A lavish step up in quality from our regulation Casa Rivas Chardonnay. Rich and weighty yet exuberant. The latest addition to our Casa Rivas range (showcase for Chilean brilliance) comes courtesy of grandiose, century-old Viña Tarapacá. Their 2,600 hectare Rosario de Naltagua plot lies in a loop of the Maipo River, 40 minutes' invigorating drive [...]

Gold medal Sauvignon-Sémillon with lively green fruit and a hint of orange peel. Delicious with river fish. Rather like Getafix, Asterix' sagacious herbalist, the monks of St. Antoine had a miraculous potion, the 'St. Vinage', comprising wine from the order's vineyard and aromatic plants. Geoffroy de Roquefeuil's vines are in the same hallowed ground (classic [...]

Etienne Sauzets makes clinically clean, elegant wines. His Chassagne is fermented in Troncais and Allier oak barrels, 35% new. The wine goes through malolactic fermentation whilst it is on lees (for about 12 months).
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Soft melon skin aromas with distinctly lively, fresh citrus/grapefruit flavours. Immediate appeal and great potential
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Winner of the 'Best Chard in the world'. Despite that rather scarily lofty accolade, it is good!
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Fresh and lively, clean flavours of ripe pears with a touch of angelica.
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Abundant honeysuckle and herbaceous aromas, succulent ripe fruit and a long finish.
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A fascinating compendium of Arrufiac, Petit Corbu, Petit and Gros Manseng grapes that combine to create fresh, clean greenage-like flavours.
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Plump and soft, yet crisply fruity, with ripe apple and pear aromas, a textbook Alsace Pinot Blanc that's almost as much of a mouthful as its source: 'The Cave Vinicole de Pfaffenheim and Guberschwihr'. Not the most marketable name, but wines from this ultra-reliable co-op (often 'Best in France') are sought-after worldwide. The place is [...]

Based in ruggedly beautiful Samos since 1934, the island's co-operative winery takes its role as keeper of the 3,000 year-old local dessert wine-making tradition very seriously. Their vineyards, planted to the sensuously-scented Muscat grape, cloak the slopes of Mount Ampelos at breathtaking altitudes. Fortified to 15%, this lovely wine offers a rich, sweet mouthful of [...]

Natalino Gino's father went 'green' twice over. First the herbicides he'd been advised to spray on his vineyards (planted by patriarch Amadio Gino in 1925) to the west of the Veneto's Soave region made him unwell. As a result, in 1980 he set out to achieve organic certification, finally succeeding ten years later. Here, grapes [...]

Pierre Gassman insists on late harvesting and lengthy cellaring after bottling, creating amply sweet, weighty yet balanced wines. This sumptuous, aromatic Riesling, ideal with poached fish or cheese fondue, offers a complex palate of fresh, honeyed, citrus zest flavours. Such depth of character is evident in all the wines from this celebrated, biodynamically-cultivated domaine, tended [...]

Tokay-Pinot Gris: a speciality of Alsace, spicy, honeyed, musky and exotic. Wonderful with honey roast pork. Pierre Gassman, champion of biodynamic cultivation in Alsace, insists on late harvesting and lengthy cellaring after bottling, creating amply sweet yet balanced styles. In-depth knowledge of his domaine (a complex mosaic of limestone and marls, created when two Alsace [...]

Lustrous Sémillon-Sauvignon with enticing aromas of lime blossom, quinces, figs and toast. Serve chilled with Roquefort, crab, asparagus or desserts. Key to the sweetness of Bordeaux's Sauternes is 'noble rot', triggered by autumnal river fogs, that shrivels grapes to syrupy succulence. The rot sets in slowly; up to 8 successive vineyard sweeps are needed to [...]

White Burgundy in a league of its own. Rich and golden, with honeyed depths and racy minerality; a wine for buttery scallops or fish carpaccio. Mâconnais vigneron extraordinaire Jean Thévenet makes awesomely intense Chardonnays using methods others shun as commercially suicidal. Risking calamitous weather, his grapes are picked over-ripe, often yielding wines of surpassing richness. [...]

Cheery Kiwi winemaker and micro-biologist John Forrest has assembled a range of wines reflecting his exuberant personality and ongoing experimental quest to capture 'essence of place'. This sumptuous Marlborough Chardonnay offers enticing aromas of honeyed lemons, toasted brioche and freshly-ground spice, leading to a ripe, peachy palate lent balance and structure by seamless acidity and [...]

Undaunted by Martinborough's reputation as NZ's leading purveyor of Burgundian varietals, Claire Mulholland stormed the Sydney Show with her second vintage, scooping a 'Best in Show' Trophy. We love her Chardonnays, taken from Martinborough's first 1980's plantings, now producing low yields of small, rich berries. Fermentation in French barrels for 12 months results in real [...]

We thought we'd 'Peaked' at our first vintage of these Clare Valley classics, but they keep on knocking our socks off. This Riesling is immensely appealing, with flavours of lime peel and citrus lending appetising dryness. Not to mention perfect with firm-fleshed fish. It's a neat touch that flame-tressed Jane Mitchell should have chosen vineyards [...]

Special occasion stuff, this: a super-premium Australian Chardonnay made at the cool-climate Yarra Valley outpost of famous Champagne house Moet & Chandon. The focus here is, as you'd expect, on classic fizz, but elegant still wines are also produced from Champagne grape varieties. The fresh, peachy character of this wine was complexed by fermentation and [...]

Bernard Fouquet is one of the top growers in Vouvray and organically-inclined. Vineyard inputs are applied with pinpoint accuracy, and grasses are grown between vine rows to encourage natural predators. This is the top cuvée from 'Le Marigny', one of Bernard's vine-clad lawns, planted on limestone. Made from super-ripe grapes, it's rich, intense and luxurious, [...]

Honeyed citrus and passion fruit flavours course through this golden dessert wine. Delicious with sorbet. No fewer than 6 prestigious Guide Hachette 'Coups de coeur' have been awarded to Bruno Pastourel and his father Yves since they took over Château de la Peyrade over 30 years ago. This 18th century estate, planted to Muscats Ó [...]