Small Wonders Reds Case

Despite new ownership, the style at this iconic Faugères estate remains unaltered. This cuvée brings together syrah and grenache, mostly from young vines, barrel-aged for a year, but no new oak. It is Rhône-like, balanced with a touch of spice and ripe black cherry.

The Beaujolais grape gamay used to be more widely planted in the northern Rhône where the shallow granite soils are perfect for it. So, here is a gamay from old vines and made as if it were a Saint-Joseph, with deep colour, dark cherry-like fruit with a touch of spice and grip.

A spâtburgunder offering raspberry, cranberry and red plum notes with hints of spice and bacon with an attractive juicy core and fine grained tannins. Stodden wines from the Ahr Valley are considered a showcase of just how good German pinot noir can be. Alexander Stodden, who is fifth generation, has a small estate of 10 hectares, 95% of which is focused on spatburgunder. The label makes reference to the historic bridge in Rech – home to their cellars – that was destroyed in the 2021 floods. This is the estate's entry spätburgunder with grapes coming from plots in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Dernau and Rech itself.

An exciting new addition to the range. Domaine Yann Chave is in a period of exciting transition with Yann's children starting to become more involved in this Northern Rhône estate. The straight Crozes-Hermitage comes from a few parcels; La Roche de Glun, Mercurol and Pont de l'Isère and the wine is aged in tank before being bottled. This is a crisp, fresh and red-berry-fruited wine with lots of energy and hints of pepper.

Barbara Requejo Frutos is making waves in the Cebreros subregion of Gredos. This deceptively pale garnacha delivers surprising power and complexity. Aromas and flavours of resinous herbs are woven through vibrant red fruit, strawberry, burnt orange, and red cherry, accented by white-pepper spice and subtly woody tannins from fermentation and ageing in foudre. The result is a very fine, lively, and expressive wine.

The debut vintage of the newly imagined Cornerstone Red from Reyneke is now a syrah-cabernet blend (51% syrah and 49% cabernet sauvignon), instead of a Bordeaux-style blend, giving us a snapshot of this beautiful, holistically-managed biodynamic farm in the Polkadraai Hills of southern Stellenbosch. Spicy and perfumed with wild herbs and fynbos (the Cape's native vegetation), there is a sweet juiciness to the red-and-black-berry fruit on the palate and a silky-smooth mouthfeel. Medium-bodied, refreshing and energetic with a bright and uplifted finish, this is a stunning maiden vintage and so very Reyneke. It is part of a reimagined and reshaped Cornerstone which we are proud to launch at The Wine Society. Cornerstone is the name given to the long-term social initiative developed by Reyneke to support their farm workers in buying their own houses and gaining access to tertiary education. For years now, Reyneke has put all of the profits from the sales of Cornerstone wine back into the farm. With this relaunch, Cornerstone is being extended beyond the farm with all participants in the supply chain invited to contribute, leading us into a new way of doing business. The Wine Society has chosen to pay Reyneke an extra £1 per bottle for these wines, while keeping the selling price to our members what it would have been at the original cost price.