France

  • Poulsard Fruitiere Vinicole D’Arbois

    Poulsard Fruitiere Vinicole D’Arbois

    Given to me at the end of The Wine Society press tasting tucked inside a goody bag this wine came in a can that suggested something far simpler perhaps a run-of-the-mill Merlot-style red. It was a surprise to find something far more engaging inside. This wine comes from Jura in eastern France produced by Fruitière…

  • Moillard Crémant de Bourgogne Chardonnay

    Moillard Crémant de Bourgogne Chardonnay

    This 2021 vintage sparkling is wine made entirely from Chardonnay and produced in the traditional method by Moillard, one of Burgundy’s most historic and respected houses, established in the 18th century in Nuits-Saint-Georges. This vintage has spent twelve months on lees, going beyond the nine-month minimum required for Crémant, giving it extra depth and complexity….

  • Château Méaume Matured Bordeaux Supérieur

    Château Méaume Matured Bordeaux Supérieur

    Exclusively available at Majestic, this special release of Château Méaume has been introduced to honour 45 years of partnership between the winery and the retailer. It’s a significant bottle for both, marking a relationship that began in 1980 when the British owners, Alan and Sue Johnson-Hill, attended the opening of Majestic’s very first store. Their…

  • €0.01 Bottle of Wine in French Supermarket

    €0.01 Bottle of Wine in French Supermarket

    In a Lidl supermarket in Sérignan in the Hérault region a 75 cl bottle of Côtes-de-Gascogne rosé was briefly on sale for €0.01, far below its normal price of about €2.99, sparking anger among local winegrowers. Lidl said the price was the result of an internal labelling error and removed the bottles once the issue…

  • Champagne Bruno Paillard Cuvée 72

    Champagne Bruno Paillard Cuvée 72

    Last year I explored the superb Champagne Bruno Paillard Première Cuvée and now we turn to an evolution of that expression from the limited edition Champagne Bruno Paillard Late Disgorgement Collection, released to mark 40 years since the inception of their Perpetual Reserve. Where most Champagne houses store their reserve wines in isolation, at Maison…

  • Understanding Crémant

    Understanding Crémant

    Crémant stands as a French example of how outstanding sparkling wine can be made outside the Champagne region. The term refers to quality traditional-method sparkling wines that are protected by appellation and produced in specific regions under detailed rules. In France, the Crémant producers’ federation brings together eight AOPs (L’Appellation d’origine protégée): Alsace, Bordeaux, Bourgogne,…

  • Sud de France Label Will be Banned

    Sud de France Label Will be Banned

    From the 2025 vintage onwards, the Sud de France label will be permanently banned from wine bottles, after a ruling by the Conseil d’État on 3 December 2025 confirmed that the term does not meet the criteria for a recognised geographical indication under EU rules. The label, launched in 2006 to promote wines from what…

  • Marcillac ‘Lo Sang del Pais’

    Marcillac ‘Lo Sang del Pais’

    This red comes from Marcillac‑Vallon in Aveyron, South-West France, an area known for its deep red soils rich in iron that lend a distinct identity to the wines grown there. Domaine du Cros brings us this bottle with a name that translates loosely as “the blood of the land,” a reflection of the bond between…

  • Abbotts & Delaunay Languedoc Blanc

    Abbotts & Delaunay Languedoc Blanc

    This 2024 vintage is a new wine from Jeanne Delaunay, a talented young winemaker who brings together the elegance of her Burgundian roots with the expressive wines of the Languedoc. This white blend features 60% Grenache Blanc and 40% Vermentino, aged for a modest five months on fine lees. Orange blossom and citrus grapefruit come…

  • Les Crus Bourgeois

    Les Crus Bourgeois

    In November 2025 I was invited to Les Crus Bourgeois 2023 tasting in London, an event that brought together wines from the Médoc. Les Crus Bourgeois is a long-standing quality classification for estates not included in the famous Bordeaux 1855 ranking. First established in 1932, it highlights producers whose wines meet demanding standards, with blind…

  • Moulin Rose de Malescasse

    Moulin Rose de Malescasse

    Moulin Rose de Malescasse was one of the highlights for me at the Majestic press tasting, so I was keen to revisit it in more detail. It comes from the Haut-Médoc area of Bordeaux and is produced by Château Malescasse. The estate holds an impressive status as one of only 14 Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel properties…

  • Understanding Cru Bourgeois du Médoc

    Understanding Cru Bourgeois du Médoc

    Building upon the my previous article on Understanding Bordeaux Wines, this piece looks into the world of Cru Bourgeois du Médoc, a classification that offers high-quality yet accessible wines from Bordeaux’s Left Bank. The term Cru Bourgeois has historical roots that trace back to the Middle Ages. During this period, the term “bourgeois” referred to…

  • Abbotts & Delaunay ‘Les Fleurs Sauvages’  Malbec

    Abbotts & Delaunay ‘Les Fleurs Sauvages’ Malbec

    This wine comes from rising Languedoc winemaker Jeanne Delaunay, daughter of winemakers Laurent and Catherine Delaunay. She brings a contemporary outlook combined with a strong respect for nature and the Burgundian heritage that shapes her approach. The wine name reflects the care taken to protect the wild plants, les fleurs sauvages, that grow along the…

  • Les Dauphins Côtes du Rhône White

    Les Dauphins Côtes du Rhône White

    Les Dauphins is a range that draws inspiration from the vibrant energy of the 1920s, evoking an era when Paris pulsed with culture and creativity. This was also the time when co-operatives began to take root and the wines from the Dauphiné corner of the Rhône Valley found favour among the capital’s bistro-goers. The wine…

