Social

Editor's Picks

Pairing

Investment

Tasting Notes

 doesn’t begin on the balance sheet but on the tongue, and every collection starts with a single sip. Instead of a cold, hard interest in speculation, most of us discover fine wine through friends, family, or food. And then the game’s afoot. The first few cases of wine that bought for future drinking are the seeds from which the branches of a 

 grow. Tastings, dinners, parties — all of these fuel a thirst for knowledge (and, of course, a thirst full stop.)

Then follow the subscriptions to websites of wine critics, and an enchantment by their florid prose and elemental descriptions of new releases. These inspire the collector to expand their portfolio of wines further, and push their drinking windows ever longer into the future. At some point, buying becomes strategic, and the first leg of the collector’s journey is complete. A collector, after all, is a consumer who buys fine wine strategically.

As personal knowledge expands, attitude to risk lessens. Logically, most collectors justify spending more and more money on wines by focusing on the probability that their value will increase in the future. But there are only two real reasons to buy wine strategically: scarcity and value. You either buy today because you believe that a wine will be hard to find in the future (in which case there’s a probability of price appreciation where demand is in place), or you buy today because you think it’s going to be better value now than in a few years’ time.

If you’re interested in fine wine and enjoy consuming it, sharing it and learning about it, it’s a natural place to put a proportion of your disposable income. That’s why you choose wine to invest in as opposed to any other passion or treasure asset such as 

, art or anything tangibly similar. Because you enjoy it and think you understand it relatively better than many other options available to you.

This all became more poignant post-Lehman Brothers, when suddenly investing in things you could feel and touch became a lot more attractive. Enter the world’s most widely held and accessible passion asset — wine.

Since 2008, the year Lehman failed and the global financial markets entered meltdown, the Knight Frank wine index reflecting the world’s most iconic wines has risen 236% compared to the FTSE 100 which has staggered to just 24%.

A more representative index reflective of the mainstream wine investment market, the Wine Owners 150, has risen 145% compared with the Dow Jones at 106%.

The wine market is not homogeneous. Instead, it is compromised of lots of different markets. Characteristically they break down into those markets driven by liquidity (where volume of supply is more or less matched by global demand) and by scarcity-led markets (where demand for wines at first release often outstrips supply).

Volume markets are dominated by Bordeaux and 

. Over the last decade Champagne has outperformed Bordeaux. The Wine Owners Champagne 60 index has risen 331% since 2008 whereas the Wine Owners Bordeaux First Growth 75 index has managed just 103% (the same as the Dow Jones).

Scarcity-led markets are epitomised by Burgundy and Piedmont in northern Italy. The Wine Owners Burgundy 80 index is up 331% with Piedmont managing 196%. Californian cult producers (Wine Owners California 85 index) have trumped the lot with a spectacular return of 439%, although the rarest are hard to come by outside the US thanks to insatiable local demand. Happy hunting.


The greatest producer in Barolo, Giacomo Conterno’s Monfortino is a riserva made with the best grapes from his Francia vineyard, and is only produced in the best years. With only around 600 cases released, prices have escalated in the last few years. Monfortino 2010 is nigh on perfect.


No collection should have been without Domaine de la Romanée Conti over the last two decades. The performance of this most iconic of Burgundy domaines has been nothing short of stellar. A collection comprising just DRC would have risen several hundredfold.


The first vintage of this Aussie icon was produced in 1953. Fully mature vintages from the 1960s serve to show how brilliantly Grange ages and what an opulent wine it is, with great textural complexity. More recently, 2008 is considered the vintage to own.


Starting in the 1960s, Monte Bello benefitted from a natural approach to winemaking before it became in vogue. Until recently, Paul Draper had been the CEO for a half century, ensuring a consistency. 2015 and 1974 are arguably the greatest vintages.


Gianfranco Soldera created the best wine in Tuscany, made from the Sangiovese Grosso grape variety. He passed away this year in his 80s. His benchmark was the Piedmont wines of the 1950s. He left a legacy of wines, of which the greatest is quite possibly the 1990 Riserva.


