Winemakers Selection Mixed Dozen

"The Trimbach family are masters of combining the natural richness of Pinot Gris with freshness and balance. So this wine provides satisfying roundness and lushness, offset by tingly acidity and more than a hint of mineral character. With fantastic complexity and length on the finish, this is delicious to drink now, as well as being capable of keeping."

"This appetising Chardonnay offers a wealth of golden apple, peach, toast, cream, butterscotch and vanilla aromas, which evolve into alluringly tropical notes as it opens up with air. Beautifully well-balanced and proportioned, with freshness but not sharpness, subtle oak and succulent, satisfying, embracing texture."

"An extraordinary wine from a unique place on earth, Ossian is the fruit of vines almost 200 years old - survivors of the Phylloxera pandemic that scourged the world's vineyards in the late 19th Century. It has a lovely rich, lush juicy-ripe pear fruitiness; strongly reminiscent of young white Burgundy. This is followed by a green fennel herbal character that sets it apart as something distinct and utterly unique. Also akin to Burgundy is the finely-applied veneer of top-quality oak, which enhances but does not obscure the wine's singular personality. Underneath all this is a tight, grippy 'mineral' character, suggesting that, while enjoyable now, this should also develop beautifully over a few years. The ancient vines have never been grafted, and have developed their own extensive root system deep into the sand and slate terroir that has protected them for centuries, and which contributes greatly to the notable balance and expressiveness in the wine."

"This is an outstanding Rioja Reserva, from vines at least thirty years old, growing around the village of San Vicente de la Sonsierra: 97% Tempranillo with a seasoning of Graciano. More French than American oak is used for the ageing, and only 30% of the barrels are first-fill, meaning that the initial – and enduring – impression of the wine is of the wonderfully expressive, lifted, aromatic fruit. The barrels simply serve to round out the texture and add complexity to the wine, their flavour never dominates."

"Ribera del Cuarzo Clásico is all precision and finesse - a pure note of blue-black fruit, sweet cream and rising dough fills the room in which a glass is poured. Closer in are green pinecones, sticky with sap, burstingly juicy cherries, vivid purple bilberries, and fat clusters of blue-bloomed black grapes. With evocative violet character, and hints of liquorice and cedary pencil shavings, this has a restraint that echoes cru classé Médoc Bordeaux: an impression underscored by its lithe, fine-boned structure. An exquisite wine, this will impress now and should develop beautifully with bottle age. This is the produce of eight vineyards, which together showcase the diversity of the classic area of the Río Negro valley."

"Ruby red, tending to slight garnet. The bouquet is intense yet delicate. The palate is dry, full-bodied and typically bitter. As it ages it will become more refined assuming a full and harmonious flavour. A very tasty red cherry flavour mingles with a savoury note on a sweet mid-palate followed by a tart, moderately tannic finish."