The Belargus Anjou Quarts 2020 is an exquisite manifestation of the French viticulture traditions. Crafted in the historical Loire Valley, this seductive wine exhibits aromatic complexity and dynamic vivacity. It is a pure expression of the Anjou terroir, where each vine is nourished by the diverse soil composition of quartz and schist. Belargus, recognised globally, is renowned for producing distinctive wines of incomparable quality.

This 2020 vintage is made from 100% Chenin Blanc – revered for the intense honeyed floral and apple notes it imparts into the wine. Elaborated by organic winemaking methods, Belargus Anjou Quarts 2020 portrays an enthralling balance between acidity and sweetness. Its golden hue and rich texture resonate with the meticulous care and time-honoured technique devoted to its creation.

Belargus Anjou Quarts 2020 is a testament to the winemaker's commitment to sustainable methods and pure, keen attention to detail. It is truly a connoisseur's delight.

Vinous (96)

The ripeness of the 2018 vintage gives an almost Syrah/Viognier character to the Chinon La Croix Boissée, which offers sweet black fruit and a creamy apricot note. Sumptuous yet never ever opulent, it's almost as if the wine's just done a yoga class. Plentiful tannins give the inside of your cheeks a chalky rub, while there's surprising freshness considering the ripeness, leading to a lengthy finish. This is a baby that will turn out to be a great adult.

Vinous (95-97)

Just outside the village, Clos Guillot sits on a slope on clay over limestone. The 2019 Chinon is a serious barrel sample that melts in your mouth with its silken texture. No crushing, very little remontage and a year in used barrels all lend a very gentle touch. The tannins build gradually, coating the mouth with the finest of chalky textures. Excellent acidity keeps things fresh through the finish.

Exuding grace and sophistication, the Butte Bourgueil Mi Pente 2014 is an exquisite testament to traditional French winemaking. Allied with the finest Cabernet Franc grapes handpicked from the sun-kissed hills of Bourgueil in the Loire Valley, this wine is a marvel of nature and human ingenuity. Accurate craftsmanship by the astute vintner produces its signature medium-bodied elegance accompanied by intriguingly complex flavours.

Following the classic Bourgueil style, it is carefully aged for up to 24 months in wooden oak barrels to craft a remarkable bouquet providing a harmonious blend of rich dark fruits and an underlying subtly of earthy undertones. Finely balanced acidity and supple tannins add to its impressively long finish, promising prolonged pleasure.

Butte Bourgueil Mi Pente 2014 indeed captures the essence of the region and the unrivalled skills of its producer. A distinguished selection, it caters to the sophisticated palate of the discerning, experienced wine aficionado.

The Real Review (97)

Medium red colour with a trace of purple in the rim. The bouquet is pepper-spicy, stemmy and savoury, with a whiff of new kid leather, while the palate is elegantly structured and yet firm, tremendously intense, taut as a bow-string, and magnificently balanced. This is a stunning pinot of a complex, bunchy style, already drinking well, with more held in reserve. 17 JUN 2020

The Real Review (97)

Light to mid-yellow colour, with a shy, reserved bouquet of savoury elements including almond meal, stone fruits, malt and bran biscuit. Traces of honey and nougat emerging. Appealing creamy lees touches. The wine is tremendously intense and beautifully rounded, soft-textured and finely balanced while enlivened by its citrusy acidity. Long, long carry. A classy wine of great complexity and refinement.

The Real Review (96)

Light to mid-yellow hue, with a reserved, shy bouquet which has traces of lemon balm, creamy lees and pencil wood, while the flavour is tremendously intense and focused, powerful in an understated way, with lemon and grapefruit flavours, showing concentration as well as subtlety, the finish lingering on and on. Time will doubtless build that bouquet further. A smashing chardonnay.

