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.

Wine International magazine decreed, “the revival of Muscadet is coming from growers like Gadais”, a 4th-generation estate, run today by father and son, Christophe and Pierre-Henri Gadais. It was founded in 1952 by Louis Gadais – one of the first winemakers in Nantes to bottle his own wines (most was sold to merchants in bulk). La Grande Réserve du Moulin is their top cuvée, using the best bunches of Melon de Bourgogne (the only grape permitted in Muscadet) 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 floral apple and pear fruit. 2023 was an exceptional vintage for Muscadet, as grapes were picked during the September heatwave. An ace seafood white.

With Gold medals galore, Thierry Ferlay has made wine all over the world but remains fondest of the warm, ripe reds of the southern Rhône. He also adores their chief grape, Grenache – the most important variety in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. In fact he’s in charge of winemaking at this renowned appellation’s only co-operative winery, where all the growers are part-owners of the enterprise. Naturally, maximising quality is at the forefront of their minds, which explains this wine’s exceptional flavour and value.

Made purely from Grenache, it has irresistible raspberry fruit, hints of spice and a peppery edge. Enjoy with ratatouille, lamb chops and homemade burgers. And because it’s so smooth and not too heavy, it’s ideal sipping on its own, too.

Bernard Moreau has been in charge of his small family domaine in the Mâconnais since 1982 and is now assisted by his son, Alex, as winemaker. It lies very close to a village called Chardonnay, just like the grape! For this white, they use fruit from their 60-year-old vines, planted on calcareous soils and with excellent sun exposure. This is the perfect formula for wine with depth and concentration.

Plus, 2022 whites are blessed with richness, body and ripeness, a generous year. Bernard tends his vines with the utmost care, using sustainable, eco-friendly methods. This results in a wine with a balance of creamy roundness, ripe pear, crisp minerality and finesse. Serve cellar cool with creamy sauced dishes to best enjoy its subtle flavour.