Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio

This Pinot Gris is grown in Reuilly, a little-known appellation in the Loire Valley. Made from just two-hectares of vines, it is simply charming. Pale onion-skin in colour with a lovely floral perfume, it is completely dry but with a reassuring mid-palate weight and richness. More of a vin gris than a rosé, this is the ideal light summer wine to be enjoyed either on its own or with lighter dishes. It makes a particularly good partner to Asian cuisine.  
Adam Bruntlett, Wine Buyer

André studied in Burgundy before returning to Alsace to run the family domaine. Perhaps due to the former, he likes to harvest his Pinot Gris reasonably early, to keep freshness in the grapes. This allows him to make a drier wine than most of his peers. The result is a rich, intensely-flavoured white wine which gains even more complexity from its time in oak barrels. The nose shows yellow plum and delicate floral notes, while the palate has more ripe fruit flavours beautifully-intertwined with rich sweet spice notes from the oak. This will work incredibly well paired with Peking duck or sticky pork belly.
Oliver Barton, Wine Buyer

Made from 100 percent Pinot Grigio, fermentation starts in stainless steel tanks but is run off and finished in 500-litre French oak. With 11 months’ ageing on the lees, this is no ordinary Pinot Grigio. The weight and matter on the attack and mid-palate give depth and length to this finely textured wine that ages deceptively well, though the fruit is lighter and the acidity is fresher in the 2014.
Drink 2016-2022.

Aromas of citrus, camomile and quince layer with saline minerals and floral complexity. The attack is rich and scented, the mid-palate filled with density and plenty of ripe fruit. It’s gloriously textured, youthful and vivacious. Drink now to 2018.
Katherine Dart MW, Buyer

Try a glass of this with Lis Neris winemaker Federica Pecorari’s frico – find her family recipe on our blog here

Jim Jerram is the leading pioneer of the developing Waitaki Valley viticultural region. His Ostler label is based in the hamlet of Kurow (where Richie McCaw played his first rugby) and has developed a fine reputation for Pinot Noir and aromatic whites. The name comes from Jim’s great-grandfather, William Ostler, who came from Yorkshire to this area in the 1850s. The Waitaki climate is cooler than Central Otago, thanks to afternoon easterly breezes sucked in from the coast, however the ripening season is longer and lower frost risks.

Showing lightly caramelised red apples and pears on the nose this richly bodied Pinot Gris delivers a delightful blend of spices on the palate. Gingerbread, cinnamon and rose petal dance on the tongue accompanied by green fruit and a hint of lychee. These flavours and its generous texture make it a perfect match for pan-fried scallops or Munster cheese.

Showing a harmonious combination of smoke and flint flavours with hints of white fruit on the nose, the 2007 Pinot Gris Rangen is delectably balanced. This intricate wine inundates the palate with flavours of peaches, honey and poached pears. Sweetness shines through on the palate, but thanks to its vibrant acidity, it blends in very quickly. Pinot Gris Rangen should evolve and drink well for 15 years.

Chocolate can be something of a dam buster for many of us; a single square and the flood gates are open with will-power washed meekly away in favour of the immediate pleasure offered by gluttony. If this is the case and you are unable to resist the siren call of cacao, then why not fill your glass with something equally decadent and allow yourself to be swept up in it all?

The driver behind Humbrecht's Clos Windsbuhl wines is their acidity and the freshness it gives them, which makes this late harvest Pinot Gris a natural partner for all decadent chocolate permutations that even the most creative of minds (in the William Curley vein) might be able to concoct. Notes of honey and apricot combined with the aforementioned acidic backbone and it's hard to imagine life beyond dessert.
Nicholas Stewart - Wine Buying Team

Vendange Tardive is a quality classification for Alsace wines that signifies a later harvest with greater-than-usual concentration of natural sugars. This has a discreet nose, like many Jebsal, the heavy marl soil shuts the wine down in its youth but this will improve with further ageing. This is a gorgeous honeyed wine with lots of fruits such as melon, peach and orange. Full bodied, sweet and unctuous. You must try this VT, even more so since there was no Selection de Grains Noble (SGN) made in 2012, meaning that all of the best late harvest fruit went into this wine.
Laura Atkinson-Godwin, Private Account Manager

Clos Jebsal is a single vineyard in Turkheim (1.3 ha), Alsace. The first written reference of Jebsal dates back to a deed of sale from the 16th century. Located on a steep escarpment, it was left abandoned until 1982 when Leonard Humbrecht finally managed to reunite all the small parcels and restore the lieu-dit to its entirety.

The name Jebsal refers to gypsum, the important geological component of this vineyard alongside a geological fault of grey marl limestone and Keuper, rich in clay. The small clos is very steep (50%) with numerous terraces facing due south which benefits from a very warm microclimate, hidden and protected from the northerly winds. The grey marl soils have good water retention capacity which prevents hydric stress, yielding wines with beautiful balanced acidities.

The wines from Clos Jebsal are discreet in their youth, often marked with flinty or smoky aromas. The expression of fruit linked to the concentration by botrytis is coaxed out with some time in bottle, a minimum of ten years is recommended to allow for the development of the true expression of Clos Jebsal.

Selection des Grains Nobles are rare due to a bunch by bunch harvest selection and minimum sugar levels. This is one step up from Vendange Tardive and offers one richness, concentration and gloriously sweet fruit flavours. Full bodied, hugely mouth-filling and thick with outstanding, complex ripe fruits and maple syrup characteristics.
Laura Atkinson-Godwin, Private Account Manager


Clos Jebsal is a single vineyard in Turkheim (1.3 ha), Alsace. The first written reference of Jebsal dates back to a deed of sale from the 16th century. Located on a steep escarpment, it was left abandoned until 1982 when Leonard Humbrecht finally managed to reunite all the small parcels and restore the lieu-dit to its entirety. The name Jebsal refers to gypsum, the important geological component of this vineyard alongside a geological fault of grey marl limestone and Keuper, rich in clay. The small clos is very steep (50%) with numerous terraces facing due south which benefits from a very warm microclimate, hidden and protected from the northerly winds. The grey marl soils have good water retention capacity which prevents hydric stress, yielding wines with beautiful balanced acidities.

Wines from Clos Jebsal are discreet in their youth, often marked with flinty or smoky aromas. The expression of fruit linked to the concentration by botrytis is coaxed out with some time in bottle, a minimum of ten years is recommended to allow for the development of the true expression of Clos Jebsal.