Recent months have seen a spate of nice comments about some of our most popular wines, the sorts of bottles to bring cheer at Christmas without a scolding from the bank manager in January. Here we’re delighted to highlight some of our favourites, all in stock and ready to brighten up your Christmas celebrations…
Pierre Paillard Les Parcelles XV Grand Cru Bouzy Extra Brut NV
Read More"This is based on the 2015 vintage, and it's from the Grand Cru village of Bouzy in the Montagne des Reims. 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay, disgorged in October 2019, with a dosage of 1.8g/litre. This is a really lovely wine, with a lovely fruit quality. It starts off with mandarin and lemons, then there's a lovely midpalate of pear, apple and cherry, with some texture and ripeness, but it's reined in beautifully by keen acidity and a spicy flourish on the finish. This may be low dosage, but there's a real fruitiness and it offsets the acidity really nicely. Power, concentration, ripe fruit and balance are the hallmarks here. Has a long finish: quite beautiful. 94/100." - Jamie Goode
Pascal Doquet, Arpege, Blanc de Blancs, Extra Brut Premier Cru NV
"Justerini & Brooks are good at seeking out keenly priced estate-grown champagnes. This is made from 100 percent organically certified Chardonnay and is a blend of 2010 and 2011 wines, so is admirably mature for the price. It tastes like the produce of a vineyard rather than of a blending bench and is none theworse for it. An amazing price for such a mature wine”. - Jancis Robinson MW, Financial Times
Riesling Von Rotliegenden, Trocken, Okonomierat Rebholz 2017
"Germany, is, of course, pretty much Riesling central and although the emphasis was always towards the off-dry end of the spectrum - and once very popular in the UK - more wines are now much drier and more focused. That same exquisite balance between luscious fruit and dryness is also apparent in the Vom Rotligenden Trocken Okonomierat Rebholz 2017 from a top-notch vineyard in the Pfalz, which is also taught and intense, with stony mineral flavours and hints of green apples and pears emerging. Wonderfully complex and enticing." - Terry Kirby, The Independent
Bachelet Monnot Maranges 2014 and Tourelles de Longueville, Pauillac Château Pichon-Longueville 2014
"If you are unfamiliar with this wine, think of a smart Volnay and add some rakish swagger. Given half an hour to breathe, this pinot blossoms into a stunner and I cannot think of a finer value red Burgundy on the shelves today. Just to prove that the J&B trick is not a one-off, 2014 Les Tourelles de Longueville, Chateau Pichon-Baron, Pauillac is the claret equivalent of this Burgundy - utterly delicious and perfectly priced". - Matthew Jukes, Money Week
David and Nadia, Siebrietskloof 2017
"Winemaking couple David and Nadia Sadie had a plan - to nurture and restore low-yielding old vineyards in the Swartland wine region and produce world-class wines. The result is one of the most talked pinotages of recent years. Harvested early to keep its acidity with as little intervention as possible, it's an aromatic and opulent wine with elegant red fruit flavours and notes of pepper and spice. Smooth and extremely palatable it's a pinotage that could convert any who doubt its place at the top table." - John Clarke, The Independent