Fine Wine Regions

Alsace

Almost all Alsatian wines are white, except those made from the pinot noir grape which are pale red, often rosé. Sparkling wines known as Crémant d'Alsace are also made.

The majority of the fine white wines of Alsace are made from aromatic grape varieties (riesling, gewürztraminer, pinot gris, pinot blanc, sylvaner and muscat) being floral and spicy. Since they very seldom have any oak barrel aromas they tend to be very varietally pure in their character.

Traditionally all Alsace wines were dry (which once set them apart from German wines with which they share many grape varieties), but an ambition to produce wines with more intense and fruity character has led some producers to produce wines which contain some residual sugar.

Since there is no official labelling that differentiates completely dry from off-dry (or even semi-sweet) wines, this has occasionally led to some confusion. It is more common to find residual sugar in gewürztraminer and pinot gris, which reach a higher natural sugar content on ripeness, than in riesling, muscat or sylvaner. Usually there is a "house style" as to residual sugar, i.e., some producers only produce totally dry wines, except for their dessert style wines.

Some of the best known producers include Trimbach, Zind-Humbrecht, Hugel, Leon Beyer, Weinbach, Josmeyer and Marcel Deiss.

 

Bordeaux

   
Bordeaux has been producing fine wine for centuries. It is widely regarded as the finest wine region in the world.

In 1855 the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification was created (at the request of Napoleon) which ranked the wines into five categories according to price. The first growth red wines (four from Médoc and one, Château Haut-Brion, from Graves), are among the most expensive wines in the world. To see the complete 1855 classification, click here

In Bordeaux the concept of terroir plays a pivotal role in wine production with the top estates aiming to make terroir driven wines that reflect the place they are from, often from grapes collected from a single vineyard.

The soil of Bordeaux is composed of gravel, sandy stone, and clay. The region's best vineyards are located on the well drained gravel soils that are frequently found near the Gironde river.

An old adage in Bordeaux is the best estates can "see the river" from their vineyard and majority of land that face riverside are occupied by classified estates.

Bordeaux had some troubling times in the 1970s, in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis. The 1980s was a period of recovery, and a new era in two respects. First, wine critics (rather than just official classifications) started to have an influence on demand and prices. US wine critic Robert M. Parker, Jr.'s review of the 1982 Bordeaux vintage has generally been considered to have started this trend, and Parker has remained the most influential Bordeaux critic ever since.

Second, the preferred style of high-quality red Bordeaux has gradually changed: the wines are more concentrated in flavour, have a heavier influence of new oak, are more approachable already when young, and are slightly higher in alcohol.

It has been claimed that this is the style of wine that Parker prefers and gives high scores to (and they are therefore sometimes called "Parkerized"), while the Pomerol-based winemaking consultant Michel Rolland writes the recipe for how to make these wines.
  

Burgundy

    
This would not only describe some of the wine, but the region and culture of Burgundy itself.

 

The wine region of Burgundy can be a very difficult region to fully understand.  

Red Burgundy is usually made using the pinot noir grape (certainly any fine Burgundy is), and white Burgundy with chardonnay, as dictated by the AOC (appellation origine contrôlée) rules. 

Burgundy starts just south of Dijon at Marsannay-la-Côte and runs southward to just short of the city of Lyon. The area of Chablis stands on its own to the northwest of Dijon. The main wine regions in Burgundy proper (those that are entitled to the AOC Bourgogne designation) are the Côte de Nuits, Côte de Beaune (collectively known as the Côte d'Or or "golden slope") and further south the Côte Chalonnaise. The Route des Grands Crus (which loosely translates as the "road of great vineyards") traverses the Burgundy wine region. 

The area is made up tiny villages surrounded by flat and sloped vineyards. The sloped vineyards have the most exposure to sunshine and the greatest drainage. The best wines (Grand Cru) from this region are usually grown from the middle part of the slopes while the "Premier Cru" come from a little less favourably exposed slopes. The relatively ordinary "Village" wines are produced from the flat territory nearer the villages.

  

Champagne

  
The Champagne wine region is a historic province within the Champagne administrative province in the northeast of France.

The area is best known for the production of the sparkling white wine that bears the region's name. Champagne is about 100 miles (160 km) east of Paris. The viticultural boundaries of Champagne are legally defined and split into five wine producing districts within the administrative province-the Aube, Côte des Blancs, Côte de Sézanne Montagne de Reims, and Vallée de la Marne. The towns of Reims and Épernay are the commercial centers of the area.

