In The Press Mixed Case

Fresh cedary cabernet franc from Argentina with a pretty lead-pencil nose from cool-climate, high-altitude Las Chacayes in the Uco Valley.

‘Genuinely, properly exciting!’ An hour from Beaujolais, and on similar granite soil, Sérol’s 2024 Côte Roannaise gamay is utterly stunning, especially given its under-£20 price tag and was a shoo-in Wine Champion for 2026. ‘Serious complexity, great authenticity’ and ‘a kind of wildness to it’ with fleshy cherry fruit and earthy undertones. A must-try for Beaujolais lovers.

From a member favourite estate from the full-bodied 2022 vintage this has a fragrant bouquet of plums, tar and vanilla, with a layered, juicy texture on the palate. A blend of 80% merlot and 20% cabernet sauvignon the wine was aged for 12 months in two and three-year-old barrels from one of Pauillac`s most famous châteaux. This is concentrated, but well balanced, with grainy, ripe tannins on the finish. A remarkable wine for the price, this is already drinking beautifully, but has ample capacity to age. As winners of our 2024 Climate & Nature fund, de la Grave will use our funds to help diversify and move away from a monoculture. One project involves planting fruit, olive and truffle trees, establishing pre-orchards which will combine fruiting trees with meadows for grazing and breeding their sheep and horses.

Juicy, floral, and appetising Loire cabernet franc made for us by Maison Bougrier in the young, fresh 'brasserie' style we have been enjoying for a few vintages now. The 2025 vintage is looking like an outstanding year for this late-ripening varietal where the warm year has provided a wine of deep colour with aromas of fresh blackberry and redcurrants, white pepper spice and a lovely hint of dried herb with a juicy, medium-bodied finish.

Unoaked, crunchy red from Bierzo in the cooler north-west of Spain. Mencía is the grape and it makes a fruity, plump and joyful style of wine that is a delight drunk lightly chilled with pimientos de padrón, small green peppers found everywhere in Galicia (and increasingly here in the UK) fried until blisterd and charred dnd sprinkled with sea salt. Luna Beberide are pioneers in this corner of the country, farming sustainably, without herbicides or pesticides. The vines are planted on south-facing slopes at 700-metres above sea level for the freshness that altitude brings.

A special bottling for The Wine Society from Alicante’s most respected winemaker, Pepe Mendoza, and from the spectacular cool 2024 vintage, which brings natural freshness to the warm Mediterranean corner of Spain. The blend is led by giró, an old pre-phylloxera grape now on the brink of extinction, lending delicate rose florals and white-pepper spice, while the supporting monastrell provides depth, succulence and warm, savoury spice. There’s a hint of thyme and a touch of ripe, chalky tannin on the finish. Very balanced and polished.