“The residual sugar is 90 g/l, says Jean-Bernard Berthomé. The aromatics, despite the vintage’s reputation as a heatwave year, are spot on. This is classic evolving première tri Vouvray, a melange of limestone minerals drizzled with a a sweet honey caramel, intertwined with a wonderful citrus freshness and lift. It seems delightfully promising. The palate, I am happy to report, follows on from this first impression quite beautifully, the fruit and minerals resting on a bed of sweet caramel, and although this is not a vintage rich in botrytis I do detect a little note here too. The wine as a whole maintains a very fine balance too throughout. A very impressive, broad, imposing wine with a long and cleanly balanced finish. Delicious.” 18.5/20 points, Chris Kissack, Wine Doctor (January 2016)

“Residual sugar 75 g/l. A richer golden hue than the wine just tasted – but as that was the 2009 Le Haut Lieu Moelleux it is not really a fair comparison, as we have jumped six vintages here. A very classic style aromatically, a little honey here, quite pure in character, poured over fresh apples, with a little biscuity richness to it. A very overt substance to the palate, polished, quite broad, open, feeling relaxed and a touch loose, a vintage effect I think. Underneath this rich flesh there is some quite fine acidity though. It really opens up in the palate and shows great richness and the acidity comes out a little more. It is certainly not flabby, showing some grip and balance, although it is very much a wine of the vintage.” 17/20 points Chris Kissack, Wine Doctor (February 2013)

Le Haut-Lieu was the estate’s first vineyard, purchased in 1928. Situated on the Première Côte, it’s a 9-hectare plot on deep brown chalky clay (known as aubuis). Here the yellow limestone (tuffeau) bedrock lies up to four metres down, making for a richer soil that produces round, supple wines that can drink very well young. It generally produces the earliest maturing of the three cuvées and is usually ready to drink first, but, like Clos du Bourg and Le Mont, the wines can be extremely long-lived. We have enjoyed bottles from the ‘40s that are still drinking very well!

Houghton made wine for 101 years before Jack Mann created the iconic, and incredibly influential, White Burgundy in 1937. In 2023, more than 80 years on, Houghton honoured this history with the release of this exquisite old vine chenin blanc from Margaret River. With a foot in the past and an eye on the future, EV/37 represents chenin blanc at its best—vibrant, delicate, layered, textural.

Gold yellow colour with a delicate and persistant mousse. Smell of white blossom and soft spices, mellowed by notes of toasted brioche and vanilla on the finish. A deliciously fresh and creamy champagne of great persistence.

Bright and intense gold colour. A fresh, rich and powerful nose reavels aromas of ripe fruits.Perfect harmony between the expressive notes of fruits, with a refined and fresh finish. A sensation of meaty, fullness and depth remind the rooting of vines in the terroir of the Côte des Bar.