Chardonnay
Katherine Dart, Buyer (autumn 2018)
Bottle
£12.95
Bottle 12 x 75cl 269cs
Bottle
£18.50
Bottle 12 x 75cl 23cs
Adam Bruntlett, Wine Buyer
Bottle
£40.00
Bottle 12 x 75cl 186cs
Luis Gutiérrez, The Wine Advocate (autumn 2018)
Bottle
£13.95
Bottle 6 x 75cl 22cs
Crisp notes of lemon and grapefruit dominate the nose, with subtle lemon pâtisserie hinting at a slightly richer mouth-feel – a result of 18 months on lees. On the palate, this richer texture is well-balanced by the fresh acidity which maintains the clean, energetic style of this wine. Drink now to 2021.
Bottle
£15.95
Bottle 6 x 75cl 43cs
Bottle
£17.00
Bottle
£17.50
Bottle 12 x 75cl 10cs
Bottle
£17.75
Olivier is taking many steps to counteract the warmer summers and earlier harvests; managing the canopy to protect grapes from sunburn, using late-ripening rootstocks, reducing the amount of new oak he uses to keep the wines feeling fresher, and bringing harvest dates forward to retain acidity. The 2017 crop is around 15 percent down due to the dry summer which stressed the grapes. Picking began on 27th August and Olivier feels the wines are a little richer than 2016, but still with very good balance and well-integrated oak.
Bottle
£17.95
Bottle 12 x 75cl 250cs
Bottle
£17.95
Bottle 6 x 75cl 15cs
Bottle
£17.95
Bottle 12 x 75cl 85cs
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer
Olivier and Corinne Merlin have been established in the Mâconnais village of La Roche Vineuse since 1987. Over the years they have bought the domaine which they originally rented, built a new cuverie, planted new vineyards locally and spread out into further appellations such as Pouilly-Fuissé and Moulin-à-Vent. Theirs has been one of the great success stories of the modern Mâconnais. They expect to be joined shortly by sons Théo and Paul. Having made his first wines in 1987, this year represents Olivier’s 30th vintage in La Roche Vineuse. It is fair to say that in this time he has contributed much to raising standards in the Mâconnais. Proof of his great skill as a winemaker came in the form of a bottle of 1990 Mâcon La Roche Vineuse Vieilles Vignes, a highlight of a lunch at Berry Bros. & Rudd in July to mark Jasper Morris’s retirement.
Bottle
£17.95
Bottle 12 x 75cl 33cs
Will Heslop, Burgundy Buying Assistant (spring 2019)
Bottle
£19.50
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
100% chardonnay.
Cool & discreet.
Bottle
£19.95
Bottle 12 x 75cl 4cs
It’s mixed news this year: while 2017 sees the return of the much-loved Cuvée Mademoiselle, overall there is less wine than in 2016, frost damage having cut the crop by anything up to 70 percent, with the worst-affected area being Les Clos. Despite the obvious disappointment of the small crop, Laurent and Charlène were delighted with the quality and health of the grapes at harvest, and feel this is a classically Chablisien vintage.
Bottle
£19.95
Bottle 12 x 75cl 32cs
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer
With prices in Burgundy still rising, even if often for understandable reasons, the appellations Bourgogne Blanc and Bourgogne Rouge are great places to look for affordable wines. You get the opportunity to drink wine from a top winemaker, from vines which are adjacent to the famous villages, and which will be accessible earlier. The 2005 Bourgognes Rouges are still delicious and youthful more than 10 years later, but most wines have been drinking well for a few years now. On these two pages we offer a selection of our favourite Bourgognes.
Bottle
£21.00
Bottle
£21.50
Bottle 12 x 75cl 20cs
Bottle
£22.50
Bottle 12 x 75cl 205cs
Bottle
£22.50
Bottle 12 x 75cl 23cs
Rémi describes this as “dynamic” wine, and certainly its acidity and zesty lemon character provide a sense of energy. Most (80%) of the blend is raised in 400-litre oak barrels (none of them new), to add a touch of weight to the palate. The long, salty finish is something of a trademark for Domaine Rollin. Drink now to 2023.
Bottle
£22.50
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Vibrant pale lemon in colour, this wine sees between 10 and 15% new oak during the élevage, which serves to add a touch of complexity and breadth to the vibrant citrus fruit. There is excellent concentration and a focused, mineral purity which shines through. Drink now to 2022.
Bottle
£22.50
Bottle 12 x 75cl 22cs
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle
£22.75
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer
Dominique Lafon and his cellar master, Caroline Gon, took a great deal of trouble in 2015 to get their picking dates exactly right. They started on 28th August and picked their Mâconnais wines across a 13-day period, as each sector ripened, with the result that they have avoided high sugar levels and have kept the desired element of freshness in their wines.
Bottle
£23.95
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle
£24.50
Bottle 6 x 75cl 16cs
Bottle
£24.50
Bottle 6 x 75cl 40cs
Daisy Gatt, Buying Assistant (autumn 2018)
Bottle
£24.50
Bottle 6 x 75cl 13cs
Bottle
£24.95
Adam Bruntlett - Wine Buyer
The brilliantly talented Samuel Billaud was finding family politics hard going, so he founded his own wine label in Chablis separate from Domaine Billaud-Simon. However, with the sale of Domaine Billaud- Simon to Faiveley in 2014, Samuel has got back a proportion of the vineyards for himself. Whether from domaine sources or purchased grapes, Samuel Billaud’s wines demonstrate his exceptional talent.
Bottle
£25.00
Bottle 12 x 75cl 164cs
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Didier has mixed emotions about the 2017 vintage; the quality is excellent, but thanks to the frost at the end of April, volumes are low, with their substantial holdings on the rive droite (right bank) particularly suffering. Up to 60 percent of the crop was lost in the Grands Crus, particularly Les Clos. Didier explained that, in comparison to 2016, the season post-frost was relatively simple, with warm, dry conditions and rain falling when required. He describes 2017 as a very classic vintage which offers acidity, freshness and tension.
Bottle
£25.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 7cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Chardonnay is the "Big Daddy" of white wine grapes and one of the most widely planted in the world. It is suited to a wide variety of soils, though it excels in soils with a high limestone content as found in Champagne, Chablis, and the Côte D`Or.
Burgundy is Chardonnay's spiritual home and the best White Burgundies are dry, rich, honeyed wines with marvellous poise, elegance and balance. They are unquestionably the finest dry white wines in the world. Chardonnay plays a crucial role in the Champagne blend, providing structure and finesse, and is the sole grape in Blanc de Blancs.
It is quantitatively important in California and Australia, is widely planted in Chile and South Africa, and is the second most widely planted grape in New Zealand. In warm climates Chardonnay has a tendency to develop very high sugar levels during the final stages of ripening and this can occur at the expense of acidity. Late picking is a common problem and can result in blowsy and flabby wines that lack structure and definition.
Recently in the New World, we have seen a move towards more elegant, better- balanced and less oak-driven Chardonnays, and this is to be welcomed.