The white wine from Château Recougne is one of the hidden gems in the Milhade family portfolio. The soils and climatic conditions in Bordeaux’s ‘Right Bank’ are generally best suited to red grapes, and it is the rare exception to find a vineyard suitable for the production of white wine. Within the large Recougne Estate vineyard, the Milhades discovered a 10Ha parcel with deep clay-limestone soil over and iron-rich clay pan – a perfect setting for Sauvignon Blanc. From this parcel they produce a delightful Bordeaux Blanc, offering the typical zest and snap which makes these wines so perfectly suitable for oysters and seafood of all kinds.

A result of its quality, Guigal’s Saint-Joseph Lieu Dit Rouge comes from the “Saint-Joseph” vineyard that gives the appellation its name. This site convinced the Guigals to work in Saint-Joseph and help to restore the historic perception of Saint-Joseph as an appellation of utmost quality. The 100% Syrah wine has complex and deep black fruit, floral, spice and mineral characteristics. Despite its concentration and powerful attack, the wine retains the trademark elegance that Saint-Joseph offers.

Guigal’s Saint-Joseph Lieu Dit Blanc comes from the vineyard that gives the Saint-Joseph appellation its name, and is one of the finest sites in the Northern Rhone Valley. Made in minuscule quantities, the Lieu Dit Blanc is one of the most original and distinctive whites in the Rhone.

Guigal believes, as do a number of top producers working in the area, that Saint-Joseph will be one of the great stories in the next few decades, reaching the renown it received several hundred years ago. Saint-Joseph Blanc is a serious wine, with weight and complexity, and is deeply reflective of its vineyard sites. A seamless balance of freshness and fruitiness, pleasure and interest, and flavors and structure. Guigal’s specialty in whites is especially evident in this wine.

Le Fornaci hails from Lugana, a trendy, growing appellation on the southern shores of Lake Garda. Tommasi has long owned an estate in the village of San Martino della Battaglia, where they produce elegant white wines made from the indigenous and largely unknown Turbiana grape. In the unique clay-rich soils and moderate climate of Lugana, the variety yields full-flavored wines with citrusy flavors and high acidity, capable of aging for more than a decade.

James Healy and Ivan Sutherland will tell you that it’s hard for them to grow much Chardonnay at the extremely high quality level they want for this wine. As with their Section 94 and Pinot Noir, the wine is distinctive due to extraordinary vineyard holdings, intense vineyard management geared towards low yields and hand-picked fruit, and long, low touch winemaking. The effect this work has on the Chardonnay, by nature the least expressive of these three grape varieties, is wild – the wine is intensely expressive, with loads of fruit, leesy character, and chalky minerality that is almost textural. As with all the wines they produce, it is considered a national standard bearer of a different shade.

Dog Point’s Pinot Noir is a head-turner because of the immense reputation they have as a Sauvignon Blanc producer. Their Pinot is not just good – it’s one of the very best in New Zealand, and truly world class. The intensive vineyard work they carry out to produce distinctive Sauvignon Blanc results in fantastically complex Pinot fruit when carried out in clay hillsides of Marlborough. And, in turn, their use of wild yeasts and long aging gives the wine a generosity and integration that provide both easy and intellectual pleasure.

The ultimate vision for us, and for many others, of vibrant and perfumed New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Dog Point’s Sauvignon Blanc takes a category of wine and completely transcends it, with an intensity, depth and energy that so obviously sets it apart from the first encounter. Dog Point actually began their history making only the radical Section 94 Sauvignon Blanc, the 2 year barrel fermented Sauvignon Blanc that sits entirely out of the category. When they decided to make a pure stainless steel vinified Sauvignon Blanc, they kept the same philosophical foundation: pushing to the ultimate every process to produce top quality, distinctive wine.

They hand-pick fruit at low yields (virtually unheard of in New Zealand), green harvest at times (totally crazy), and ferment partially with indigenous yeasts. This wine has helped make Dog Point such an important advocate of premium wine production in New Zealand, and for New Zealand throughout the world. Don’t forget to leave a bottle or two in the cellar; the wine ages beautifully.

Section 94 is one of the world’s most distinct wines, and regularly named New Zealand’s greatest Sauvignon Blanc. It’s so tough to place, which is extraordinary given that Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is one of the most defined and recognizable wine styles in the world. The exotic smoky and spicy flavors mingling with floral and ripe citrus notes, textural roundness playing against cool and fresh raciness; it’s not about generalities of the grape variety or the region, it’s a very specific wine made to emphasize the qualities of a very special place.