The principle grapes grown in the region include Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. Pinot Noir is the most widely planted grape in the Aube region and grows very well in Montagne de Reims. Pinot Meunier is the dominate grape in the Vallée de la Marne region. The Côte des Blancs is dedicated almost exclusively to Chardonnay.

There have been many famous head's of the great Champagne Houses we offer here, and their legacy and the quality of their wines is evident in what we offer at Fine Wine Specialists. Many of the Champagnes on offer are extremely rare, but all have superb provenance.

Loire

    
The Loire Valley has a long history of winemaking - dating back to the 1st century. In the high Middle Ages, the wines of the Loire Valley were the most esteemed wines in England and France, even more prized than those from Bordeaux!

The Loire Valley is often divided into three sections. The Upper Loire includes the sauvignon blanc dominated areas of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé. The Middle Loire is dominated by more chenin blanc and cabernet franc wines found in the regions around Touraine, Saumur, Chinon and Vouvray. The Lower Loire that leads to the mouth of the river's entrance to the Atlantic goes through the Muscadet region which is dominated by wines of the Melon de Bourgogne grape.

A characteristic of many Loire wines (both red and white) is the high acidity which highlights the fresh, crisp flavors of their youth only to go through a "dumb phase" between 2 to 5 years of age when the wines flavors are drastically toned down.

Many of the better made examples come out of this period with their full palate of flavors and can continue to age well into 20 years. Some of the sauvignon blanc based wines like Sancerre buck this trend and instead stay more low key till their third year when they mature and develop their full assortment of flavors before they eventually fade around their 7-10th year. However the best made examples in top vintages can often live much longer. Some classic examples of Vouvray can even reach the levels of longevity commonly associated with Port.

Today the Loire remains a vibrant and pulsating wine region which throws forth a plethora of whites in all styles. This infinite variety owes much to the region's history, but the soils, peppered with tuffeau (limestone of which many of the local chateaux are built), quartz, schist, phthanites, sandstone and more must also play a role. The grapes are also key; Muscadet is almost unique to the region, Chenin Blanc thrives here like nowhere else, and Cabernet Franc excels in isolation, whereas most (but not all) Bordeaux properties include only a tiny percentage in the final blend.

And finally, although of equal importance, come the vignerons; men and women dedicated to the vine and wine; the Loire has them in spades.

Rhône

    
The first thing to know about the Rhône, is that it is divided into the north and south.

The north produces powerful syrah based reds and pure whites made from, primarily, viognier.

The south produces Châteauneuf du Pape and other blends from several varieties (up to 13 different grapes are allowed in Châteauneuf du Pape). The first cultivated vines were likely planted in 600 BC, however, the origins of the two most important grape varieties in the northern Rhône (syrah and viognier) are unknown.

 

Northern Rhône

Syrah is the only red grape variety allowed in the northern appellations. The grape is also widely known as Shiraz, (particularly in Australia) which has made the variety very popular with consumers around the world. Some Syrah, however is blended with small quantities of viognier (adding perfume and mouth feel in particular). The only white grape varieties in the north are viognier, marsanne, and roussanne. Marsanne and roussanne are used for the whites in Crozes-Hermitage, Hermitage, Saint Joseph, and Saint Péray.

The northern Rhône is characterized by a continental climate with harsh winters but warm summers.

Northern Rhône reds are often identified by their signature green olive and smoky bacon aromas, peppery spice and "elegant power". Premier Côte Roties include Guigal's "LaLa's": La Landonne, La Mouline and La Turque, while some of the most renowned wines from the Hermitage appellation are J. L Chave's Cuvée Catelin and Jaboulet's La Chapelle. These and other top class reds from Northern Rhône command consistently high prices, but can age effortlessly for decades.

Southern Rhône

Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC has 13 legal varieties, and the surrounding areas, Coteaux du Tricastin AOC, Côtes du Ventoux AOC, Côtes du Vivarais AOC, Lirac AOC, Tavel AOC and Vacqueyras AOC can have more. Gigondas AOC is predominantly made from grenache noir and is more restricted in the other grapes it can use.

Fortified wines (vin doux naturel) are made in the Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise AOC and Rasteau AOCs.

