The Manzanos brothers make a range of customer favourite Riojas at their family estate. Then just over the border, into Navarra, they also own vineyards and there make this bright fruit red. All Tempranillo, it is silky with deep berry flavour.
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This fine Jura estate was founded in 1742 and, with the accumulated wisdom of nine generations, remains in the same family. They started out as farmers, with a few vines. Then in 1950, 7th-generation René Baud worked to restore the vineyards after the devastation of both two world wars and phylloxera. Since then, the four hectares has grown to 20 and the 9th generation, Bastien and Clementine, are running the domaine.
They are sustainable in their approach, gaining Terra Vitis status in 2014. Just over half of their production is Chardonnay, here from some of their oldest vines, planted in 1930. Fermentation and ageing in seasoned oak barrels lends a creamy weight and roundness to the apple-fresh fruit. Great with creamy sauced chicken.
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Over the centuries Alsace has been tossed between French and German ownership. Today, it is on the French side, producing exquisitely intense, superbly balanced, long flavoured wines. This Gewürz from Bott-Geyl is an absolute stunner.
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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.
