Jeff Carrel describes himself as an eclectic winemaker. He’s part of a new generation of winemakers, operating without a vineyard or a winery. Instead, he sources small parcels of grapes from growers, rents a corner of a cellar and focuses on making brilliant wines. Currently, Jeff makes around 40 wines this way, including Morillon (the southern French term for Chardonnay).
Following malolactic fermentation in barrel and the addition of grapes with a hint of noble rot, the 2022 vintage has, once again, produced a rich, Burgundy-style white. It delivers on creamy intensity, ripe peach fruit and layers of buttery complexity. Ideally serve this big-statement white with cured ham, guinea fowl and wild mushrooms or creamy fish pie. Serve cool.
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Finding a parcel of 2010 claret nine years after this 5-Star vintage was a coup for our Buyer Jean-Marc Sauboua. Critic Michael Schuster described the wines of 2010 on release as “massively elegant, fresher, firmer, more tannic”, Suckling praised them for being “very precise, focused and fresh to taste”, “dangerously good” said Jancis Robinson MW.
Médoc wines that year proved particularly good value too. The 40 hectare estate Château Carcanieux has very gravelly soils, hence its original name Carcanieux Les Graves. This encourages superb concentration and ripeness in the wines. Cabernet with Merlot, and aged in barrel, this silky claret has a fine balance of fruit and maturity, with spice from the oak. Decant and serve with steak au poivre.
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Corbières is one of the best-known regions of southern France, adored for its characterful, robust reds, laced with dark fruit, wild herb and tobacco notes. This is a terrific find from the Terre d'Expression cellar in Fabrezan. It's a cooperative cellar, that works with its growers to gain exceptional quality grapes. All the fruit for Villa Pech Fourcat comes from a single estate in Boutenac, the only village in Corbières which may be named on the label.
Its wines are supreme thanks to very stony soils, hot dry summers and cooling winds. Vines for this red are, on average, 65 years old and very low yielding, which only adds to the power and intensity of this fabulous wine. For drinking now, open a couple of hours beforehand and decant.
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