Mouton Rothschild is one of the finest First Growths — the five properties that represent the world’s most liquid wine markets. It’s an upstart, being the only wine to be promoted to a 1er Grand Cru Classsé, back in 1973. Yet its track record is truly star-studded.

A corking investment: The expert’s guide to buying wine

There must be something in the water down at Nyetimber. And in the air and the trees and the soil, too. This is England at its most green and pleasant — some beguiling microclimate, some republic of sunshine, which defies wet Octobers and laughs in the face of grey mornings. Down on the rolling, vast West Sussex estate, as you career past rows and rows of green and stately vines, heavy with swollen grapes, you sense something familiar and yet different — an uncanny valley with actual valleys. “It’s just like France!” you want to say, only you stop yourself, because really it’s just like England, and we’ve just forgotten.

The fact is, they’ve been growing grape vines in the UK for ten centuries or more. But back then they mostly planted dour, flabby Germanic varietals that rarely delighted and paled in continental comparison — and so we left the winemaking down to our frenemies across the channel, and contented ourselves with mild ales, rocket-fuel ciders and lots and lots and lots of gin instead. Until, of course, some enterprising winemakers set up camp on this sloping section of little England, back in 1988, and planted the grapes everyone said they shouldn’t: chiefly Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunière, and Chardonnay. These are the stately stalwarts, you’ll notice, of the Champagne region. But to airdrop them into leafy West Sussex must have looked foolhardy in the extreme, like building an ice hotel in the Serengeti. Some thirty-ish years later, however, on an unfeasibly warm day in mid October, 

 headed down to Nyetimber and this gorgeous microclimate to reap the benefits of such folly. Rarely has innovation tasted quite so exquisite. 

The day begins at Nyetimber’s White Barn, where the vista cascades slowly through mature gardens, chubby topiarised hedgerows and very English ponds to the rolling valleys below. It is just a short jaunt by charabanc from here to the handsome vineyards which are being harvested as we speak, where the vibrant green vines hang rich with pert black grapes, and an especially thin tractor makes its quiet way down the many symmetrical tramlines. The grape bundles are still cut by hand here with heavy, sharp, silver secateurs that are fine objects in themselves (the tools, with all these things, are almost as important as the process.)

1. We’re told to cut the taut, juicy bundles near the stem, but only when they’re the right shade of deep, ruby-black — anything green and tart will have to wait a few days. We then lower them, handful by handful, like precious purses, into 15kg crates that dot the furrowed field (anything larger and the grapes will begin to crush themselves, so to speak.) These are collected by tractors, who take them into one of the most spectacular buildings I have seen in recent years — a sort of Thunderbird lair of stainless metal vats, whirring conveyor belts, tumbling equipment, jostling robot arms and amber blinking lights. What comes out the other end, however, is as natural and earthy and life-affirming as toast — a kind of uber grape juice like you’ve never known before, already exhibiting structure and sophistication and a refreshing tartness, but rounded out by fresh sugars and sun-filled depths. This is a stepping stone to the final product, of course, and you could have forgiven the genius winemakers for stopping right there. But when we taste the real thing — over lunch hosted by CEO and owner Eric Hereema, down in an artfully slung stretch tent in a clearing in a sun-drenched vineyard — you understand why they go the extra furlong.

Each of the Nyetimber offerings is a classic in its own right, and distinctive enough to justify the broad, ambitious range. The Classic Cuvee plays things with a straight bat — fine golden bubbles with toasty, spiced notes — before apple strudel flavours and a touch of the old almond croissant sing through. The Blanc de Blancs is the very spirit of elegance herself, its fragrant honeysuckle flirting with white peach and leavened with a fresh, zesty acidity.

The Cuvee Chérie, meanwhile, is a wine with notes of honeyed apricot and an almost savoury finish, which does its best work after a forkful of decent pudding. But it’s the Tillington Single Vineyard that, in my opinion, seems to triumphantly steal the show — a shimmering, pale gold wine with toasted meringue caught in its bubbles, and beguiling notes of fine strawberry and mandarin on the palette. It is the perfect and most pleasing reminder of what the very best sparkling wines can be. But more than this, it is a wonderful evocation of the fields and trees and gentle slopes around us — a place always green, ever pleasant, and unmistakably English.

