The Festive season is always a time to open some good bottles and share with family and friends. I wanted to share some of the successes because they deserve praise. And.. one bottle which was fine but ultimately a little disappointing.

Let’s start with Jeff Coutelou of course. A number of bottles were opened but one stood out, Rome 2023. This is mainly Cinsault from old gobelet vines in my favourite vineyard, the eponymous Rome. There are other varieties too, all three colours of Grenache, Muscat of various kinds too with the addition of white grapes such as Servant and Clairette from other vineyards. This has always been good, lots of clean, red fruit with nice structure but a little bit of time has brought it all into harmony, a real sweet spot. In the UK Gergovie are selling Rome in magnums which would be even better.

A few kilometres up the road is another favourite estate, Mas Des Capitelles. They work biodynamically and make full red wines largely based on Carignan and Grenache and they age the wines for a few years before they are released. Crescendo 2019 is made up of Mourvèdre, old Carignan and some Grenache. One of those bottles which changed with every glass, practically every mouthful. Dark fruits, tannins and balance. Lovely.

One more red though much lighter in nature. I have become increasingly fond of light reds and Jean-Christophe Garnier’s Les Nouettes 2024 fits that bill perfectly at just 10.5% abv. Pale in colour like a Gamay or Pinot Noir this is from the Anjou with a 50-50 split of Grolleau and Pineau D’Aunis. Spicy, herby and red fruits it was another bottle to reveal new features as the bottle disappeared.

Two other wines to add to the hit list, both white. Sylvain Pataille is a much admired producer from Marsannay in Burgundy who works biodynamically with minimal sulphur. This Marsannay 2020 was made with Chardonnay from five vineyards including Clos Du Roy, aged for 18 months in barrel (one third new). The result is exactly what you’d hope for from a good quality Burgundy – citrus and peach fruit with a light nutty note and a lovely salty, dry finish. Lovely.

Possibly my favourite wine was from Lucy Margaux based in the Basket Range of the Adelaide Hills. I was fortunate enough to visit the winery and meet Anton van Klopper in 2024 and was hugely impressed. I was able to buy a bottle of Le Sauvignon Sensuel 2022 here in the UK and it was superb. There’s so much going on in the wine; freshness, zesty fruits, a salty minerality. It was vibrant, refreshing and delicious. Such a great wine, what a producer. I love the hand made labels.

I don’t usually include negativity in these reports but I thought it was worth mentioning a wine which was perfectly good but just a bit dull and disappointing. It was also the most expensive bottle in my cellar, money doesn’t always buy success. Henschke Edelstone Shiraz 2004 was bought a few years ago at a much lighter price than the approximately £120 cost new now. It was very nice, classic blackcurrant, mint and dark fruits, good tannins even at twenty years old. It just lacked excitement, it didn’t develop or add nuance. I can’t fault it but I’d take any of the other bottles mentioned first and together they cost about the same as this one.

Santa kindly brought me a copy of Pascaline Lepeltier’s fantastic ‘One Thousand Vines’, probably the most authoritative wine book I have read. Plus some nice new glasses from IKEA, cheap but very good especially at concentrating aromas. Of course a few nice bottles arrived too including some interesting sherry. So, we reach 2026 and I shall be heading down to the Languedoc later this month for a catch up and will bring you the news. I hope that 2026 brings happiness and health no matter how worrying the state of the world around us.