Minuty Special Edition Rosé 2022 - Buy Now
Provence, France, Dry Rosé, Cork, 13.0% abv
(2023) Tasted here is a special edition in an extravagent livery of flowers and berries, the bottle painted by Swedish artist Hanna KL. It's a selection of the best fruit from both coastal and interior vineyards of the Côtes de Provence. Minuty produce one of the lightest and delicate styles, the fruit pretty and refined, dry berry flavours and bright lemony highlights in a wine with the clarity of a of running mountain stream. This doesn't have the fruit depth and concentration of some of the other Provence rosés, but that's the style: some will find it too anodyne, but chilled well it does summon up those salt-licked breezes as if sipping it by the Med. £19.95 when bought by the half dozen.
90/100 Tom Cannavan
Domaine de I’Ile, Porquerolles Rosé 2022 - Buy Now
Provence, France, Dry Rosé, Cork, 13.0% abv
(2023) Syrah, Grenache, Rolle, Mourvèdre, Cinsault and Tibouren are in the mix here, from an estate owned by the luxury goods house of Channel. Unusually it is based on the island of Porquerolles, just off France’s Côte d’Azur, a 12.5 hectare organically farmed estate. A slightly deeper shade than many, touching bronze, the nose has orange and melon rind notes, hints of spice here too. In the mouth, plenty of flavour here. There's ripeness of pear fruit along with red berry succulence. It hints at some sweetness, but then a racy, slightly saline acidity grabs and extends the finish. Again quite a serious and gastronomic style with a bit of substance. £27.95 by the half dozen.
91/100 Tom Cannavan
Whispering Angel Rose 2022 - Buy Now
]]>The Independent, Helen Wilson-Beevers - read article
]]>Read article click here!
Why we love it: Whispering Angel needs no introduction - but allow us to introduce you to the new 2022 Vintage ahead of summer. It is a blend of free-run juices and pressed juices consisting primarily of Grenache, Cinsault, and Rolle from old vines grown in La Motte, Provence and is ultimately mega pale and mega delicious. We can basically taste summer.
Glamour by By Denise Primbet]]>Read article click here!
"I am a massive fan of Aix, with its stunningly simple label that seems to shout, “Order Me”, from the other side of the restaurant or wine bar. I tend to migrate to magnums of this wine, and this is because it always seems to disappear quickly! However, this is not a problem because Fine Wine Direct also sells magnums and larger formats. 2022 Aix is a more luxurious offering than last year’s more angular 2021, making it even more alluring. It is superb value for money, too, given it has a grand feel from start to finish."
]]>"Climb the Provence Rosé ladder a few more rungs, and you will find one of the most hypnotic releases of the year. This is another 2022 with stunning buoyancy and fruit silkiness on the palate, and it is forward and drinking already, which is remarkable. There is so much class and elegance here it takes the breath away. Glittering fractals of flavour dance on the palate, and the calibre of fruit used in this wine is plain to see on both the nose and palate. Even the length leaves one gasping, and it underlines the fact that this wine is one of the permanent elite in the constellation of Provençal Rosé greats."
Matthew Jukes
]]>Finca Sophenia, Altosur Malbec 2021
Mendoza, Argentina, Dry Red, Screwcap, 13.5% ABV
"(2023) If you follow the results of the various wine competitions, then how about a 97-point wine for just £12.95, the award coming from Decanter magazine? This Malbec, from vineyards at 1,200 metres in the Tupungato Valley, was made with the assistance of consultant Michel Rolland. It really is a lovely wine - it would not score 97 points from me, but that's unimportant. What is important is that it is a svelte and luxurious, deeply-black fruited Malbec that also shows the fragrant, violet-scented side of the variety. Plush and mouth-filling too, the sweet richness of the fruit is offset by creamy tannins and pert cherry acidity. Excellent value for money - whatever the points score. Watch the video for more information."
£12.95 finewinedirect.co.uk
Similar Wines: 91 - 95 Tom Cannavan 20th February 2023
Read Independent article click here!
]]>"(2022) The Chocolate Block is a wine that has developed a devoted following over the years, based mainly on Syrah grown in the Swartland. It's made by Boekenhoutskloof, and a fair chunk of the fruit comes from their Porseleinberg vineyard, a wild and rocky place widely regarded as one of Swartland's best terroirs. The nose is all about mocha and spice, and a wild berry fruitiness that comes through - the 'chocolate' is a subtle reference, as this is about spicy, peppery fruit at heart. There's grip aplenty on the palate, a streak of meaty umami character, gripping sandy tannins and edged with a vivid acidity for gastronomic appeal. Not to be confused with the rather sickly vogue for chocolate or coffee-flavoured wines, this remains a class act. Watch the video for more information."
£21.95 finewinedirect.co.uk
Similar Wines: 91 - 95
Matthew Jukes 17.08.2022
]]>2020 Les Clans, Côtes de Provence Rosé
France, 14 per cent, finewinedirect.co.uk, £45
Dreamy pink with wood-smoke, vanilla pod and tobacco leaf-perfumed fruit.
Highly recommended wines - click here!
View all Bordeaux 2021 en primeur wines - click here!