The Real Review (97)

Deepish red colour with a subtle tint of purple. The bouquet is savoury, complex and charcuterie-tinged, dried herbs too, the palate rich and generous, fruit-sweet at the core and almost plush in its texture. A succulent pinot. There are ample tannins supplying backbone and contributing to length, all in harmony with the gorgeous richness of flavour. A stunning pinot.

The Real Review (99)

Deep crimson colour with a good strong purple tint, and the bouquet is very foresty, with more whole-bunch character than the other Farr pinots this year. Root vegetable, freshly-turned earth and dried flower petal aromas, clean and fresh and deliciously inviting. It's more open than the Côte Vineyard at this stage. The palate is full-bodied and concentrated, powerful and emphatic, the ample tannins adding force to the wine's structure and persistence. A majestic wine with tremendous intensity and length that is great now but should also reward cellaring for many years.

The Real Review (99)

Deepish crimson colour with a good tint of purple on the meniscus. The bouquet is restrained and shy, brooding and deep, all confirmed by the palate, which is also full-bodied and very deep, concentrated and densely packed, with more earth-bound than fragrant aromatics, some smoky-barrel nuances neatly combining with five-spice and dried thyme touches. A robust, powerful pinot with terrific length and potential.

The Real Review (97)

Medium-deep red with a good purple tint and a mossy, forest-floor/earthy undergrowth and smoked smallgoods bouquet, the palate refreshingly lively with clean acidity underlying the complex, savoury, medium-bodied flavour. Mixed spices, taut and tense, direct and piercing in its lengthy finale, which concludes with a pleasant touch of chewiness. Superb pinot.

The Real Review (98)

Deep red/purple, bright and youthful colour. The bouquet shows black pepper, latent dark berries, some 'forest floor' bunchy touches and a hint of freshly-turned earth—a stylish and hi-fidelity varietal nose. The palate is likewise intense and bright, with silky-textured tannins in fine balance, acidity evident and refreshing, inviting the company of appropriate food. Brilliant bouquet and flavour. A stunning wine in an elegant cool-grown style.

Experience the remarkable Chateau d'Avrille Coteaux de l'Aubance 1989, a manifestation of an exceptional vintage year. This distinct wine from the famed Loire Valley in France boasts the distinctive offering from Chateau d'Avrille, a testament to their meticulous approach to viniculture.

Produced in the small and specialised Coteaux de l'Aubance region, this luscious golden-hued dessert wine is steeped in tradition. The grapes are selectively hand-picked, ensuring only the ripest become part of this tasteful blend. Fermentation in traditional oak barrels develops an exquisite, complex taste.

Renowned for its balance, the Chateau d'Avrille Coteaux de l'Aubance 1989 offers myriad flavours of candied fruit, honey, and gentle spices. Artfully matured for over three decades, it sings a rich, haunting melody on the palate. A classic embodiment of a fine dessert wine, this bottle encapsulates the prestigious history of the Chateau d'Avrille estate.

Wine Advocate (93)

Beautifully fresh in its purple color, the 2015 Anjou Cabernet Franc opens with ripe and fleshy cherry fruit on the nose. On the palate, this is a highly elegant, finessed and concentrated red with crunchy but ripe tannins and refreshing mineral acidity that leads to a long and linear finish. This is a concentrated and elegant Cabernet Franc with remarkable finesse. I'd keep it for another couple of years, though, and then you can surely enjoy it for up to two or more decades.

Wine Advocate (93)

The 2016 Anjou Violette is deep, intense, very pure and elegant on the harmonious nose, with perfectly ripe dark and red berry aromas (blackcurrant) intertwined with floral aromas. Silky, finessed and fresh on the palate, this is a very delicate and charming blend of Cab Franc (two-thirds 45-year-old vines) and Cab Sauvignon (one-third 65-year-old vines) with perfectly ripe, concentrated but juicy fruit, a velvety and concentrated texture, very fine and crunchy tannins and enormous intensity, thanks to the low-yielding Cabernets. This is a beautifully finessed and silky-textured Anjou that reveals its concentration and depth only on the finish. The wine was aged in barrels for 18 months and then spent another six months in vat. Bottled in April 2017.

