Our Buyer’s favourites

The Bonnette vineyard tends to produce a more linear style of Condrieu, of which this cuvee is a good example. The nose shows white blossom, apricot and a touch of pear fruit, whereas the palate is focused around peach and citrus, with a lovely creamy mouthfeel from the 50% elevage in oak. The finish is fresh, long and textured with delicate minerality. Drink now to 2023.
Oliver Barton, Buying Assistant

This cuvée shows much promise. The blend includes just under 80% Grenache which is sourced from 13 plots across the appellation, but centred around the prized La Crau commune. This vintage is rich in bright red and black fruit, with plenty of signature sweet spice, building to a savoury olive and black pepper finish. The oak use is minimal which allows full focus on the top-quality fruit. This generous wine is both full of fruit and serious, with a long future ahead of it. Drink 2021-2040.

Grenache Blanc makes up 40% of the blend this year, compared to only 24% in 2016, giving the wine an attractive liquorice and dill note. Roussanne (38%), Clairette Blanc (18%) and Bourboulenc make up the balance. La Nerthe’s practice of blocking malolactic on the whites often gives them a lift of acidity, although this was less of an issue in 2018 with its cooler weather. The resulting wine is very saline on the attack, with pineapple and white peach aromas. Drink now to 2025.

This famous vineyard is currently shared by five vignerons. Rostaing uses only whole-bunch on the fruit from their plot. Inky black in appearance, the nose reveals youthful bramble fruit with heady violets creeping through. The palate is textured and muscular, the dark blackberry fruit combined with a hint of pepper and iron. The finish is very long and the tannins fine, adding to the wine’s finesse. Drink 2022-2042.
Oliver Barton, Buying Assistant

This is another great wine from Roger’s oldest vines, which are centred around two plots of sandy and gravel soils. The nose is opulent with ripe bramble fruit and a lovely allspice note. Round on the palate, it is generous and showy with layers of red and black fruit, thyme and rosemary. Silky, ripe tannins promise a long future. Drink 2022-2035.
Oliver Barton, Buyer Assistant

Stéphane believes this site will get Côtes du Rhône or potentially Cru status in 2020 – fitting recognition for the quality of the terroir here. Black cherry and plum fruit is combined with savoury spice and thyme notes. The tannins are firm and chalky, with a sweetness that is characteristic of the 2017s. Liquorice and black olive notes arrive on the finish of this dense and energetic wine. Drink now to 2023.
Fiona Hayes, Rhône Buyer

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