Southern Rhône Blend

Pale pink in colour, this offers youthful red-fruit aromas of wild raspberries and pink grapefruit. A blend of Grenache, Cinsault and Syrah, it combies vibrant red-berry fruit with intense spicy notes that give the wine layer of complexity. 
Fiona Hayes, Wine Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd

Until 2nd September this product is discounted by 40 percent. Price shown includes saving.*
Tablas Creek is a driving force in California for its biodynamic and sustainable practices and this attention to detail is evident in all their wines. Patelin – slang for “neighbourhood” – is a Rhône-style blend of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre and Counoise, sourced from both their own vineyards and others in their ‘hood, Paso Robles. Bright and energetic, the wine has aromas of violet, blueberry and pepper spice. It has a silky but pronounced tannin profile, with a juicy and generous mid-palate. From the stand-out 2016 vintage, this wine is drinking beautifully now, but has the structure and concentration to keep for a couple of years.  
Fiona Hayes, Wine Buyer
*Discount is already applied to the single-bottle price and no further discount will be applied at checkout.

A blend of Grenache, Cinsault and Syrah aged briefly in concrete, the 2018 Cotes de Provence Rose l'Esprit de Provence features appealing notes of crushed stone, red berries and ripe citrus on the nose. It's light to medium-bodied but silky in texture, with attractive hints of dried spices on the finish.
Joe Czerwinski, The Wine Advocate (spring 2019)

A blend of 90% Grenache and 10% Mourvèdre, this wine is back in 2017 – not having been made in 2016 due to poor flowering. It offers a complex blend of wild strawberries, red cherries and sweet-spice undertones. There is a density and concentration to the nose, neatly balanced by a silky texture and chalky, firm tannins. Drink now to 2026.
Fiona Hayes, Rhône Buyer

This is a wonderful example of what good-value Gigondas can offer. The intensity of aromatics with liquorice, kirsch, rosemary and thyme is inviting and persists on the finish. While the fruit concentration is powerful, there is a touch of sweetness and spice on the mid-palate, the tannins powdery and firm, providing balance and focus. Drink now to 2024.
Fiona Hayes, Rhône Buyer

Wife and husband duo Isabelle and Matthieu Champart are based in the small appellation of St Chinian. Winemaker Isabelle and viticulturalist Matthieu both have a calm and thoughtful approach to life, which translates beautifully in their wines.

Deep ruby in colour, this has dark red and black berry aromas of cherries, plums and blackcurrants. The palate is concentrated, with complex savoury layers of rosemary, fennel, liquorice and black olive. The tannins are firm and chewy, continuing on the finish, supported carefully by savoury spice. Drink now to 2025.

The Perrins’ focus on the two key villages (Châteuneuf apart, of course) of Gigondas and Vinsobres, and the creation of a distinctly up-market Séléctions Parcellaires family of wines, represents a qualitative statement of intent. The statement, as usual, has been backed by solid investment and the nurturing of the very best vineyards available in the respective appellations. The 90-year-old, co-planted vines in Vinsobres, located at an altitude of 450 metres, have not let them down; the Syrah is pure and poised and the Grenache ripe and rounded. A spicy almost savoury finish recalls the Northern Rhône, which is not entirely inappropriate. In its earlier manifestations, I wondered if they were trying too hard with the new oak. Thankfully this has now been held in check in the name of an extremely harmonious expression of terroir. Drink 2018-2026.
Simon Field MW - Wine Buyer

The Perrins are far from equivocal in outlining their aspirations in the Southern Rhône; they wish to match the undisputed primacy of their Beaucastel estate with hegemony of classic vineyards to demonstrate the best characteristics of the best villages: Voltaire without Pangloss. Nurturing and guiding as appropriate, they have rapidly built up an enviable portfolio which has gone virtually all the way to the realisation of this ambition. Their attention has been focused especially on the villages of Vinsobres and Gigondas, both of which share altitude and aspect to suit the subtly changing climate in the region.

This has a dark fruit profile of blackberry compôte and plums. Purple fruits open up rather dramatically in the glass, revealing wild strawberries and a redberry perfume. Energetic, fresh acidity combined with fine-grained tannins and a silky texture mean this Châteauneuf-du-Pape is one of the more easily accessible in youth, but its structure and layers of complexity foretell its ageability. Drink now to 2028.