The southern Rhône has more of a Mediterranean climate with milder winters and hot summers. Drought can be a problem, but limited irrigation is permitted. The red wines of the southern Rhône are blended from Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Carignan, and Cinsaut while the white wines are blended from Ugni Blanc, Roussanne, Bourboulenc, Picpoul, and Clairette.

Top vignerons include: Paul Jaboulet Aine, E. Guigal, Beaucastel, Vieux Télègraphe, Chapoutier, Mordorée, Grand Veneur and La Nerthe.

 

Italy

Etruscans and Greek settlers produced wine in the country long before the Romans started developing their own vineyards in the second century BC. Roman wine-growing was prolific and well-organised, pioneering large-scale production and storage techniques like barrel-making and bottling.

Two thousand years later, Italy remains one of the world's foremost producers, responsible for approximately one-fifth of world wine production in 2005.

Wine is a popular drink in Italy. Many Italians drink it with every meal (and in-between) and offer it to guests as soon as they arrive.

Grapes are grown in almost every part of Italy, with more than 1 million vineyards under cultivation. Each region is proud of its carefully tended, neatly pruned vines. In some places the vines are trained along low supports. In others they climb as slender saplings. The people of each region are also proud of the wine they make from their own grapes.

Most winemaking in Italy is done in modern wineries, but villagers, making wine for their own use, sometimes tread the grapes with their bare feet until the juice is squeezed out. They believe this ancient method still makes the best wine.

 

Germany

The German wine regions are some of the most northerly in the world. The main wine-producing climate lies below the 50th parallel, which runs through the regions Rheingau and Mosel. Above this line the climate becomes less conducive to wine production, but there are still some vineyards above this line.

Due to the northerly location Germany has produced wines quite unlike any others in Europe, many of outstanding quality.

The wines have historically been predominantly white, and the finest made from riesling. Many wines have been sweet and low in alcohol, light and unoaked. Historically many of the wines (other than late harvest wines) were dry (trocken), as techniques to arrest fermentation did not exist.

Some of the great estates that dominated two centuries ago are still turning out what many would argue are the world's greatest white wines.

Spain

Spain has over 2.9 million acres (over 1.17 million hectares) planted - making it the most widely planted wine producing nation in the world, but it is only the third largest producer (the largest being Italy and France). This is due, in part, to the very low yields and wide spacing of the old vines planted on the dry, infertile soil found in many Spanish wine regions.

Major Spanish wine regions include the Rioja and Ribera del Duero which is known for their Tempranillo production; Jerez, the home of the fortified wine Sherry; Rías Baixas in the northwest region of Galicia that is known for its white wines made from Albariño and Catalonia which includes the Cava and still wine producing regions of the Penedès as well the Priorat region.

Spanish wines are often labeled according to the amount of aging the wine has received. When the label says vino joven ("young wine") or sin crianza, the wines will have subjected to very little, if any, wood aging.

Depending on the producer, some of these wines will be meant to be consumed very young-often within a year of their release. Others will benefit from some time aging in the bottle. For the vintage year (vendimia or cosecha) to appear on the label, a minimum of 85% of the grapes must be from that year's harvest. The three most common aging designations on Spanish wine labels are Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva.

• Crianza red wines are aged for 2 years with at least 6 months in oak. Crianza whites and rosé must be aged for at least 1 year with at least 6 months in oak.
• Reserva red wines are aged for at least 3 years with at least 1 year in oak. Reserva whites and rosé must be aged for at least 2 years with at least 6 months in oak.
• Gran Reserva wines typically appears in above average vintages and with the red wines requiring at least 5 years aging, 18 months of which in oak. Gran Reserva whites and rosé must be aged for at least 4 years with at least 6 months in oak.

In 1986 Spain was accepted into the European Union, which brought economic aid to the rural wine industries of Galicia and La Mancha. The 1990s saw the influence of flying winemakers from abroad and broader acceptance of the use of international grape varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.

In 1996, the restriction on irrigation were lifted which gave winemaker greater control over yields and what areas could be planted. Soon the quality and production volume of premium wines began to overtake the presence of generic Spanish bulk wines on the market and Spain reputation entering the 21st century was that of a serious wine producing country that could compete with other producers in the world wine market.

Australia

The Australian wine industry is the fourth largest in the world. Australia exports over 400 million litres a year to a large international export market that includes "old world" wine-producing countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Germany. The United States of America also feature heavily in wine exports.

