So you want old vines? Well, these are over 100 years! A simply cracking Shiraz.
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Possibly the best sub five pound white wine ever! When they say old vines, they mean old vines - the Semillon is over 80 years old.
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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 [...]

Complex, Merlot-rich claret, with hints of damsons and chocolate, an ideal partner for stews and casseroles. Pure, unadulterated, unoaked essence of St-Emilion from Isabelle Visage, who believes passion is central to winemaking: you must enjoy what you do and relish drinking the result. "Pleasure is everything." She and father Régisse work 4 parcels of vines [...]

Easygoing yet satisfyingly complex, this lovely wine, with its aromas of raspberries and cherry-stone elegance, is at its best with roast duck or soft cheeses. Based in Lantignie near the 'cru' village of Regnié, the Joubert family operate from a charming chalet-like wooden winery. It sits in a mini-crevasse formed by the village's towering church [...]

Given Southwold's proud seafaring tradition, it was hard to resist bottles from Tuscany's Barbanera ('Black Beard') family, based near Montepulciano. Fitting, then, that the wine we liked best was this hearty Chianti Riserva made from 100% Sangiovese: 'sanguis Jovis', the blood of Jupiter. Sourced from old, low-yielding vines and oak-aged for two years, it's ripe, [...]

Firm-structured, with aromas of blackcurrants, cedar and spice, and classy oak at the finish. Roast lamb wine. We've found Château du Glana to be a reliable supplier of outstanding value clarets to challenge its illustrious neighbours in St.-Julien, châteaux Ducru Beaucaillou and Léoville-Barton. All are situated on a ridge of pebbles left by a glacier [...]

Rich, powerful, outstanding vintage Champagne, incredibly stylish and complex, subjected to lengthy cellaring before release. Founded in 1818 by Nicolas-François Billecart, this aristocratic estate is renowned for producing Champagnes that age gracefully over many years. Adding to their own select parcels of vines, they buy fruit from growers in the Marne Valley and the Montagne [...]

Crew-cut and businesslike (he's also a legal academic and runs a sizeable property portfolio) René Rostaing has made Côte Rôtie (elite northern Rhône Syrah plus a little Viognier) of stark purity at his brutally stylish Ampuis cellar since 1971. He was fortunate in inheriting many small plots, some containing century-old vines.
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Dr Bailey Carrodus (now sadly deceas ed)was one of the best and most innovative of all Aussie winemakers. He chose the Yarra Valley in Victori a for its cool climate and the world soon followed him. Esposing old worl techniques his wines have a length a nd finesse to them which soon earnt him an [...]

Crew-cut and businesslike (he's also a legal academic and runs a sizeable property portfolio) René Rostaing has made Côte Rôtie (elite northern Rhône Syrah plus a little Viognier) of stark purity at his brutally stylish Ampuis cellar since 1971. He was fortunate in inheriting many small plots, some containing century-old vines. His 2003 is unprecedentedly [...]

Give this soft, subtle, strawberry-scented 100% Pinot Noir Champagne, with its beguiling hue (from extensive skin contact) and enticing 'biscuity' notes to someone you're hoping is fond of you. You're sure to soar in their estimation. Daniel Dumont, long-established on the Montagne de Reims in the Premier Cru village of Rilly, cultivates thousands of young [...]

In the mid-1990s, Philippe du Roy of Châteauneuf's famed Domaine de Villeneuve joined forces with consultant Philippe Cambie, seeking to produce 'authentic' (rather than flashy, souped-up and overblown) southern Rhône wines that owed their character to natural processes involving earth, vines, fruit, harvesting and winemaking. Gently-handled from vine to bottle, this spicy red, with classic [...]

Impressively full-flavoured, rich and chocolatey, yet elegant and refined, with gentle toasty oak nuances; a wine for game. Vincent Girardin first strolled into our list in 1997 after we found that most of our favourites from 1996 were his. Based in Santenay, southernmost Côte d'Or village, he creates wines from his own vineyards and parcels [...]

Our favourite 'salmon-pink' owes its richly fruity, 'biscuity' character to the predominance of Pinot Noir in the blend. Founded in 1818 by Nicolas-François Billecart, this aristocratic estate is renowned for producing Champagnes that age gracefully over many years. Adding to their own select parcels of vines, they buy fruit from growers in the Marne Valley [...]

Our favourite 'salmon-pink' owes its richly fruity, 'biscuity' character to the predominance of Pinot Noir in the blend. Founded in 1818 by Nicolas-François Billecart, this aristocratic estate is renowned for producing Champagnes that age gracefully over many years. Adding to their own select parcels of vines, they buy fruit from growers in the Marne Valley [...]

Suave, intensely-flavoured and beautifully-balanced Champagne from one of the longest-established family-owned domaines. Founded in 1818 by Nicolas-François Billecart, this aristocratic estate is renowned for producing Champagnes that age gracefully over many years. Adding to their own select parcels of vines, they buy fruit from growers in the Marne Valley and the Montagne de Reims. High [...]

Suave, intensely-flavoured and beautifully-balanced Champagne from one of the longest-established family-owned domaines. Founded in 1818 by Nicolas-François Billecart, this aristocratic estate is renowned for producing Champagnes that age gracefully over many years. Adding to their own select parcels of vines, they buy fruit from growers in the Marne Valley and the Montagne de Reims. High [...]

There is a long history of wine making in the Benegas family. It was the current winemaker's great grandfather who bought the first French vines to Argentina. This Malbec is awash with aromas of cherry, blackberry and touches of oaky spice. There is good structure on the palate with a full and persistent mouthfeel. The [...]

From very old organically farmed vines high up in the Agly valley comes this offering from Gérard Gauby, arguably the premier vigneron of the Rousillon. Grown at an altitude of 450-600 metres helps to give this wine perfect harmony and balance due to the long ripening season. Showing notes of blackberry, Asian spices, grilled meats [...]

This wine comes from a selection of old vines of Grenache Noir surrounding the Mediterranean village of Cruzy. It shows intense and complex aromas of jammy strawberry with spicy hints of blackcurrant on the nose. While on the palate it is smooth and velvety with a long and fruity aftertaste of cherry.
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