Vinous (93)

The 2019 Pouilly Fumé Silex shows an initial tenderness, sitting quietly and not shouting that it's made it into your glass. This is a wine that has its act together, feeling integrated and balanced with plentiful concentration and a savory long finish. A delicate dill note, which is a characteristic of oaked Sauvignon peeks out amid the hush.

Vinous (93-94)

While this was a warm season leading to richness in many wines from the region, the Silex 2020 shows ripe fruit, but there's no sense of being overblown. The fine line that races through many wines relying on flint-based parcels is there, carrying the nectarine and oak-derived vanilla flavors, but its influence never tips into austerity nor firmness. There's a sense of tenderness that runs through its core while remaining light in body.

Vinous (98)

The 2016 Sancerre Clos La Néore is almost Riesling-like in its firm yet fine personality, its unswerving purity and its clear translation of place. Don't expect a seductive Sancerre, this is dry and steely with an appealing bitterness making for a very grown up white wine. It's starting to show early signs of development in its light almond/lanolin character alongside lemon tea. It offers exceptional concentration while being light bodied and provides a steely core of acidity, keeping the wine together and powering on. If you have any in your cellar, I can make myself available for dinner.

Crafted by esteemed winemaker Edmond Vatan, the Sancerre Clos La Neore 2017 is a fine example of terroir-driven vinification. Produced in the heart of France's Loire valley, it's one of the last remaining single plots of Sancerre, offering unrivalled purity and typicity of the region.

The Edmond Vatan Sancerre Clos La Neore 2017 demonstrates an exquisite balance of ripe fruit, minerality, and palate-gripping acidity. Hand-harvested from vines averaging 50-years-old on Kimmeridgian marl soils, this prestigious Sauvignon Blanc ferments naturally in old wooden foudres to enhance its inherent complexity.

With a limited production, the wine reveals a striking, crystal-clear golden hue alongside an aromatic profile of citrus zest, ripe apple, and flinty undertones. It's exceptionally layered, showing vibrant fruit, precise acid, and a lingering finish. Best consumed after carefully decanting, Edmond Vatan Sancerre Clos La Neore 2017 is a sought-after vintage deserving of a place in the cellars of discerning neophytes and seasoned collectors alike.

Wine Enthusiast (95)

The latest vintage of this noteworthy producer's Chardonnay is singing. A harmonious, multifaceted nose offers notes of bright citrus, fresh melon and flowers, while a chorus of sun-baked stones and freshly baked bread linger behind. Beautifully textural and salty on the palate, it crunches with minerals and vibrant fruit. The oak is tucked away and the finish long and salty.

Halliday Wine Companion (97)

From the Primavera vineyard at Woori Yallock, planted in 2001 on the same red soil as Wombat Creek. Both destemmed (55%) and whole-bunch components. Bottled unfined and unfiltered. A very bright crimson purple. So pure and perfumed with briary cherries, ripe redcurrants and freshly cut roses. Poised, juicy and energetic, the wine has so much tang and crunch, you barely notice that this is also structured finishing with long, gently puckering tannins. A wine with immediate appeal, but also one that will reward at least another 7-10 years in the cellar.

Halliday Wine Companion (97)

Made mainly from WA's Gingin clone and planted in Gruyere on the same grey clay as Applejack. Whole bunches pressed into French puncheons with 20% new oak. Smells tightly wound and concentrated with aromas of ripe peach and nectarine, together with just a hint of lanolin and apple custard. Equally powerful and punchy on the palate. This has more of everything, including sprightly acid and some phenolic grip on the very long, stone-fruit pithy finish. Today, this is my pick of the 4 single-vineyard 2021 chardonnays, but who knows what will come out on top in 5 or even 10 years from now!