Section 94 is Dog Point’s signature wine, an update on James’ Healy’s Te Koko, the barrel-fermented Sauvignon he created while at Cloudy Bay. The names refers to the singular parcel of old vines where the grapes are sourced.  Fruit is hand-picked at low yields (virtually unheard of in New Zealand), green harvested at times (totally crazy), and fermented entirely with native yeasts. The wine sees extended aging in barrel with virtually no intervention. High risk winemaking resulting in high reward individuality.

Javier’s Cueva de Lobos Blanco is crafted to appease a more youthful crowd, featuring a clean, crisp, and modern style. The level of precision and clarity brought out in the Viura is a remarkable testament to Javier’s winemaking prowess.

Vieilles Vignes Françaises is one of Champagne’s most mythical cuvees, produced from miraculously preserved and ungrafted 100% Pinot Noir vines. Phylloxera destroyed the vines of Champagne in the early 20th century, but amazingly enough two of Bollinger’s classified Grands crus plots, Chaudes Terres and Clos St. Jacques, survived and are still grown the traditional way. Madame Lily Bollinger first had this wine produced in 1969 as an anniversary cuvee to commemorate her 70th birthday. Following the wine’s launch in 1974, Vieilles Vignes Françaises promptly became a collectible and a symbol of a bygone era. Over the decades, its uniqueness and scarcity have made it one of the most sought-after and collectable Champagnes.

The Cueva de Lobos Tinto Joven is a 100% Tempranillo made without superfluous details or unnecessary weight. The bright and clean profile comes from simple winemaking in stainless steel tanks, allowing the purity of the fruit to shine.

This is the style of Rioja Crianza that Spaniards crave: youthful, juicy, lifted reds without excessive weight or overbearing tannins. The Cueva de Lobos Crianza is made from 100% Tempranillo, with a mix of French and American oak providing a subtle nuance and complexity.

Levantadas (raised) refers to the upper slopes of Javier’s estate vineyards, a place where white varietals like this retain a high level of acidity while ripening evenly. The results are powerful and precise, while keeping a freshness and lift from the sourcing and light winemaking hand.

Sourced from around the famed town of Laguardia in Rioja Alavesa, the Viuda Negra Crianza is a well-defined Tempranillo that demonstrates the remarkable sense of place Javier pulls from all his wines. Jubilant in style, as Javier likes from his Crianza’s, the wine still manages to show a remarkable level of complexity due to 30+ year old vines from higher elevation vineyards.

Guigal produces an intensely concentrated, inviting and complex Châteauneuf-du-Pape that is almost unique to the region today. Their passion for Châteauneuf, the leading appellation of the Southern Rhône, runs as deeply as that for their home sites in the Northern Rhône. The combination of working with top fruit that has perfect ripeness, along with their extraordinary patience in the cellar, results in rich and full, yet savory, spicy, seamless and balanced wines. Wines to enjoy immediately but capable of aging, and, above all, wines that leave you wanting more.

The Guigal family has been working for decades in Tavel, and today specifically works with 6 growers to produce the traditional style of rosé the region is known for – deep fruit, full of spice you find in the reds of the area, structured, and substantial enough to age. Thank goodness this appellation across the river from Châteauneuf-du-Pape, 100% dedicated to rosé, still produces wines of this full-bodied style!

Don Anselmo is a landmark wine made from 100% Aglianico grapes, the native varietal in Basilicata for which the region is renowned. It is dedicated to the winery’s founder, Anselmo Paternoster, and represents the history, roots, and continued importance of the Paternoster family in the area of production of the wines, Vulture. The grapes come from small and particularly old vineyard parcels in Barile, located at 2000 feet above sea level, with naturally low yields (35- 40 quintals per hectare). The soil is volcanic, with a significant levels of lava and ash.

The Billia line represents an approachable style of Cherchi’s famed indigenous grapes, crafted in stainless steel. This unfussy approach allows the varietal character of the wines to shine while providing a jubilant drinking experience. Billia refers to a marble or billiard ball and is the affectionate nickname for Cherchi’s founder.

The Billia line represents an approachable style of Cherchi’s famed indigenous varieties, crafted in stainless steel. This unfussy approach allows the varietal character of the wines to shine and while providing an immensely pleasurable experience. The wine is named after the founder of the winery, Billia Cherchi, who brought the indigenous Cagnulari grape out of near extinction.

Sourced from best bunches of a single vineyard in Cherchi’s estate, Tuvaoes is a standard-bearer for high quality Sardinian Vermentino. Featuring a fine concentration of flavors, Tuvaoes is textured and rich while showing off a depth of minerality that this corner of the island is known for, a result of Mistral Wind influence that precedes the Rhône Valley.