For more information on the range, do visit the

Through the grapevine: Inside the Nyetimber Harvest Luncheon

Bank-breaking bottles of statement Champagne are all well and good — but you can’t go passing a bottle of 1959 Dom Pérignon around at a party. 

, you’ll require bubbly of a different breed; good, hardworking fizz that can go flute-to-flute with even the most revered vintages and still do a sparkling job.

Of course, with lockdowns and quarantines still bubbling away around the world, parties remain few and far between. So, rather than splashing out on a smashing vintage bottle, you should instead invest in a sterling non-vintage Champagne to savour. If you’re looking to dim the lights, whip up some food pairings and enjoy a glass or two at home, here are the best bottles to buy…

 Primarily Chardonnay, with hints of Pinot Noir added in to create a satisfying, complex and rewarding wine.

 Overtly fruity, the Louis Roederer also benefits from nutty, yeasty and bread notes — with a long biscuit finish.

 Lean into those bread flavours and buy some brioche. With a terrine or fois gras and some white fruit, such as mirabelles, the pairing is a treat.

Louis Roederer Brut Premier NV

Champagne Ruinart ”R” de Ruinart Brut

 Primarily Chardonnay, with touches of Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir blended into the bubbles.

 Subtle sweetness, with hints of Almond and Cream. Savoury touches of Bread, with a dull edge of Citrus Fruit.

 Ideally seafood. Warm poached oysters or lightly fired scallops work well — or soft cow’s milk cheese, such as Chaource.

 Primarily Chardonnay, with additional Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir giving this Champagne an attractive amber hue.

 On the nose, Le Black Label Brut is rather floral — with flowers, fruits and citrus flavours pushing to the fore. On the palate, riper stone fruits prevail.

 In our experience? Goat’s cheese. Whether it’s a small serving atop a canapé, or a whole wheel bought to savour during lockdown, nothing marries with Lanson better.

 Not technically a Champagne, this Sussex sparkling wine follows the usual bubbly blend of Chardonnay with Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir.

 The underlying aromas of bread, biscuit and citrus fruit are present — but with a tangier twang of green apple and rounded peach finish.

 That sturdier flavour profile gives this British wine more power than the French offerings. Try with a chicken dish — perhaps something subtly spiced or Asian-inspired.

 A little more expensive than the other Champagnes on this list, the Krug Grande Cuvée is rich, crisp — and created from Chardonnay grapes alone.

 When poured, the fragrance immediately bubbles out of the fine fizz; of smoky, toasty notes, a hint of brioche and rounded melon fruit. A touch of citrus.

 With its bold, confident flavours, the Krug can — like the Nyetimber above — stand up to stronger food. 

Think something equally decadent, such as aged parmesan or truffle.

 Another blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier sourced from the very best sites of the Champagne region.

 A fine Champagne, Billecart-Salmon’s Brut shows rich notes of pear, baked apples, citrus and biscuits.

 Seafood, once again. But rather than the warmer plates we suggested with the Ruinart, try colder cuts — smoked salmon, fresh oysters or calamari.

They’re rare, but they’re out there…

These are the best bottles of non-vintage Champagne

 are notoriously tricky to get right. From acidity to tannins, the complexity of each bottle must be balanced against the tastes and textures of every course — with just one flavour faux pas threatening to upend the entire meal. And, as we hurtle headlong into the season which sees our calendars overridden with dinner parties, it’s imperative that you get your wine cabinet appropriately stocked.

Thankfully, we called on leading London wine merchants, 

, to pick the pairings that are bound to impress your guests and make your meal taste all the better. So, if you’re looking to cook up a storm this season, look no further for our divinely decadent menu of beef fillet, truffle risotto and lobster — alongside all the best bottles to complement your cuisine.

