MoneyWeek

Charles Heidsieck, Champagne Charlie, Cellared 2017, Champagne, France

It might seem rather unfortunate that this epic bottle of super-pricey Champagne is launched while we are in the grip of a global recession, and rumours of 15% inflation are circling ominously. But important wine releases have a tempo of their own, so if you are in the market for a wine of this calibre, then sky-rocketing utilities costs are unlikely…
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2020 Craggy Range, Aroha, Te Muna, Martinborough, New Zealand

Craggy Range owners, Terry and Mary Peabody, have established a 1000-year trust, meaning that this pioneering winery can never be sold.  This deed underlines how seriously this family has taken the evolution of Craggy from its origins in 1998 to the stellar wines it makes today.  The 2020 releases are the finest to date, making this brand not only…
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2021 Lyme Bay Winery, Shoreline, England

I was rather sad when Lyme Bay changed its branding from the wistful, watercolour print-style labels of old to the new, bolder, more strident design.  It only took me a year to recover, though, and I am fully on side now that a trio of newly released wines, all wearing their smart new livery in subtly different hues, is of such high quality that all…
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2021 Quinta da Fonte Souto, Rosé, Serra de São Mamede, Alentejo, Portugal

I find it somewhat frustrating that many of the most noteworthy new wines that make it to our shores each year have so few retail listings, and I imagine it must annoy my reader, too, but hey ho.  Every wine I have written up on this page in the last 16 years can be ordered to your door, so I hope you feel driven to track this week’s thriller down,…
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2021 Domaine de l’Ile Blanc, Porquerolles, Côtes de Provence, France

It is like groundhog day at Jukes Towers this week. Every year, around this time, I taste a vast range of top-end French rosés, and because there are so many, I publish them on my website, free to view for all. Among this pink avalanche of flavours, Domaine de l’Ile stands out - perhaps it is because it hails from a tiny island off the coast of Provence,…
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2018 Niepoort, Vertente, Douro, Portugal

It has been stiflingly hot at times this year, and while many people reach for chilled whites and rosés, we drink as many chilled reds as we do other styles.  The rules are simple when chilling red wine.  Seek out youthful bottles that are fruit-forward in flavour with little noticeable oak or tannin.  That is all you need to know.  I have two…
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2020 Pouilly Sur Loire, Chasselas, Jonathan Didier Pabiot, France

Made from the rare Chasselas grape, this incredible white wine comes from Sauvignon Blanc’s spiritual home in Pouilly Sur Loire.  So, why does Pabiot bother making a Chasselas – a grape that very few have ever heard of?  The short answer is that it is drop-dead gorgeous, but the longer answer is more intriguing. Jonathan’s grandfather, Lucien,…
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2021 Château Galoupet, Nomade Rosé, Côtes de Provence, France

I tasted a huge number of pretty pricy rosés the other day, and none of the wines was particularly earth-shattering. Many had expensive bottles and flashy labels to match their ambitious prices. One bottle stood out from the crowd. Looking more like a child’s plastic cricket bat than an elite pink wine, Nomade is packaged in an eco-friendly, flat…
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MoneyWeek Wine Club – July 2022 – The Last Hurrah

MoneyWeek Wine Club introduces Six Scintillating Summer Wines from Haynes Hanson & Clark (t) 020 7584 7927 (w) www.hhandc.co.uk (e) london@hhandc.co.uk This is a bittersweet offer because it is my final MoneyWeek Wine Club selection.  MoneyWeek publishers Future Publishing (who acquired MoneyWeek late last year) have decided to call it…
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2020 Saramusa, Pateiro, Ribeiro, Spain

I enjoyed a couple of hours at the Wines from Spain annual tasting and focussed on wines and wineries I had never seen before. Alex Percy’s table of beauties captured my attention and imagination, and, as it turns out, this ‘modest merchant’ has a veritable cornucopia of delights in his Spanish collection. All seem to be made by singularly dedicated…
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2021 Blind River, Sauvignon Blanc, Awatere Valley, Marlborough, New Zealand

I have long been a fan of Blind River, a small property owned by Lawson’s Dry Hills, which makes three wines only from its vineyards in the Awatere Valley.  I haven’t tasted the Pinot Noir or Tekau, the oaked Sauvignon Blanc, for a couple of years, but I was delighted to see the estate Sauvignon pop up at Waitrose.  The style has developed over…
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2021 Le Rêve Rosé, Côtes de Provence, France

There is a mountain of money being spent in Bordeaux on winery renovations right now, and some of the architecture is truly staggering. Château Troplong Mondot’s exquisite winery and restaurant rebuild links both buildings with a vast subterranean cellar and flying glass bridge. The wow factor is genuinely breathtaking. On the other side of the Gironde,…
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