I have been a massive fan of this estate for years, but when new winemaker François-Xavier Barc took over in 2006 it really hiked up its quality and we are now in a purple patch for the wines of Joguet. Cabernet Franc Rose is a rare beast and it doesn’t always work, but the wild blackberry nuances and pebbly minerality here make this a light, but piercingly clean rosé for very clever entertaining. Try opening a few bottles of this with sushi and sashimi or with a crustacea feast and you will be shocked at how the acidity and zip slices straight through the tender fish and meat. The red Cuvee Terroir is a superb piece of work, with Cab Franc showing masses of class and intensity, approaching some of the aromas and flavours found on Bordeaux’s Right Bank and it is this appeal which I implore you to explore. As a ten pound red, decanted and drunk with roast lamb, it out thinks many a Bordeaux Chateau for a fraction of the price.
We were delighted to find this wine for the first time last year and it earned its spurs by impressing all-comers. In 2009 the fruit is even more explosive and the result is a vibrant, feisty little wine with a big heart. The nose is expressive, modern, exotically citrusy and could easily come from a Sancerre! I adore this wine because it is so unbelievably elegant. Even the label is well-judged and classy - miss this bird at your peril. It is, by all accounts, the ultimate party white.
I have tasted, drunk and sold Palliser wines for 25 years. This iconic estate in Martinborough, in the North Island, is run by a truly great man – Richard Riddiford. His wines are always on the lists of the most discerning restaurants both in London and New Zealand. His slate-y, taut Sauvignon is a far cry from the fruit-bombs emerging from Marlborough. Its crystalline notes of lemon, lime and fresh cut herbs realign your taste buds and send a shiver down the spine. I love this wine. In addition I have sourced a dribble of his easy, soothing, rhubarb and pineapple-kissed Riesling. It is not one to age, but one to guzzle, dousing chilli-heat or tamarind in epic style during all-day buffets. The Pinot Noir here is one of the finest in the land. Still brilliantly priced after all of these years, this is a wine which concentrates fully on the soil and not the fruit. It is centred, Zen-like, with no frills or unnecessary adornments, just honest, dark, berry fruit and exactly the right amount of oak.
I have tasted, drunk and sold Palliser wines for 23 years. This iconic estate in Martinborough, in the North Island, is run by a truly great man – Richard Riddiford. His wines are always on the lists of the most discerning restaurants both in London and New Zealand. His slate-y, taut Sauvignon is a far cry from the fruit-bombs emerging from Marlborough. Its crystalline notes of lemon, lime and fresh cut herbs realign your taste buds and send a shiver down the spine. I love this wine. In addition I have sourced a dribble of his easy, soothing, rhubarb and pineapple-kissed Riesling. It is not one to age, but one to guzzle, dousing chilli-heat or tamarind in epic style during all-day buffets. The Pinot Noir here is one of the finest in the land. Still brilliantly priced after all of these years, this is a wine which concentrates fully on the soil and not the fruit. It is centred, Zen-like, with no frills or unnecessary adornments, just honest, dark, berry fruit and exactly the right amount of oak.
Owned by Jean-Marc Brocard (a pretty big clue as to why these wines are so tidy), this is a new find for us and we are over the moon about the precise, chiselled, finely-assembled flavours in the classic Chablis. There is no unwanted oak here, just chalky, tight, refreshing Chardonnay from this grape’s most famous stronghold. Everyday Chablis never tasted so wonderfully nostalgic or indeed elegant.
I am over the moon about rekindling my relationship with Gini’s Soave. It must have been nearly twenty years ago when I first tasted this wine and I remember buying loads of it for Bibendum Restaurant’s Oyster Bar. Fast forward to today and this sensational wine is better than it has ever been. Unbelievably classy and layered with honey and lemon balm notes, this is one of the most stylish whites I have tasted this year. Drink it as you would a Premier Cru Chablis and marvel at how it turns heads and never shirks a food and wine matching challenge. Ask us for a taste of La Frosca, Gini’s top cuvee and you will be blown away – it is a true Soave Grand Cru.