To complement the texture and richness of lobster…

If you’re feeling stumped for a little starter inspiration, allow us to recommend a punchy combination of ginger-poached lobster with kohlrabi, hazelnut dressing and drilled fennel. And, if you’re looking for the perfect partner, pair it with 

 Recommended by the sommelier at Berry Bros, it is a textured, rich style white wine, and a perfect match as the richness of the chenin blanc works with the texture of the lobster, whilst the sweet spice flavour brings out the ginger flavours in the dish.

Concentrated and richly scented fruit on the nose, the attack is generous and leads to a mid-palate filled with glossy, ripe fruit — think apricot kernel and white peach. Stony undertones layer with fresh acidity, bringing definition and further complexity. The perfect pairing with lobster.

To bring out the flavours of beef fillet…

2012 Barolo, Brunate, Marcarini, Piedmont

 was nominated the ideal bottle to pair with our recommended main – a black treacle-marinated fillet of beef, with herb potatoes, roasted cabbage and English mustard emulsion. Berry Bros described this as a lovely vintage, boasting beautiful ripe red cherry and blackcurrant fruit with a sweetness from oak — all of which matched the sweeter elements of the dish.

At the same time, the lively acidity of the Nebbiolo grape cut through the beef and balanced out the tang of the mustard and the umami of the Parmesan present in the dish. Overall, the bottle was gloriously scented, with a lightness of touch that belied its age-worthy staying power.

To temper the strong sweetness of chocolate…

To stop the dessert — opt for a chocolate mousse dome with praline centre, caramelised hazelnut and banana sorbet — becoming too cloying, Berry Bros suggests a 

. Rich, sweet, but fresh, the dark chocolate and coffee notes in the mature port complemented the chocolate flavours in the pudding and the dried fruit flavours balanced out the more tropical notes.

The port boasts a complex, dense palate which is still evolving and will continue to develop for a further five to 20 years. Of all the vintage ports, those of Taylor need the longest time to mature and even when fully aged seem to have an inner strength and firmness that keep them among the best for pairing with sweet desserts of all natures.

This is why Château Quintus is the pinnacle of wine tourism…

Three perfect wine pairings for your autumn dinner party

Before wine wunderkind Jan Konetzki became the Director of Wine and Chateau Latour & Artemis Domaines Ambassador (it’s a mouthful, we know) at Ten Trinity Square Private Club, he was the head sommelier at Michelin-starred restaurant Gordon Ramsay.

It’s a glittering resume, and one that grows stronger by the year. Recently, the German wine expert was awarded sommelier of the year by 

, who cited his focus on both excellence in service and expertise in wine as reasons he took home the gong.

It’s not the first time Konetzki’s skills have been recognised — and for good reason. If ever you needed a man on your side when tripping your way through a particularly formidable wine list, it would be this award-winning sommelier. So, to help the everyman, we present the gentleman’s guide to navigating the wine list…

It’s always worth listening to the locals

If you find yourself in a foreign land, and are brave enough to venture from the relative safety of the hotel restaurant, Konetzki says that it is always worth chatting with the locals.

They will not only know where and what they like to both drink and eat, but they’ll also be able to give you a far more personalised review or recommendation than any Trip Advisor user. This might mean stepping away from your go-to order of Chablis or Chateauneuf du Pape, but a local wine with rave reviews could sweep you off your feet.

Local wine and local food will (nearly) always pair

You may have spent the last week soaking up the Mediterranean sun but those Spanish grapes have been doing that all season.

Because of the sunshine with which they are imbued, and centuries of local knowledge, pair any country’s national wines with their national foods and you’ll likely be on to a winner. Of course, those confusing names and regions can complicate this – and a French cheese from the Ardennes will pair better with a wine from that region — but stick to country pairings as a rule of thumb, and you’ll never go far wrong.

When it comes to names, the longer the better

Wine names may not be the easiest things to pronounce and, if you’re not fluent in French or Italian, they can bamboozle to say the least. But Konetzki has a curious rule when ordering in a restaurant: If in doubt, go for the longest name.

