Château de Birot is an elegant, 17th-century property with vineyards perched on a high plateau looking down on the Garonne river and across to famous Sauternes. Until a few years ago, it belonged to the renowned Castéja family. They sold it and the new owners have been working hard, updating the estate. In the cellar, they discovered a forgotten batch of château wine from 2007.

Despite its 17 years’ age, it’s still tasting delicious, complex and long. It’s Merlot dominated from estate vineyards in the superior Premières Côtes, with a little of both Cabernets. After 17 years of maturing in the cellars, it has developed some sediment in bottle. A good sign. Stand the bottle upright for a few hours and carefully decant just before serving.

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.

If you enjoy the freshness of Loire Sauvignon, you must try this great-value rival from the sunny south. It's from Hervé Sabardeil, a very gifted winemaker we've known for many years. His plan was to make the freshest, most aromatic, good-value white he could from whichever vineyards it took. Hence its ‘Vin de France’ classification. For Hervé, wine is an expression of nature's finest – the soil, the sunshine, the grape. La Belle Saison does that very well.

Pure and full of citrus zip, this wine has the freshness you'd expect from a Sauvignon, plus a light tropical fruit note thanks to the warmth of southern France. Delightfully refreshing, this Sauvignon is crisp, fruity and easy, on its own or with light dishes of grilled fish or salads.<>

Paul Goerg is a leading independent Champagne house, as this Premier Cru testifies. Owned by eight grower families, it was voted by Le Guide Hachette as the top Champagne out of 100 tasted – above vintage Veuve Clicquot and equal to Krug. Goerg is named after a respected 19th century mayor of Vertus, located in the famous Côte des Blancs. Here, Chardonnay is king and an impressive 85% of it is classified as Premier Cru.

The elegance, finesse and purity of this variety is the hallmark of the Goerg style, enriched here with 40-50% reserve wine. The chalky soils of Vertus lend a rich, yet refreshingly mineral quality, while three years’ ageing adds considerably to the wine’s complexity. Superb for celebrations and lovely with oysters.

We’re on a mission to put Muscadet back at the top of the charts. Why? Because we believe this forgotten classic is better than it’s ever been and offers real value for money. As Hugh Johnson says, “There is nothing more refreshing or moreish.” That's particularly true with this standout 2020 vintage. This is father and son team Christophe and Pierre-Henri Gadais’ top cuvée, using the best bunches from their vineyards.

It’s a fine white aged sur lie, meaning it’s left for months on its fine lees to add subtle creamy complexity to the bright apple, pear and floral flavours. Wine International has noted how “the revival of Muscadet is coming from growers like Gadais”. And you’ll see why with this beautiful, flavoursome 2020. Ace with oysters!

Our Trophy-winning Bordeaux winemaker at Le Chai, Jean-Marc Sauboua, is delighted with his Réserve Blanc. 2020 was a top vintage for Bordeaux, but even then he insisted on the very highest calibre grapes – 60% Sauvignon Blanc with 40% old-vine Sémillon, fermenting the former in stainless steel to preserve the vivacious, grassy fruit, and the latter all in oak.

He’d planned just a four-month stay in barrel for this luxurious white, but in the end plumped for two years, as the fruit was so ravishing. Lees aged too, its flavours are well married now – fresh herbaceous, peach and citrus notes seamlessly integrated with the creamy vanilla from the barrels. It’s very much a food wine, best served gently chilled with sauced fish or white meats.