Giovanni Puiatti is a modern day dandy and there is no finer-cut-suit or well-turned-heel on display when he is in town – which he is a lot, so watch out! With an irrepressible desire to party and more energy than a teenager, he is one of life’s perfectionists and this wine shows why. ‘Little Puiatti’ is a cracking, thirst-quenching PG. With meadow flower notes and masses of zip this wine is usually only drunk in the finest Italian restaurants in the world. Follow Giovanni’s motto and ‘save a tree, drink Puiatti’ – there are no oak barrels whatsoever in his winery!
A more of an old fashioned look at Pouilly-Fume than Chateau Favray’s, but no less interesting or valid with today’s cuisine. Les Berthiers really relishes the chance to tackle a huge plateau de fruits de mer with its salty aromas and flavours. The minerality and acidic grip on the finish of this wine cleanses and revitalises your taste buds after every sip. This is a food and wine match made in heaven.
Delaire is a new find for us at Q Wine and we are blown away by the qualité/prix (don’t you just love the French language – ‘value’ never sounded better!). Now owned by the Graff family – the diamond people - and previously owned by John Platter (wine writer and good pal of mine), you couldn’t get a better lineage and situation for an estate. The wines are as polished as their gems with the Sauvignon seriously tight, gripping, spiky and limey (NZ eat your heart out).
There are so many flashy Kiwi Sauvignons around these days which, like the Emperor’s New Clothes, never deliver the promise paraded on the bottle. MHB is a delight in every department. Crisp, cunningly aromatic, long and cool and not remotely blowsy or fruit-cocktaily this wine is exactly indicative of Simon Waghorn’s amazing skill as a winemaker. Sleek and smooth on the finish, you could be forgiven for thinking that you were drinking a wine at twice the price. This is a superb piece of design and we heartily recommend it over every other famous name you can think of (including that one!).
We prefer Vincent Pinard’s unoaked cuvees (he flirts with a couple of oaky wines which I still can’t quite understand) and Florès is as natural as it gets. Based in and around the hamlet of Bue this family outfit makes benchmark Sancerre year in year out. Cracking lemon and lime notes coupled with fresh herbs and the obligatory gooseberry or two make this a definite hit on any Loire fiends list.
Bergaglio is one of only a handful of incredible winemakers in Gavi and this single vineyard ‘La Minaia’ wine is one that we have listed since the very beginning of Q Wine. Gavi is often thought of as a fashion victim’s wine as the flavours rarely match up to the hype, but the crystal clear palate of delightfully refreshing apple, grapefruit and citrus fruit here is breath-taking. And the long, lingering, glacially cool finish is elegant, classy and oozing with integrity. This is a true slice of Piemonte in the glass. On a recent trip to Positano I noticed that La Minaia is the Gavi of choice there, too!
The crispness and accuracy of attack on the palate of this mouth-watering Vernaccia is nothing short of nerve-tingling. There is electricity here, which zaps your taste buds to attention. The perfect aperitif, and also a very smart seafood wine, this is one of the very few Vernaccias to warrant a second look in a decade and once tasted never forgotten.
Yay - this the most exciting vintage of Favray in years and Quentin David has managed to extract all of the minerality and poise from his vineyards, making a very precise, bold and dramatic Sauvignon indeed. Elegant, crystalline and ever so blue-blooded, this is the poshest wine in this section and one which we love to drink with mountains of sushi.
Our old friend Giovanni (see the Puiattino PG) makes the most serious Sauvignon imaginable from Italy and it is a worthy adversary for our Loire team, too! Coming from his finest single vineyard, Ruttars, and with more richness than this grape normally carries without the use of oak, this is an incredible creation. World class in every way, this is a must for serious SB fans. It is ultra-rare and it’s sure to broaden your vinous horizons. You will want to visit the vineyard, too, once you’ve tasted Ruttars which we can, of course, arrange. BTW – if you want to taste any of his other wines (have a look on his website), we can ship them over for you!