Don’t be afraid of looking foolish, say the sommelier, just go for it. Even if it’s called Monzinger Frühlingsplätzchen Riesling Großes Gewächs, Emrich-Schönleber, Nahe, Germany 2010. Most people will be put off by these names so the restaurant probably won’t sell as many bottles. Therefore, the wine will likely have a better bottle age and will be priced down more so than its catchily-named counterparts.

Look at the staff before the wine list or the menu

Do they know what they’re doing? Is there a trained sommelier answering questions with grace and ease? If so, you can normally relax and know that you will be looked after by the staff. If however, you are left waiting to be served and your server is struggling with the pronunciation even more than you are, then you might have to pay slightly closer attention to what you’re buying and use some of your own knowledge to get the perfect bottle.

Konetzki tells us that there was an old adage that sommeliers were the most feared people in any given city. They will clean out your credit cards without thinking twice, it went.

But, today, there has been a shift. The majority of wine professionals now strive to get you the best bottle at the lowest price, so give them your trust and sit back while they pour. These people know what they’re doing.

It may not seem like an instinctive way of doing things, but don’t be afraid to give your sommelier a price you’re willing to pay for a bottle of wine.

This will save a nasty shock when the bill comes and will help the sommelier find the perfect bottle for you. The sommelier won’t think you’re being cheap and he might even offer a bottle that is less expensive than you were expecting — but still pairs with the food perfectly.

Never buy the cheapest or the most expensive

This may often sound like an urban myth but Konetzki confirms that the cheapest and most expensive wines on a restaurant’s list tend to be the worst value for money, due to mark ups.

The sommelier’s advice? Skip the first two and the last two, and plump for something in the middle. They should be good value bottles, lovely wine, and pair with your dinner perfectly.

How to navigate the wine list, by the Sommelier of the Year

What a difference a year makes — just 12 little months, but a universe of subtle changes. In the esoteric field of wine, the unique, seasonal alchemy of rain, heat, humidity, sunshine and coolness often conspires to make wines that are markedly different year-to-year. This is the frustrating, unpredictable lot of the farmer and the vintner — but it is what gives wine its unique magic and cachet. Where else, after all, do we categorise produce by the year in which it was made? Naturally, the vintage phenomenon is most pronounced and profound in the spiritual home of wine itself, France — where superstitions mingle with state-of-the-art technologies to monitor and harness the weather patterns and atmospheres that render a crop truly great. Here are some of the finest French vintages of all time, and the reasons for their brilliance.

The summer of 1947 was devilishly hot, yielding a big, healthy crop with whopping sugar concentrations. It was a true curveball for the winemakers of Bordeaux, who had rarely dealt with such punchy grapes, and lacked the modern technology or advanced yeasts to manage them. Many wines thus became overly acidic, and have certainly not stood the test of time. But others — particularly those from Bordeaux’s right bank — turned out miraculously well. (There are rumours that the winemakers had to have blocks of ice delivered from Bordeaux to cool the must in the fermentation tanks, such was the fierceness of the heatwave.) Château Margaux, for example, made arguably their greatest ever wine in 1947, and the Petrus and Mouton offerings from this year are equally exquisite — leading, tellingly, to a great surfeit of counterfeit bottles flooding the market in recent years.

With good sun in early spring, and another hot patch in August and September, 1959 created a small-but-perfectly-formed vintage of great character. Low in acidity but deep, velvety, and indulgent, 1959’s wines are characterised by good alcohol and well-structured tannins, and are drinking perfectly right now.

 Château Lafite Rothschild, Pauillac, Bordeaux

Often cited as one of the greatest vintages of modern times, especially where Bordeaux is concerned, 1982 was almost dreamlike in its quality. For Jean-Bernard Delmas, then manager of Haut-Brion, ‘It was an armchair summer, hot and dry, so there were no diseases, no insects to worry us’, while June and July provided a near-perfect blend of warm sunshine and scattered showers. The resulting wines are punchy and yet brilliantly balanced, with one critic writing that they performed ‘like big men dancing lightly’ — the ripeness of a late summer heatwave doing nothing to overpower the taste. Wonderfully structured and almost California-esque in their richness, 1982’s wines were the first from Bordeaux to exhibit a modern, fruit-forward dimension.

: Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Pauillac, Bordeaux

A mild winter and scorching summer led to 1989 producing one of the earliest harvests in history — August 28th — and a notably hefty yield. The crop was ripe, fleshy and very rich, and produced remarkably high alcohol levels. There were some worries that low acidity would produce short-lived wines, unsuitable for ageing. But these have since been allayed, and this year’s crop is now drinking better than ever — especially the great communes of Pomerol, St-Emilion, St-Julien and Pauillac. Structured, fruit-forward and formidable.

 Château La Dominique, Saint-Emilion, Bordeaux

A warm, dry July was followed swiftly by a cooler, damper August, and then a bright and sunny September in 1996 — an unusual weather pattern that led to heartily ripe and well structured wines across the country, but especially in Bordeaux. The year provided one of the truly great vintages for Cabernet-based wines, which emerged deep, rich, and complex, simmering with juicy, succulent fruit and excellent structure. Perfect for ageing, distinguished and distinctive, it is one of the final great years of the last millennium

 Château Calon-Ségur, Saint-Estèphe, Medoc, Bourdeaux

A phenomenally good vintage across the world, 2005 produced some of the greatest French wines in modern memory, too — an almost instant classic of a year. Bordeaux, Burgundy, the Rhône Valley and Sauternes all had truly stellar times of it, with pleasantly warm and reliably dry summers allowing grapes to slowly accumulate great concentration, true depth and general complexity. The pinot noir of Burgundy adored these conditions, creating smooth, soft and elegant wines with good balance and long, deep, almost sweet finishes. Hard to beat.

 Clos des Papes, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Rhône 

After a wet and cloudy start to proceedings, 2010 broke into a gloriously sunny summer, with good dryness and cool nights. Most grapes thus had the opportunity to ripen at leisure, leading to rich, rounded fruit without any loss of complexity — while higher-than-usual alcohol levels and tannins contributed excellent balance and structure. Wines from 2010 are characterised by deep, dark fruit flavours with exceptional length and brilliant ageing potential. A modern classic.

 Domaine Leflaive Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru, Cote de Beaune, Burgundy

Producing a more approachable and ‘modern’ style of wines than ever before, perhaps, 2015 was a year dominated by soft, silky fruit that left tannins and acidity playing second fiddle. Unique in its, well, uniqueness among modern vintages (the stock wisdom in the wine world is that new technology is increasingly homogenising wines from year to year), it has proved a standout year for the classic regions of Bordeaux, Burgundy and the Rhône in particular. Aromatic, beguiling and with a certain purity, 2015’s wines will only reveal their true greatness in around 2025, perhaps. But they’re already looking like world-beaters.

A very good year: these are the best French wine vintages of the last century

Everybody has a favourite wine. It may be a chewy Cabernet Sauvignon. 

. Or even something a little rarer, like a delicate Nebbiolo or a Chilean Carménère. Whatever it is, you’ve almost certainly got one; a faithful, fail-safe favourite you find yourself buying over and over 

And that’s both good and bad. Because, while you’ll never be disappointed when you decant your favourite wine, you probably also don’t have the bottle to try something new. And there are some excellent lesser-known wines out there. Below, we’ve rounded up five of the finest worth trying; from a punchy, potent Zinfandel to a tropically-tinged new-world Chardonnay…

For earthy flavours, Corbières Campagnès Maxime Magnon 2018

 A forest of woody notes. Drenched in the dryness of tannins, this 2018 vintage gives off earthy aromas when decanted; like the countryside after a heavy rain. Also touches of ripe black fruits.

 Super-sippable. Slightly violet in colour, you can taste the blueberries and blackcurrants coming through. There’s a crescendo of soft raspberry, before an unexpected combination of spices and herbs — from black pepper to mint.

