France

Vineyard: 

This wine is from Igé, one of the Mâconnais' top villages. Château London is the specific vineyard or 'lieu-dit' of the grapes. Vine age is approximately 20 years and the yield is 7,000 vines per hectare. The vines are Guyot trained to a height of 1.3 metres, to ensure enough light exposure for photosynthesis. Soils are stony and clay, with a high proportion of chalk. The grape is a clone of Chardonnay, Chardonnay-Muscaté, which gives the typical structure, poise and freshness of Chardonnay together the aromatic expression of Muscat.

Vinification:

The grapes were harvested manually into 20 kilogram crates, then whole bunch pressed for 2.5 hours, before the juice was transferred to 450 litre oak barrels. Indigenous yeasts were used for a long fermentation without racking or lees stirring. The wine was then aged in 30% new French oak barrels for 12 months without being racked. The barrels used are toasted at low temperatures to impart a subtle, delicate flavour to the final wine.

Producer: 

Jean-Claude Boisset was radically transformed with the arrival in 2002 of viniculteur Grégory Patriat, one of the best viticulturalists/winemakers of his generation in Burgundy. Grégory had spent the previous three years working in the vineyards at Domaine Leroy and still spends a great deal of his time in the vineyards, paying his growers by the hectare in order to ensure low yields. He also prefers to work with organic growers, as he finds they produce better fruit. Unlike other Burgundian négociants, Grégory specialises in making wines from 'lieu-dits' or tiny plots of vines, something which accounts for the limited production of most of his wines.

Vineyard: 

Saint Martin refers to the patron saint of Chablis, whose relics were kept in the domaine's ancient monastery for many years. Domaine Laroche owns 63 hectares of Chablis vineyard on the famous Kimmeridgian soil that gives the wines such precision. Each plot, of which there are 30 in total, has a different exposure, soil depth and vine age which contributes complexity to the wine and means that every parcel ripens at a different time. Gregory Viennois refers to Chardonnay's 'two-day window' of maturity - if the parcels aren't harvested in this time the precious Chablis aromas are lost.

Vinification:

The grapes were pressed and settled at low temperatures for 12 hours in wide tanks, to help the settling process and minimise the need for sulphur dioxide. Fermentation lasted 21 days at 17°C, followed by full malolactic fermentation. After filtration with Bentonite, the majority of the wine was aged for eight months on fine lees in stainless steel tanks with a small amount (8%) in large oak casks (foudres). Filtration was light to preserve the natural body of the wine.

Producer: 

Domaine Laroche epitomises Chablis, with impeccable quality and a remarkable 100 hectares of vineyards, including 30 hectares of Premier Cru and six hectares of Grand Cru sites. Founded in 1850, there is still a dynamism which permeates everything they do. Michel Laroche merged with another family-owned producer, Jeanjean, in 2009 and he remains involved in the business, along with his wife Gwénaël. As part of their aim to retain purity and minerality in the finished wine, Laroche was the first Burgundian producer to move to screwcaps in 2002.

Vineyard: 

The grapes for this wine come from selected vineyards around the Etang de Thau, planted on clay and limestone soils.

Vinification:

The grapes arrived in the winery in the early morning and were macerated on the skins for a few hours, then pressed by pneumatic press. The must was cold settled for 48 hours and then fermented at a controlled temperature of 15 °C for 16 days. No oak was used and the wine was bottled early to retain freshness and delicate aromatics.

Producer: 

Baron de Badassière is from the Picpoul de Pinet region of the Languedoc, near the coast of the south of France. The name of the wine refers to the Badassière vineyard which lies near the small town of Pomérols. In the 18th century, the vineyard belonged to Baron Charles Emmanuel, a colourful character who was rumoured to be the illegitimate son of King Louis XV. The wines are made exclusively for Liberty Wines by New Zealand winemaker Graeme Paul, with consultant Matt Thomson, at the Cave de Pomérols cooperative where the Vignes de L'Eglise range is also produced.

Vineyard: 

Domaine Joël Delaunay is situated on the bank of the Cher Valley, 50 kilometres east of Tours near the famous Château de Chenonceau. The soil is clay and silex (a mixture of flint and sand) and the pruning method is simple Guyot. The vineyards are planted with grass between the vines to control yields.

Vinification:

30% of the cuvée was macerated on the skins for 12 hours before pneumatic pressing. Alcoholic fermentation took place over 20 days at controlled temperatures of 16°C. The wine was aged on fine lees after fermentation with bâtonnage (lees stirring) for three months prior to cross-flow filtration and bottling.

Producer: 

Domaine Joël Delaunay is a family-owned estate, located in the Touraine AOC. Today, fifth-generation owner Thierry Delaunay runs the domaine. Like his forward-thinking father, Joël Delaunay, who insisted on estate bottling in 1970, Thierry was the first Touraine producer to bottle under screwcap in 2004. Domaine Joël Delaunay has 34 hectares of vineyards, practising sustainable viticulture. 90% of their production is white, with Sauvignon Blanc being the predominant grape variety, and 10% is red, mostly Gamay and Cabernet Franc.

A stunning little gem from David Maudry, whose family have a long old history of wine production in Tracy-Sur-Loire. This Sauvignon Blanc comes from young vines directly next to their Pouilly-Fumé vineyard. Whilst this vineyard remains unclassified, the soils and aspect are the same, indeed the wine tastes almost identical (at a fraction of the price)... lots of that struck-flint note we all love in Pouilly-Fumé, and then a nice elegance and gentle tang.

Seeing Pouilly-Fumé (and Sancerre) getting rather out of reach price-wise this was an exciting find. 

The name, ‘À Peu Près’, means ‘as good as’ (as good as Pouilly Fumé) and we were delighted to have this wine on our list.