James Suckling (97)

There’s striking freshness of lemon and yellow grapefruit here with a chalky, stony, flinty edge. The fresh fruit carries subtly spicy oak nicely. There are grapefruit and fresh yellow-peach flavors in abundance. This carries energetic, acidity-fueled drive and delivers impressive balance, as well as length. So long and juicy. Drink or hold.

Halliday Wine Companion (96)

Giant Steps' higher-elevation sites, as in this and Applejack Vineyard, have turned out racy, long and superfine wines – it’s the moreish, mouth-watering acidity. Of course there’s more: the complex flavours and heady aromas. Smoky, slinky and talc-like texture to the acidity, with a dab of creamed honey and citrus on the palate. There’s a lot of precision and it’s a pure wine in a way that evolves superbly in the glass.

James Suckling (97)

Wow. This is complex and structured with dried strawberries and fresh flowers. Full body. Wonderful depth and intensity. The texture is so impressive. Give it time, but hard not to drink it. Screw cap.

Revel in the essence of Loire Valley's gem, the Guiberteau Saumur Breze 2019. An exquisite testament to Romain Guiberteau's expertise, this Cabernet Franc displays remarkable finesse and complexity. Artfully crafted from 50-year-old vines rooted in chalky and flinty soils on the hills of Brézé, it is left to mature in neutral oak, a process that imparts a refined elegance.

The Guiberteau Saumur Breze 2019 showcases a nose rich with ripe red fruits, light peppery spice, and mineral undertones, demonstrating Guiberteau's ability to reveal the lure and nuance of the Brézé terroir. Precise and vibrant on the palate, it offers an alluring play of pure strawberry, cherry, and herbs, supported by moderate acidity and supple tannins.

Established as a premier producer in Saumur, Guiberteau has presented a compelling expression of Cabernet Franc's potential with this 2019 vintage, a wine epitomising authenticity and purity.

Marvel at the magic of Guiberteau Saumur Les Arboises 2017. A rarity from the renowned Loire Valley region, this gem is the fruit of organic vineyards nurtured by Romain Guiberteau. Employing a minimalist approach, the grapes are hand-harvested, after which they undergo a gentle pressing, followed by natural fermentation in neutral oak barrels. The result? A wine that shines in its complexity and balance.

Guiberteau Saumur Les Arboises 2017 features a vibrant hue and distinctive mineral-rich aroma, a nod to the limestone-rich, south-facing vineyards of Les Arboises. On the palate unfolds a fine play of ripe cherries, dark berries, and earthy undertones — an encapsulation of the vineyard's terroir. Endowed with refined tannins and a prolonged aftertaste, it's a wine that expresses its character with grace and quiet confidence.

An unfiltered and unfined marvel, Guiberteau's star is justly rising in the global wine world. Experience the illustrious Guiberteau Saumur Les Arboises 2017 — a symphony of quality craftsmanship and authentic Loire Valley imprint.

Immerse yourself in the well-rounded, nuanced flavours of Guiberteau Saumur Rouge 2017, a truly extraordinary Cabernet Franc crafted by domain owner Romain Guiberteau. Renowned for his uncompromising commitment to quality, Guiberteau restored his family's old vineyards, located on Saumur's most prestigious limestone-rich slopes of Brézé, in France's Loire Valley.

Guiberteau Saumur Rouge 2017 expresses the typicity of the region's terroir, imbued with the character of its calcareous soils. This organic and biodynamically farmed wine exhibits a beautiful dark ruby colour. On the nose, it captivates with its fresh red fruit aromas, followed by a very fine tannic structure on the palate. It offers subtlety and elegance rather than overly ripe fruit and power. Undertones of exotic spice and mineral nuances speak volumes about its complexity and depth, ensuring it pairs beautifully with a range of cuisines.

Savour the craftsmanship that elevates Guiberteau Saumur Rouge 2017 above the everyday, delivering an unforgettable, authentically Loire experience.