 The spices begin to subside into something a little more savoury. The oak on the nose returns, as do those earthy notes. But the big player in the final few moments is leather; offering a strong, layered finish.

Corbières Campagnès Maxime Magnon 2018

For summer florals, Domaine de la Renardiere Chardonnay Jurassique 2016

 Natural, fresh and with a fragile acidity running through it, 

 blossoms with blooming, floral aromas. Go in for a second sniff and you’ll appreciate subtler petal fragrances.

 Strangely, it tastes almost exactly how it smells. There’s the welcome addition of elderflower notes, and perhaps slightly fewer petals than there were on the nose. Soft, rich and apple-y.

 Unobtrusive. It’s an unctuously soft end, melting away in your mouth. Once more, it brings to mind apples or pears — with that candied sweetness we smelt earlier making a return.

Domaine de la Renardiere Chardonnay Jurassique 2016

For a ‘big’ red, Turley Zinfandel Juvenile 2018

. The glass hums with the meaty aromas of big, dark berries and winter spices, like cinnamon. In fact, it’s so juicy on the nose that you’ll think you’ve taken a swig, not a sniff.

Blueberry is definitely in the mix, as is mellow raspberry and perhaps a hint of redcurrant? The sweeter spices also get you in the gums, with nutmeg and vanilla soaking up some of that juicy fruit flavour.

 None of that normal claggy Zinfandel nonsense. There’s a brief after-dinner dash of strong coffee and crusted port — but then a swift, refreshing release. Some floral notes also linger on the tongue.

Turley Zinfandel Juvenile 2018

For a complex white, Santa Cruz Mountains Trout Gulch Chardonnay Kutch 2017

 Everything you want from a new-world Chardonnay. There’s the requisite yellow apple sweetness, with depth of stone fruit swirling around in there. Also a tropical twist, with hints of pineapple.

 More of the same. Light, bright and bone dry, it’s got a slightly more saline, savoury flavour than the nose suggests. Think herbal florals over outward sweetness — with spicy pear and even echoes of ginger.

 Brimming with minerality, the finish sees the citrus flavours fall away in favour of rich, creamy textures. There’s just the right amount of oak, more green herbs and the faintest splash of golden honey.

Santa Cruz Mountains Trout Gulch Chardonnay Kutch 2017

For an intense option, Etna Rosso Emanuele Scammacca del Murgo 2018

Here are the sustainable wines you should be drinking — and the dishes to pair them with…

5 lesser-known wines you should be ordering this summer

The meteoric rise of white Burgundy over the last decades is an understandable one; from the northern outpost of Chablis with its verve, racy minerality and ballerina-like poise to Chassagne-Montrachet on the southern tip of the Côte-d'Or where the wines are more sumptuous, bold and seem almost laced with browned butter and toasted hazelnuts. For novices and professionals alike, white Burgundy offers elegance and nuance - a thousand different tastes and guises. And unlike the powerhouses of Bordeaux, the domaines of Burgundy are still owned, run and farmed by the farmers themselves. The sense of connection to the land and the environment is real.

However, extreme weather spikes (that used to be an occurrence of once in a decade) have become an almost annual phenomenon - soaring spring heats that force premature budburst and are followed by frosts that devastate the infant buds. It is not uncommon to hear of vignerons losing their entire yearly crop. As such, the perfect storm of demand grossly outrunning a dwindling supply has witnessed skyrocketing prices. Much like the UK housing market, these prices aren’t going to drop any time soon.

As is often discussed - in times of strife and hardship, creativity is born. So instead of lamenting the increasingly limited access to white Burgundy, I propose that we get creative with our wine choices and look to other exciting regions of France that will offer up similar electricity in your glass.

Within France, you don’t even need to cast your eyes too far: the Jura mountain range - an hour in the car from Beaune - boasts the same geological makeup and discussions of its terroir and enigma of its wines are almost as feverish as that in Burgundy. Whilst the region has also been rocked by freakish weather, the wines are yet to hit the mainstream and there are some serious stunning bargains to be had. Just a few hours south of Burgundy lies the little-known region of Auvergne. Known by most as a (somewhat uninteresting) chunk of central French farmland, there are a handful of vignerons who are whipping up some cracking Chardonnay. The area is home to a series of volcanoes that rocked into the landscape about 35 million years ago. What remains is the ancient flows of molten lava that have turned to black basalt. Wines from such soils are the hot topic du jour and are much feted for their delectable acidity, moreish savoury touch and minerality.

