Taster Pack & Online Tasting - December

Gascony is one of our favourite parts of France. Excellent food, friendly people, lots of sunshine, and inspiring views of the Pyrenees. This blend of Colombard, Sauvignon Blanc, and Gros Manseng is an elegant but lipsmackingly delicious wine. Elisabeth Prataviera is the talented winemaker and the estate has been in her family since the 1920s. Here she's crafted a wine that's vibrant and packed to the rafters with fruit.

+What it tastes like

Bursting with joyous fresh apple and zesty lemon, and even a hint of pineapple. This aromatic and juicy, fresh white is dangerously drinkable.

+What it goes with

Ideal as an aperitif, or as a summer picnic white, this is great with cold meats and cheeses too.

It is not every day that a wine sets the buyer's nostrils a-quivering the way that this Furmint did when we first came across it last year. Not only an absolutely smashing wine, but from a trio of delightful young Hungarians just starting out on their journey to make wine organically in the Tokaji region. Just as good again - you must try it!

+What it tastes like

Grown on Tokaji's famous volcanic soils, this mouth-watering Dry Furmint has an electrifying lick of limey acidity coursing through it, as well as more subtle flavours of pear and quince. A stunning wine!

+What it goes with

A brilliant partner for pork chops, and also extremely good with duck and goose, this is a wine that deserves richly flavoured indulgent food.

This delicious and refined Sancerre comes from Reverdy-Ducroux. An incredible domaine, passed down through 14 generations, crafting Sauvignon Blanc from some of the best terroirs in Sancerre. This beautiful wine epitomizes what premium, new generation boxed wine is all about.

+What it tastes like

Everything that good Sancerre should be - refined, bright citrus character with a hint of fresh cut grass on the nose, alongside crisp green apples and an appealing minerality on the palate.

+What it goes with

Great with goats cheese salad, smoked mackerel and salmon-en-croûte - or just on its own.

Chiroubles is one of the lesser known Beaujolais Crus, but producers in this tiny appellation frequently over-perform producing fruity, highly perfumed wines expressing all that's great about Beaujolais. One such producer is Julien Chantreau, whose small domaine make wines with irresistible and immediate charm. He's only got four hectares in Chiroubles, so we were thrilled that he could spare some wine for us.

+What it tastes like

A refreshing, light and joyful expression of Gamay, grown on some of the steepest granite slopes in Beaujolais. It has an abundance of pretty peony perfume on the nose and the palate is packed with soft, silky raspberry fruit and low tannins, with a mineral streak on the finish.

+What it goes with

An excellent partner to chicken pie, summer salads or just a cold meat and cheese platter. A perfect lunch-time red.

We love a good Malbec, and where better to look than ‘The Black Wine of Cahors’ - the original origin of the Malbec grape that has found so much success in Argentina. And who better to work with than Pascal Verhaeghe, the leading vigneron of Cahors.

+What it tastes like

The vines planted on a limestone plateau brings the wine a wonderful freshness, and bright vibrant black fruit concentration. Succulent, juicy with surprisingly supple tannins.

+What it goes with

Cahors is superb with duck or game and works really well with a sausage and lentil stew.

Growing grapes organically in rainy Bordeaux takes special kinds of people, and father and son team Christophe and Gregoire Piat are the region’s leading practitioners. They craft dense, ultra-ripe, flavourful Merlot-based reds from bio-dynamically grown grapes and using as little sulphur as they can get away with.

+What it tastes like

This is a big wine, almost more Napa than Bordeaux, a dense, layered mouthful of rich Christmas-cakey spiced plum fruit, and some dark liquorice notes. We've been stunned by yet another brilliant vintage with the 2021, it seems the Piats can't fail to deliver.

+What it goes with

A perfect partner for roasted meats, especially beef, and also ace with the cheese board.