France

Chateau Bellevue Mondotte is a small estate in Saint-Emilion, they produce a single Merlot-based red wine. With just a 2.5 hectare (6 acre) vineyard most of the plantings are Merlot, with about 10 percent divided between Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Strict green harvesting and fruit selection is used, lowering yield significantly. Only 400 cases are produced each year. The wine is aged in 100% new French oak barrels for 24 months then bottled...

From the producer - "We immediately perceive a good maturity of the grapes in this wine opened on generous aromas of jammy fruits. A ripe fruitiness prolonged by a supple and round mouth, with sweet tannins. A Bordeaux on gourmet delights."

Usually Sauvignon Blanc-dominant, with around 5% each of Sémillon and Sauvignon Gris. The wine is fermented and aged in barrel, on its lees for a year. 50% of barrels are new in both stages.

Felicien Henri Desire Diffonty founded Chateau Sixtine in 1900 in the Chateauneuf-du-Pape appellation of the Rhone Valley with just 2 hectares of vines. The Diffonty family played a significant role in the winemaking history of the region, with Felicien and his son Marius Diffonty helping establish the Syndicat de Chateauneuf-du-Pape in 1924.

Thierry oppines that he harvested his holdings in Santenots (planted in 1966) just a few days later than he might have liked to, and it is his only wine which shows less than pitch-perfect ripeness. The result is a rich, opulent and decidedly gourmand rendition of this sometimes firm and four-square terroir, introduced by a bouquet of ripe black cherry, cassis and graphite, framed by ripe, supple tannins. Drinking Window 2020 - 2040

Jammy blackberry, stone, earth, Provencal herbs, black raspberry jam and spice aromas are all over the place. This voluptuous, full bodied wine finishes with a big mouthful of sweet, jammy berries and kirsch. This is worth buying by the case!

Florent and David Viale own nearly 17 hectares in the northern Rhône, where they produce both red and white Hermitage and Crozes-Hermitage. They used to sell the wine from their three plots in Hermitage to Guigal, and their red Crozes-Hermitage to Ogier and to Burgundy, but from 1991 they bottled their own. In the cellar, the Viales prefer oak not to dominate the purity of the fruit. They use large oak tonneaux, where the wines take on terrific finesse ...

Third generation vigneron, Vincent Géantet leads this Gevrey-Chambertin based domaine farming 12 hectares of vines up to 65 years of age, in the North of the Côte de Nuits covering the appellations of Gevrey-Chambertin, Chambolle-Musigny and Marsannay. 30% new oak for all cuvées from the Bourgogne Rouge through to the Charmes-Chambertin. All of the cuvees are bottled without fining or filtration. Elegant wines showing pure aromatics, being the h...

Over the last decade, Domaine Grivot is considered one of the top and most consistent names in Vosne-Romanee.

(from 80-year-old vines adjacent to Vosne-Romanée): Moderately saturated dark red. Crushed blackberry and spicy oak scents are lifted by a subtle violet topnote. Full, supple and very ripe, with the high percentage of millerandé grapes giving the wine a creamier texture and silky tannins. Late pungent minerality nicely draws out the finish. This round but fresh wine nicely combines Nuits power and Vosne elegance. 89-91 points Stephen Tanzer - Vinous

Domaine Jean-Marc et Thomas Bouley is a producer based in Volnay. They produce a range of labels predominantly based on the local Pinot Noir.

Domaine Jean-Marc Pillot is a wine producer based in Chassagne-Montrachet, in Burgundy's Côte de Beaune subregion. It is particularly associated with white wines from the Chardonnay grape, although it also makes reds from Pinot Noir in both Chassagne and neighboring Santenay. The estate is formally known as Domaine Jean Pillot. Jean-Marc, whose name features more prominently on the labels, took over from his father Jean in 1991. There are around 11 h...

Domaine Jean-Marc Pillot is a wine producer based in Chassagne-Montrachet, in Burgundy's Côte de Beaune subregion. It is particularly associated with white wines from the Chardonnay grape, although it also makes reds from Pinot Noir in both Chassagne and neighboring Santenay. The estate is formally known as Domaine Jean Pillot. Jean-Marc, whose name features more prominently on the labels, took over from his father Jean in 1991. There are around 11 h...

Traditional cultivation methods are used. Grapes are completely destemmed and vinified using natural yeasts. The wines are aged in 25% new oak barrels for between 16 and 18 months.

Domaine Leroy is a negociant/wine producer based in the Côte de Nuits region of Burgundy. It makes a range of wines from Pinot Noir that comes from some of the most iconic vineyards in the world, including Le Chambertin, Musigny, Clos de Vougeot and Romanée-Saint-Vivant, and is second only to Domaine de la Romanée-Conti in terms of price and quality. Those wines made from estate grown fruit are sold under the Domaine Leroy label. The domaine was foun...

Domaine Stéphane Ogier is a producer in the northern Rhône appellation of Côte Rôtie. It is especially well known for varietal Syrah from several highly regarded appellations in the region, but also making small amounts of Viognier from Condrieu and red and white Vin de Pays wine. The Ogier family has farmed the Rhône Valley for generations, including tending vineyards. The domaine was formed by Michel Ogier who had been growing grapes in the village...

The Domaine Michelas St Jemms is first and foremost a family story which started more than 50 years ago by Robert and Yvette Michelas in the commune of Mercurol. The future of this 123 acres estate, one of the few independent estates deployed on four Rhone appellations (Crozes-Hermitage, Hermitage, St. Joseph, Cornas)

Domaine Rostaing, often called René Rostaing after its founder, is a leading wine estate in the Côte-Rôtie region of the Northern Rhône, and particularly known for its Syrah-based wines.

Domaine Rostaing, often called René Rostaing after its founder, is a leading wine estate in the Côte-Rôtie region of the Northern Rhône, and particularly known for its Syrah-based wines. The first Rostaing wine was produced in 1971 when the estate covered a mere 1.5 hectares (3.7 acres) split between the Côte Blonde and La Landonne subregions of the Côte Rôtie. This slowly grew as Rostaing purchased additional plots and the took over his uncle's and ...

Domaine Robert Sirugue is a relatively unknown producer in Vosne-Romanee, but quality is rising and the wines certainly deserves more acclaim than they have had for the last decade. While the name Sirugue may be relatively unknown to many, the origin of the Domaine is not … as the Sirugue domaine at least partly originates from the Jayer family.

The 2018 Volnay 1er Cru Frémiets exhibits lovely aromas of raspberries and cherries mingled with orange rind, spice and raw cocoa. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, lively and fine-boned, from more calcium-rich soils than Les Chevrets and built around bright acids and fine, chalky tannins.

Powerful dark fruits, dry, long palate that finished clean and relatively light

Outer quote mark Bright, dark red. Riper on the nose than the Symphonie but with a musky, reduced quality to the aromas of dark plum, raspberry and menthol. The dark fruit flavors suggest a later harvest here but Jean-Luc Burguet nevertheless described the raw material as "just short of full maturity." Flavors of black cherry, dark plum, menthol and minerals are juicy and tight but carry well on the firmly tannic back end. Avoids the slight dry edge sho...