Hailing from Cariñena, neighbour to Rioja, in northeast Spain, picked at peak of ripeness, it's bursting with silky ripe cherry and summer berry fruit. One of the oldest wine regions of Spain, Cariñena lies just southeast of Rioja, a land of ancient low-yield vines. Most of its vineyards nurture native varieties Garnacha, but this red shows its winemakers can excel equally well with international stars, including Merlot. This grape ripens to perfection in the arid rocky soils and hot sunshine. Mirlo Merlot is a smooth, full-of-fruit red for easy sipping. Served at a cool room temperature, it's a great party wine, and tasty with chicken, veggie kebabs or frittata.

Mullet wines deliver bolder ripe fruit flavours up front with a bigger body and mouthfeel driving a big, long finish. Or like any great mullet, it’s business at the front, party at the back. Hand-crafted and purpose built, these are wines doing all they can to be big on flavour and big on drinkability. Mullet wines putting good times and enjoyment above all else!

A Gold, 92pt beauty. Château La Clarière is blessed with 50 different vineyard plots, all ideally situated on the superb limestone plateau from where both Saint-Emilion and Castillon’s finest wines hail. However, the grapes from the Enclos single vineyard, literally five metres from Saint-Emilion’s priciest Grands Crus Classés, have always been kept separate. It’s a vineyard surrounded by hedgerows, shrubs and dotted with trees – its most biodiverse; farmed organically too. All Merlot, carefully fermented on the estate, with regular plunge down and a year’s ageing in part new and part seasoned French oak barrels, it’s a very fine, velvety claret. Open early and preferably decant. It will make a very handsome partner to roast red meats or a cheeseboard.

This vibrant and lifted Merlot exudes rich plum flavours with undertones of both red and dark fruits with a soft touch of oak. As the wine develops in the glass, layers of chocolate, nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamom spices come to the fore. The soft mouthfeel and tannin integration allow for all the beautiful flavours of this wine to shine through.