Teyssier – 91 pts
La Forge – 93 pts
Le Dome – 95+ pts
Haut Brion – 96/97 pts
Haut Brion Blanc – 95pts
La Mission Haut Brion – 94/95 pts
La Mission Haut Brion blanc – 95 pts
Clarence de Haut Brion – 87 pts
Chapelle de la Mission Haut Brion – 88 pts
Angelus – 98+ pts
Carillon d’Angelus – 96 pts
Canon – 97/98+ pts
Rauzan Segla – 92 pts
Figeac – 98 pts
Talbot – 94 pts
Pape Clement – 93pts
Clos Fortet – 89 pts
Beauregard – 91 pts
Clinet – 94 pts
Gazin – 93 pts
Lynch Bages – 96 pts
Batailley – 94/95 pts
Leoville Barton - 94+ pts
Langoa Barton – 93 pts
Beychevelle – 94 pts
Beaumont – 91 pts
Smith Haut Lafitte – 93 pts
Mouton Rothschild – 96/97 pts
Petit Mouton – 94 pts
D’armailhac – 91 pts
Clerc Milon – 90/91 pts
Aile D’argent - 93 pts
Chateau Lafite Rothschild - 97/98 pts
Carruades de Lafite Rothschild – 92/93 pts
Duhart Milon – 91/92 pts
Moulin de Duhart – 92 pts
Pontet Canet – 95/96 pts
Margaux – 97/98 pts
Pavillon Rouge – 92/93 pts
Chateau Margaux Blanc – 95/96 pts
Please note our point scores are simply a guide based on tasting the wines in Bordeaux and benchmarking against previous en primeur vintages, we also recommend checking the scores from leading wine critics such as Neal Martin, James Suckling and Wine Advocate.
Le Dôme, St Emilion private en primeur tasting with Jonathan Maltus (OBE)
Le Dôme, St Emilion Norman Foster new building in the middle of the vineyard.
Château Angelus tasting one of the best wines of 2021 en primeur.
Château Figeac new building, once again the wine delivers on quality again as a result of significant investment.
Château Pontet Canet tasting with owner Alfred Tesseron - great wine and top bloke, kindly giving the presentation in French and English.
The great Château Margaux wine in barrel.
Château Margaux tasting in another Norman Foster building.
Read review click here!
]]>Read Decanter article click here!
]]>"It has been fascinating watching Les Clans find its rightful place in the small but perfectly formed pantheon on truly great rosé wines. For the first few vintages of this wine’s release, it had to put up with being Garrus’s less interesting and slightly lighter sibling. But while Garrus received all of the accolades and some perfect scores (from me!), Les Clans never complained. More recently, I have documented in detail Les Clans own character slowing forming and, in the last few vintages, blossoming into a vital individual in this tremendous estate’s portfolio. Last year’s 2019 was a triumphant wine, sultry, sexy, detailed, sophisticated, alluring, forward-drinking and yet blessed with every bit as much glamour and couture as its more structured and more age-worthy, headline-grabbing stablemate, Garrus. In 2020, Les Clans went one step further. It has now introduced even more depth of flavour and length on the finish. You will no doubt be familiar with just how incredible Whispering Angel and Rock Angel are in 2020. Les Clans takes Rock Angel’s impact and bravado and then elevates this impressive delivery of flavour to an otherworldly level of excitement. This wine is near perfect in its perfume and also its palate complexity but it is the approachability, given its breeding, which makes this the most astounding Les Clans to date." 19/20 (Drink now to 2024)
Matthew Jukes - read article click here!
]]>£10 bargains, splash-out champagnes, food-friendly bottles and fine English bubbles make the list for a season of joyful sipping.
Domaine Bersan, Cremant de Bourgogne - Buy now
"More expensive than most Cremants, but this one is of the the very best I've ever found. Ripe and quite full-bodied, with a creamy, fresh yogurt layer of richness."
]]>Catherine Marshall Wines, 2020 Chenin Blanc Fermented in Clay
£21.95 - Buy Now
"A Western Cape old chenin blanc vine triumph, fermented in traditional clay amphorae and finished off in French oak barrels. It’s a lip-smacking, flinty, white peach and white nectarine joy with a dab of herby spice."
]]>Jane MacQuitty, The Times
Catherine Marshall Wines, 2020 Chenin Blanc Fermented in Clay
£26.95 - Buy Now
"A Western Cape old chenin blanc vine triumph, fermented in traditional clay amphorae and finished off in French oak barrels. It’s a lip-smacking, flinty, white peach and white nectarine joy with a dab of herby spice."
]]>"Primarily Grenache with Rolle making up the numbers
2020 Rock is a magnificent creation and this wine soars above the other in terms of structure balanced with innate elegance. The oak involvement is so well-judged and so well-integrated in this wine it is barely noticeable as a flavour but as a texture enhancer, it is second to none. Luxurious, aerial, composed and effortlessly grand, Whispering Angel’s big sister is a thrilling wine in 2020 and it is worth noting that this is not an aperitif wine but a serious accompaniment to fine food."
Matthewjukes.com 26th May 2021
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