Australian winemaking results have been impressive and it has established benchmarks for a number of varietals, such as chardonnay and shiraz.

Australia's most famous wine is Penfolds Grange. The great 1955 vintage was submitted to competitions beginning in 1962 and over the years has won more than 50 gold medals.

The vintage of 1971 won first prize in Syrah/Shiraz at the Wine Olympics in Paris. The 1990 vintage was named 'Red Wine of the Year' by the Wine Spectator magazine in 1995, which later rated the 1998 vintage 99 points out of a possible 100.

Wine critic Hugh Johnson has called Grange the only First Growth of the Southern Hemisphere. The influential wine critic Robert M. Parker, Jr., who is well known for his love of Bordeaux wines, has written that Grange "has replaced Bordeaux's Pétrus as the worlds most exotic and concentrated wine"

Other red wines to garner international attention include Henschke Hill of Grace, Clarendon Hills Astralis, D'Arenberg Dead Arm, Torbreck Run Rig and other high-end Penfolds wines such as St Henri shiraz.

California

Wine production is undertaken in all fifty states of the USA, though California leads the way in wine production (and in overall quality level) followed by Washington State, Oregon and New York.

California wine has gained world recognition for many fine wines due to the wealth and variety of soil conditions and micro climates that exist here. While Californian winemakers increasingly craft wines in more "Old World" or European wine styles, most Californian wines (along with Australia, New Zealand, Chile and Argentina) favor simpler, more fruit dominant New World wines.

The style of California cabernet sauvignon that first put California on the world's wine map at the Judgment of Paris (see below) is still a trademark style today. The wines are known for their concentration of fruits and structure which produces lush, rich wines that can age well.

Merlot became widely planted in the 1990s due to its wide popularity, and is still the highest selling of all varietal wines in the country. Merlot planted on better sites tend to produce a plush, concentrated style.

A watershed moment for the industry occurred in 1976 when British wine merchant Steven Spurrier invited several Californian wineries to participate in a blind tasting event in Paris. It was to compare the best of California with the best of Bordeaux and Burgundy. In an event known as the The Judgment of Paris, Californian wines shocked the world by sweeping the wine competition in both the red and white wine categories.

Throughout the wine world, perspectives about the potential of California wines started to change. The state's wine industry continued to grow as California emerged to become one of the world's premier wine regions.

New Zealand

The New Zealand wine industry has been the star of the world wine market in the last decade.

Although quantities are tiny by world standards New Zealand has a huge awareness amongst the major wine buyers and consumers of the world.

In the 1970s, Montana in Marlborough started producing wines which were labelled by year of production (vintage) and grape variety (in the style of wine producers in Australia). The first production of a sauvignon blanc of great note appears to have occurred in 1977. Also produced in that year were superior quality wines of müller thurgau, riesling and pinotage.

The excitement created from these successes and from the early results of cabernet sauvignon from Auckland and Hawkes Bay launched the industry with ever increasing investment, leading to more hectares planted, rising land prices and greater local interest and pride. 

New Zealand is home to what many wine critics consider the world’s best Sauvignon Blanc.

Oz Clarke, a well known British wine critic wrote in the 1990s that New Zealand sauvignon blanc was "arguably the best in the world". Historically, sauvignon blanc has been used in many French regions in both AOC and Vin de Pays wine.

In the 1980s, wineries in New Zealand, especially in the Marlborough region, began producing outstanding, some critics said unforgettable, sauvignon blanc. "New Zealand sauvignon blanc is like a child who inherits the best of both parents — exotic aromas found in certain sauvignon blancs from the New World and the pungency and limy acidity of an Old World sauvignon blanc like Sancerre ". 

"No other region in the world can match Marlborough, the northeastern corner of New Zealand's South Island, which seems to be the best place in the world to grow sauvignon blanc grapes"

Pinot Noir is a grape variety whose importance in New Zealand is greater than the weight of planting. The first vines were planted using holes blasted out of the north facing schist slopes of the region, creating difficult, highly marginal conditions.

The first results coming in the mid to late 1990s excited the interest of British wine commentators, including Jancis Robinson and Oz Clarke. Not only did the wines have the distinctive acidity and abundant fruit of New Zealand wines, but they demonstrated a great deal of complexity, with aromas and flavours not common in New Zealand wine and normally associated with burgundian wine.

Please explore our great range of New Zealand wine by clicking on one of the links in the left content menu.