Stockist/Retailer: The Wine Society

(2024) Made by British-born Tim Wildman MW, a Pét-Nat that's 43% Arneis, 23% Zibibbo (Muscat), 21% Nero d'Avola and 13% Fiano. It is 'Brut Nature' with zero dosage, bottled under crown-cap and only moderately sparkling compared to a full spumante style. Sweet peach and confectionery notes join bitter orange and a yeasty creaminess on the nose. In the mouth it has an almost Negroni-like phalanx of bittersweet flavours, carried on a foamy mousse that subsides quite quickly to leave this textured and racy. Pert mid-palate fruitiness, then the finish has grown-up notes of bitter almond and quinine. Intriguing, refreshing and different.

(2024) Manzanilla Sherry, from the salt-licked seaside vineyards of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, is one of the world's greatest, and most consistent wine styles. Aged for many years under a protective layer of 'flor', the combination of rich nuttiness and saline intensity is as gastronomic as it gets. Barbadillo's inexpensive example is top stuff: aromatics are concentrated with chamomile and almond, then the lightly oily palate is bone-dry, saline, and yet has an orange and lemon zestiness to the fruit too. It's 15% abv, so not much higher in alcohol than many table wines too. Watch the video for more information. Price given for a half bottle, but note Waitrose has full bottles reduced from £12.99 to £9.99 until 20th August 2024.

(2024) From the Artisans Partisans range, this is mainly Roussanne (75%) with Marsanne and Grenache Blanc from clay and limestone soils, aged in barrel on the lees for about nine months. With only 12.5% I suspect this was picked early, though it shows a gloriously ripe and lifted nose, the fragrant, nutty quality of the oak and the spearmint and floral nuances to the apricot and exotic fruit. The palate has a beautiful balance of sweetness, spice and juiciness, long and really very light on its feet, shimmering into the finish. Unfortunately this vintage may now be sold out.

(2024) This Vin de France wine comes from vineyards on red clay soils, is certified organic, and made with minimal sulphur. Trendily capped with a wax seal over the DIAM cork, it is fresh with bright apple and lemon and a hint of stomething stony - almost Chablis-like. In the mouth there is ripeness to the fruit, but the featherweight 11% alcohol and crisp acid structure gives it a light and flowing, seafood-friendly style.

(2024) Though Limoux is best known for its Chardonnay, and in particular, sparkling Blanquette de Limoux wines, there's an ever expanding vineyard area being planted to Chenin Blanc, particularly on the higher, stony slopes. This comes from some of the oldest Chenin vineyards of the region, planted at 350 -  380 metres and certified organic. It is fermented and aged in older oak barrels with only occasional batonnage. The nose has that wax and lanolin hint that sometimes marks this variety, firm yellow apple fruit, but a surprising sense of taut minerality too. Beautifully sweet but pin-point fruit on the palate, with such great precision to the acidity.  This feels concentrated and powerful, the barrel component adding a whisper of creamy and buttery oak texture, and yet with 12.5% alcohol and that cool precision it is utterly fresh and appetisingly zippy. Watch the video for more information and food-matching ideas.

(2024) The 2010 blend is 45% Chardonnay, 44% Pinot Noir and 11% Pinot Meunier, my bottle disgorged January 2020 after almost 10 years on the lees with 9.7gl residual sugar. This is absolutely fresh - in some ways seeming more fresh than the 2013. The foamy cushion of mousse subsides to reveal distinct biscuit and buttery notes to small, redcurrant-like fruit and citrus peel. That toasty element - rarely found in pink sparkling wines - gives a richness and softness on the palate. A much more crisply-focused raspberry and lemon thrust of fruit and acidity asserts on the mid palate, leading the way into a shimmering acid finish, the dosage just softening the edges nicely. At time of review The Wine Society's price of £120 is very keen.

(2024) Sourced from Hugel's vineyards around Riquewihr which are in the process of being certified for organic viticulture. Gorgeous nose of waxy preserved lemons, gently exotic, ripe apples and the most delicate touch of saffron spice. The palate has sweetness, but that's purely the ripe fruit, underscored by a sour lemon and grapefruit acidity that cleanses the palate. Medium-bodied but fruit-filled on the mid-palate, the finish is long and perfectly balanced.

(2024) Made with the classic ripasso technique of a second fermentation on the lees of grapes used to make Amarone, it's a typical blend of Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella. Another 10% is made up of the less familiar Rossignola, Oseleta, Negrara and Dindarella varieties. Pouring a bright ruby red, the nose has cherry and liquorice, with fine herbal nuances in the background. In the mouth the sweetness and richness of the ripasso is evident, more cherry and those dried herb notes, a bite of plum or blueberry acidity and the finish fresh with its quite elegant tannins and plenty of cherry-fresh acidity. A very nice example. Use the wine-searcher link to find other suppliers as there are quite a few. Watch the video for more information.

(2023) >p>Made from Muscat de Frontignan, Vin de Constance is a recreation of an iconic wine from the 1700s, said to be a favourite of Napoleon. The winemaking team used historical information to produce as close a copy as possible - even down to the bottle. From a year that produced small, concentrated berries, no fewer than 26 passes through the vineyard were made to select grapes ranging from high acidity, to raisined berries. Each pass was vinified separately and aged for 18 months in 50% new oak barrels, then a further 18 months in large format foudres. It's a fully sweet and luscious wine with 166g/l of residual sugar. It has all the gossamer-light aromatics of Muscat, floral and gently herbal, but opulence too, the fruit running from mango to pineapple. In the mouth a swathe of orange acidity cuts through the luscious flavours, buttery and rich enough, but always feather light. Price for 50cl. There are a lot stockists with prices ranging from £59 to £75, so use the wine-searcher link. Watch the video for more information.

Also recommended: the Disznókö Late Harvest Tokaji 2020. Cheapest price I can see currently is Master of Malt at £16.95, but use wine-searcher to find a lot more stockists.

(2023) Amarone is the epitome of special occasion wines for many people, so this blockbuster is my choice for the 2023 festive season. Composed of classic grapes of the region, all grown on calcium-rich Marl soils, it weighs in with a hefty 16.5% alcohol. It is of course made from fruit that have been dried, in which time the grapes lose around 30% of their weight, but gain in sugar and concentration. Once fermented, the wine spent three years in Slavonian oak barrels. It is pretty sensational stuff: aromatically, think of those dark chocolate enrobed cherries, liqueur-like and deeply flavoured. There's a wisp of smoke and vanilla, maybe a touch of somthing fragrant and floral. In the mouth it is silky and full, and despite the alcohol and richness of the wine, a real sense of freshness remarkably enough - even of lightness and delicacy. With hard cheese (maybe even Stilton), beef, game or perhaps dark chocolate dessert, it would be sensational. Watch the video for more information.