We would be amiss if we didn’t mention the burgeoning Chardonnay scene that is happening right here on our doorstep. The south coast of England - from the tip of Cornwall to the beaches of Essex - is fast becoming a darling of the wine world. A mixture of increasing temperatures and soils rich in chalk and limestone (key players in the terroir of Burgundy and Champagne) would appear to be a recipe for success. If the land grab that is currently taking place from some of the biggest players in the wine world is anything to go by, English wine is definitely one to watch...

Alternatives to white Burgundy

Ahhhh, Nebbiolo.. That fickle grape, so packed with flavour, intensity, tannin and acid that only skilled craftsmanship and time can truly harness this wild varietal. Nebbiolo is the beating heart of two of Italy’s most celebrated regions, the neighbouring Barolo and Barbaresco in Piedmont. Whilst only a stone’s throw from each other and split by the Tanaro river, these regions make strikingly different versions of the grape. Barbaresco is awash with white soils that are rich in chalk and sandstone, whereas Barolo has pockets of deep clay. As a result, the wines of Barbaresco are often described as more ethereal and 

, in comparison to Barolo’s trademark density and power. Producers such as Gaja, G.D. Vajra, Roagna and Rinaldi have shone the light on this province of rolling hills and trademark fog. And whilst this has done wonders for the international celebration and availability of wines from the region, it's hard to get hold of the best producers without remortgaging your house. Fear not however, as Nebbiolo is not betrothed to these two famous villages..

Nestled at the base of the Italian Alps, just 90 miles north of Alba lies Alto Piedmont, named (not surprisingly) for its high peaks. As was the case for much of Europe, this pocket of Piedmont was also ravaged by the phylloxera disease, which was compounded by two world wars and mass migration from the country to the city as the industrial boom took hold. What was left was swathes of towering, terraced vineyards that were costly - both in time and money - to maintain and thus, almost overnight, were abandoned.

However, the current day shift towards provenance and 

 wines has taken hold and this Alpine paradise is fast reclaiming its former glory. What is even better is that these wines are a wine-lovers’ dream, where lip-smackingly delicious booze is still available at seriously good value. In Alto Piedmont, Nebbiolo is called 

 and is often blended with local varieties such as Uva Rara, Vespolina and Croatina. Look out for labels brandishing the sub-appellations of Gattarina, Ghemme or Boca (the highest planting in Piedmont) for a taste of one of the coolest regions of the moment.

G.D. Vajra 'Albe' Barolo 2017, Piedmont, Italy

Massolino Langhe Nebbiolo 2019, Piedmont, Italy

Alto Piedmont Wines

Next, we head to the mountains. Directly above Piedmont, bordering Switzerland lies Valle d’Aosta. Whilst the region is miniscule and barely known, its wines are still top-quality and celebrated by those in the know. If wine wasn’t complicated enough, Nebbiolo is called something different here again - 

 The soaring slopes of the valley mean that not only is this tiny pocket limited in how much it can grow but it also has some of the highest vineyards in Italy - up to 1300 metres above sea level.

Bear with us - we have one more region and one more name for Nebbiolo. We’d like to introduce Chiavennasca from Valtellina. Another stretch of Alpine land, this time in Lombardy and creating the border between Switzerland and Italy. Often compared to the dramatic vineyards of the Mosel or the Douro, Valtellina is also home to a patchwork of tiny terraced vineyards at sweat-inducing heights. The slopes are so steep in fact, that to make wine here is often described as ‘heroic viticulture’.

Needless to say, there are many faces to Nebbiolo and for fans of the highly celebrated Piedmont-classics, there is a plethora of stellar regions to uncover.

All stories