Best known in Beaujolais, Gamay also excels in the Loire, lending juicy strawberry notes, while Cabernet Franc is more raspberry and leafy. After a gentle crushing, the juice was drawn off the skins to ensure a pale pink hue and cool fermented to retain lovely summer berry notes.

For quality and value, Abbesse Sauvignon Blanc is hard to beat and an all-time customer favourite. It's from our friends, the Bougrier family, with whom we've worked for the last 20 years. Every year, they search out the best parcels of grapes from Touraine, the Pays Nantais (home to Muscadet) and other regions where the grape shines to get the perfect balance of bright fruit and elegant, citrus zip. They've named the wine in honour of the original Abbesse of the famous Abbaye de Fontevraud nearby, Louise de Bourbon, a major figure in Loire history. This delicious expression of the region’s reigning grape is a fitting tribute to her. Delicious chilled as a glass on its own, it's also a classic with goat’s cheese and all sorts of seafood.

Take a minute to read the (literally thousands of) 5-star online reviews for Cabalié. This one is typical: “When my time comes to shuffle off this mortal coil, this is the wine I want in that final glass. It is simply, utterly, indescribably fantastic.” Its secret? It’s crafted by a master winemaker, Hervé Sabardeil, following the centuries-old style beloved of Roman centurions, who first made wine there. Raspberry-rich Grenache, with herby Syrah and Carignan, Cabalié has impressive concentration.

That’s due to the maturity of the vines, most well over 50 years old. The tiny berries they produce give Cabalié extraordinarily rich, ripe flavours. Boasting 8 Golds in as many vintages, this much-loved red is warming solo or with hearty dishes.

Cabalié's popularity is down to a rare combination of imposing richness and easy drinking smoothness. Recreating that in white was no easy task. But Cabalié maestro Hervé Sabardeil has done it – years of searching, blending and hard work come to fruition in this, his ultimate expression of a southern French white. The magical grape mix is old-vine Viognier for intense honeysuckle aroma and soft texture, Muscat for dazzling grapey notes, and Colombard to keep it all zesty. And of course the other key ingredients are bright southern French sunshine, which ripens the grapes to perfection, sea breezes to keep them healthy and night harvesting to ensure maximum freshness. Bursting with tropical fruit, Cabalié is perfect with seafood or chicken.

It’s a rarely known fact that the Languedoc was the first French region to be introduced to viticultural practices by the Romans. This balmy red wine country took a hit in the 1980s when it became known for high volume wine, which lacked quality. But today, that quality is back thanks to passionate and dedicated Languedoc enthusiasts, such as Laurent Guillot. Born into a fourth generation Burgundian wine family, Laurent decided to head south and create an estate of his own. A north meets south style is evident in this spicy, supple red. With this wine he won Gold, crafting an authentic expression of the wild, sun-blessed terroir. Syrah based, it’s laden with blackberry and peppery spice, with a pep of fresh red fruit from Négrette.