A mouth filling, fruit driven blend that finishes juicy and fresh. Jean Pierre Perrin established La Vieille Ferme over 35 years ago, using the same grape varieties in similar proportions to those planted at the family’s Chateau de Beaucastel. This wine is a blend of Bourboulenc, Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Ugni blanc and Vermentino. Brilliant water like colour with greenish tinged edges. Peach and apricot aromas mix with some honeysuckle and delicate ginger notes. Mouth filling peach and green to red apple fruits overlay an apricot, delicate honeysuckle and spicy ginger back drop. Nicely textured with fresh underlying acidity and a dry yet juicy fruit driven finish. Drink over the next 1-2 years. Alc. 13%

DOMAINE RAYMOND USSEGLIO & FILS, Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvee Imperiale

Maison Les Alexandrins is a collaboration between two renowned winegrowers from the Rhone Valley - Nicolas Jaboulet and Alexandre Caso. Their wines are crafted in a signature style that is at once contemporary and timeless, and always from exceptional vineyards unearthed by Alexandre Caso, a specialist in the terroirs of the Northern Rhone. This 60/40 Marsanne/Roussanne blend is composed of two terroirs: vines from the granite slopes of Les Pends and those from the stony plains in the village of Chanos Curson. Each grape variety is vinified separately in demi-muids barrels and concrete vats, allowing this wine to reveal a superb balance between the fatness of Marsanne and the tension of Roussanne. Pale yellow with great clarity. The delicate nose reveals toasted aromas from the vinification in barrels, subtly mixed with aromas of white-flesh fruit and white flowers typical of these northern grape varieties. The palate is round and silky, balanced by a hint of acidity and finishes with a great drive and length.

Distinguished by true to the varietal lemon, citrus, spice and tropical fruits, a delightful edge of minerality and crunchy fresh acidity, Tahbilk Marsanne can be enjoyed as a current vintage release or allowed to develop signature honeysuckle and marmalade characters if carefully cellared.

A rising star of the Northern Rhône, Jean-Baptiste returned to St Joseph after working in New Zealand, Australia, California, Bordeaux and Burgundy. He has sought out small high altitude parcels that express balance and elegance. Quantities of each cuvée are often tiny as Jean Baptiste seeks to focus on single parcel expressions. Vinification is simple, lots of air on the whites no sulphur during fermentation producing very classic flavours. Very much vin de garde rather than vin de soif, Jean-Baptiste is forging his own path.