Transcendent Moments in Wine

When you first start spending over £40 on a bottle of wine in a shop, each new purchase can feel like a revelation. The jump in quality at this level can make every glass seem extraordinary, almost magical. But as you get deeper down the rabbit hole, your palate changes, becomes more attuned and possibly more demanding. It means those highs you were used to in your early stages of wine discovery don't come along so often. 

These days it takes something truly special to stop me in my tracks but I've been lucky enough to have two of those moments in the last few weeks. So I'm here to push you in the right direction...

Tombée du Ciel 2023

A few Sundays ago, I was round a friend's house for lunch and we had finished our food and already drunk a couple of bottles. We wondered whether it was time for coffee or more wine. My head was already a bit fuzzy but we decided on one more bottle and WOW. Suddenly my mind was completely clear and focussed. This Gamay from the Ardèche... THE BALANCE! It felt absolutely perfect. Complex fruit, spice, dried flowers and a touch of wildness. It did something to me. Cannot wait to see where relatively new winemaker Paulette Maziou (aka Petite Nature) goes next!

La Combe Blanc 2022

I first became acquainted with the wines of Domain Derain after meeting winemaker Julien Altaber at a wine fair in the Loire a few years ago and immediately fell in love with them. A lot of "natural" Burgundy wines can feel quite boring to me but these are not! Still focussed and precise but full of character and usually very well priced. I recently opened a bottle of La Combe 2022 with a friend in garden at Highbury Library and was blown away. The intensity of minerals was really next level and complimented perfectly with concentrated citrus. This feels like a huge bargain even at £42!

Two options to ensure you get bang for your buck when you decide to splash out...

Happy drinking!