  • Laurent Delaunay Les Grappillages Chablis

    Laurent Delaunay Les Grappillages Chablis

    Laurent Delaunay, a well-known Burgundian winemaker, brings a touch of contemporary charm to tradition with this Les Grappillages Chablis. This wine blends classic regional winemaking with modern elegance, the label adorned in a chic Toile de Jouy print more often seen in the world of high fashion than on supermarket shelves. Made entirely from Chardonnay,…

  • Calvet Fitou Le Grand Roi

    Calvet Fitou Le Grand Roi

    This 2022 vintage comes from the sun-soaked region of Languedoc in the South of France, produced under the Fitou appellation, which requires at least 40% Carignan in any blend. This wine brings together Black Grenache, Carignan and Syrah in a style that’s both expressive and easy to enjoy. The bottle stands out with an eye-catching…

  • Chasm de Cabrespine Minervois

    Chasm de Cabrespine Minervois

    This is a southern French red with an unusual story behind its ageing. Stored for six years in one of Languedoc’s most striking natural wonders, the vast Cabrespine Chasm near Carcassonne, this wine spent part of its time resting in clay amphorae set in the upper cave, then the rest submerged in an underground river…

  • Pierre Jaurant Sud de France Rosé

    Pierre Jaurant Sud de France Rosé

    This rosé comes from the Pays d’Oc region, a broad sweep of vineyards along the southern coast of France. Assuming it remains consistent with previous vintages, it’s made entirely from Grenache and sits at 12.5% ABV. Talking of vintages, unusually, no vintage is mentioned on the bottle. Rather than being bulk bottled, this wine is…

  • Champagne Foil Debate Ends as Tradition Yields to Choice

    Champagne Foil Debate Ends as Tradition Yields to Choice

    The Drinks Business is reporting that the Comité Champagne has dropped its opposition to an EU ruling that makes neck foils on Champagne bottles optional, concluding after new research that removing them neither harms sales nor damages the region’s image. The decision follows years of debate across the sparkling-wine world. English producers have argued that…

  • Screaming Devil Côtes de Provence Rosé

    Screaming Devil Côtes de Provence Rosé

    I’ve previously written about this wine, picking it out at Asda press tastings. The new 2024 vintage had a lot to live up to, so I was eager to see whether it matched the standard set by earlier years. For anyone unfamiliar, Screaming Devil is a tongue-in-cheek spin on Whispering Angel, a name that quickly…

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Did You Know?

For Crémant, grapes must be harvested by hand and the wines must undergo at least nine months’ ageing before release. More

In 2024, the UK was the second-largest export market for Champagne globally, after the United States. More

Local UK bottling of wine represents about 40% of imported wine. More

Around 1% of people, typically severe asthmatics, have a sulphite sensitivity. More

A large 80% of Australian wine arrives in the UK in bulk. More

Only about 0.02% of Australia’s landmass is dedicated to vineyards. More

In 2024, New Zealand produced only 1% of the World’s wine. More

In 2024, the US imported 37% of World production of Pinot Grigio and the UK was is in second place at 27%. More

In 2024, the UK was South Africa’s largest export market, with 40% of total exports. More

In 2024, the United Kingdom imported 22.3 million bottles of Champagne, a decline of 12.7% compared to the previous year. More

Larger Champagne producers source grapes from as many as 80 different vineyards throughout Champagne. More

Champagne houses and growers collectively produce around 300 million bottles annually. More

In 2025, the Champagne region was home to about 2,124 Champagne houses and approximately 19,000 growers. More

Provence is one of the leaders in the conversion to organic viticulture, with 61% of vineyards certified. More

8% of the South Africa’s grape production is Fairtrade-certified. More

Up to 80% of wine aroma compounds come from grape skins. More

Glycerol is the third-largest component of most dry wines after water and alcohol which is why they so often feel ‘smooth’ or ‘silky’ in the mouth. More

Humans are more than 400 times more sensitive to bitter than sweet. More

Humans can detect the earthy molecule geosmin at about 100 parts per trillion and camels are so sensitive to it they can locate damp ground from roughly 50 miles away. More

During the phylloxera crisis of the nineteenth century, 90% of Europe’s vineyards were destroyed. More

In 2025, for La Vieille Ferme, also known as “The Chicken Wine”, sales surged by 49.4% to £110.8 million. More

In 2025, in the UK, Yellow Tail held the top position with sales, marking a 9.8% increase over the previous year. More

In 2024, the UK was the second-largest wine importer in volume and value. More

In 2024, the UK was the fifth-largest wine-consuming country globally. More

In 2025, global wine consumption continued its downward trend, estimated at 214.2 million hectolitres, the lowest since 1961. More

In 2025, online alcohol sales had a 20% increase in value over five years. More

In 2025, the number of UK vineyards rose to 1,104 and wineries to 238, with land under vine expanding to 4,841 hectares, a 510% increase since 2005. More

Moët Hennessy alone commands nearly 46.66% of the Champagne market, with the top three producers together holding about 61%, and the top five controlling over 72%. More

In 2024, the Champagne market was worth roughly €3.92 billion. More

In the marketing year 2023/24, white wine accounted for roughly 55% of Spain’s output, whereas red and rosé together made up about 45%. More

In the UK, 92% of wine is consumed within 48hrs of purchase. More

The majority of wines, 95%, use commercial rather than wild yeast. More

Between 0.5 and 10 litres of water, per litre of wine, are needed for cleaning during winemaking. More

Machine harvesting can achieve up to 100 tons of fruit per day vs 1 ton for a human. More

In Germany, 2025 was the smallest wine vintage since 2010. More

The majority of vineyards, 90% in 2019, are farmed with heavy chemical interventions. Only 6% are organic. More

90% of low and coastal areas in south Europe and California will no longer be able to produce good wine by the end of the century. More