Exceptional southern French red, with a touch of Pomerol class! Faugères is one of the finest and best-loved appellations of the Languedoc, as you'll taste in this authentic, herbal-scented 2016, made by a former 100pt Pomerol winemaker.
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Once a sister property to Thomas Barton's Châteaux Langoa and Léoville Barton, 18th-century Château Le Boscq was purchased by Maison Dourthe in 1995. It then went through a complete renovation and a big step up in the quality of its wine. Its 18 hectares of vineyard, unusually in one single block, are planted on gravel and clay soils in the northern part of Saint-Estèphe.
Clay provides a cooler soil which favours Merlot, hence a higher than normal proportion of Merlot is planted – just over half, with 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, the usual hero of the Left Bank, plus Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. A year's ageing in nearly half new oak barrels adds to the gravity and longevity of this firm claret. Open early and decant or cellar a while.
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Scattered on the high-altitude slopes of the Cévennes foothills, lie the vineyards of Terrasses de Larzac. The top wine from there fetches £100 a bottle. Nearby are the other Languedoc crus - Montpeyroux, Pézenas and Pic Saint Loup. Tucked away among them and in the shadow of the great Mont Baudile lies a forgotten IGP, named after this towering mountain.
Cave Fonjoya boasts 90% production of this tiny area and the very finest grapes are reserved for this wine. A classic blend of Syrah, Grenache, Carignan and Mourvèdre, it's a sumptuous, smooth red, with polished tannins and deep black fruit with herbal nuances. Pure charm and a great partner to grilled meats, ideal at a barbecue, or with a rich, garlicky, herby casserole, veggie or not!
For over 30 years, Le XV has delighted fans with its velvety smoothness, decadent richness and sheer generosity of flavour. Originally made by a rugby-mad bunch of winemakers in deepest southern France, its beating heart has always been luscious old-vine Grenache, packed with dark fruits, jammy ripeness and lashings of spice. To celebrate decades of 5-star fandom, Mark Hoddy joined forces with Vincent Gourdon, the visionary behind the original XV, to source extra special parcels of grapes.
Vincent is so well respected in the Roussillon region he’s fondly nicknamed Obi Wine Kenobi! In this deluxe edition, Mark added wild-herb, black-fruit Syrah to the century-old vine Grenache grapes. Dense and warming, it's best paired with hearty dishes.
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Rich, ripe, finely crafted Médoc made in a truly accessible style – ready now yet with the structure for ageing. Merlot with a little Cabernet, from superbly positioned vineyards, this Bordeaux has dense cassis with a full creamy edge of oak.
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If you enjoy the food-friendly reds of northern Italy, especially the Valpolicella Ripasso style, you'll love this. We have worked with Italian Winery of the Year Cantina di Negrar for years. They own a vineyard in the Marano Valley and they’ve offered us a deal on their Rosso Veronese – a wine usually reserved for their Italian fans. It’s named after Bartolomeo Lorenzi, whose epic 18th-century poem of rural life made Valpolicella wines famous the world over.
The Marano Valley is especially cool, so grapes take longer to ripen, which adds depth, character and freshness to the wines. Also included is a dash of dark Amarone. With black cherry fruit and Christmas cake spice, it’s hard to imagine a more appealing Veronese red. Great with game.