Until 2nd September this product is discounted by 40 percent. Price shown includes saving.*
Vivid ruby-red. Expansive, spice-accented aromas of red and blue fruit liqueur, Asian spices and candied flowers are lifted by a minerally nuance. Silky, broad and alluringly sweet in the mouth, offering sappy black raspberry, boysenberry and lavender pastille flavors that become more energetic with air. In a seamless, elegant style. A refreshing jolt of minerality adds focus and cut to the impressively long, youthfully tannic finish.
Josh Raynolds, Vinous (autumn 2017)
*Discount is already applied to the single-bottle price and no further discount will be applied at checkout.

This classic Provence rosé is delicious. Wild strawberry, pink grapefruit, redcurrant and verbena notes are balanced by refreshing acidity and subtle floral and herbal aromas. Ready to drink now.
Fiona Hayes, Buyer (July 2019)

Sourced diversely over the north of the appellation, the wine’s final blend is classic beyond peradventure (65 percent Grenache, 20 percent Syrah, 10 percent Mourvèdre and five percent Cinsault) and looks set to be an exceptional domaine cuvée, with 80 percent de-stemmed and 80 percent vat-aged grapes. Its high-toned fruit aromas sit more than comfortably with intimations of garrigue and Asian spices. The palate is dominated by blackcurrant and cassis…a silky symphony in a bright key. Drink 2020-2028. 
Simon Field MW - Wine Buyer

The brother and sister team of Christophe and Isabelle Sabon continue to work wonders at Janasse. They farm 80 hectares of vineyards spread over a number of wine appellations: Châteauneuf-du-Pape, which is all located in the north-east of the appellation in the commune of Courthézon, Côtes du Rhône, Côtes du Rhône Villages, but also Vin de Pays de la Principauté d'Orange and Vin de Table. Concrete tanks are used for the Grenache and oak for the Syrah and Mourvèdre; in other words, everything is fairly traditional. Isabelle Sabon compares the 2015 to 2005 and 2010. Its tannic profile sits somewhere in the middle, as, possibly, does its quality. For all that, they are three outstanding vintages.

A chamber piece, appropriately enough, a whimsical sonata in praise of the Grenache grape, from the southerly and relatively cold vines of Chaupin. Spring flowers and bright acidity add feminine charm to the ripe fruit and ensure that the wine is immediately etched on the memory.
Drink 2019-2014.
Simon Field MW – Wine Buyer

Thirteen plots, with a concentration on the famous
Crau plateau, have gifted this blend which is made up
of 80 percent Grenache, 10 percent Mourvèdre, seven
percent Syrah and three percent Cinsault. Gentle
extraction after a modest cold soak has been followed
by eighteen months ageing, shared between vat and
350 litre casks, none of which are new. Benchmark
Châteauneuf aromas of black olive and the scrub cede
to a dark and savoury palate, hugely textured and
with layers of potential. The 2016 calling cards of pure
acidity and elegant tannins are both present and the
finish is imperious. Drink 2020-2028.
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer

Of the 13 plots which make up this wine, the key ones are Beaurenard in the north-west, Charbonnière on the central Crau plateau and Gallimardes in the south... in other words, this has a richly diverse provenance. The blend is 80 percent Grenache, 10 percent Mourvèdre, seven percent Syrah and three percent Cinsault. The wine displays classic aromas of thyme, sous-bois and macerated plum and an equally classic palate, which is long and unnervingly complex. Drink 2020-2028. 
Simon Field MW - Wine Buyer

The forebears of sisters Sophie and Catherine Armenier have been making superb wines since 1344 it seems, maybe modifying their techniques a little along the way, but not too much. Biodynamic in all but the letter, they are based close to Beaucastel, but their plots, albeit more modest in total surface area, are more widely spaced over the appellation, with the most significant holdings in the areas around Courthézon and on the central Crau plateau. Low yields are key to the exceptional quality of the wines.

Christophe describes this as “the best Chaupin ever”,
and if there was ever an illustration of Grenache
that is richly wrought, powerful and luxuriously
textured, yet still structured and not tipping over into
a decadent over-indulgence, then this would be it. The
herbal hints at the back of the palate ground the wine
magnificently; otherwise it’s an ethereal paean to
Provencal pleasure. Drink 2022-2028.
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer