My Most Memorable Wines of 2025

For my most memorable wines of 2025, I’ve chosen to list wines that we/I drank a bottle of rather than sipped at a tasting (WineGB Trade Tasting in London one of the highlights).
And while I know that moderation is important, I am with Robert G. Mondavi who said “All things in moderation – with a few glorious exceptions.”

Sylvain Pataille’s Bourgogne Aligoté 2022 opened our eyes to this underrated variety – an exemplary site-specific Aligoté farmed organically from 50 year-old vines. Intense red fruit aromas, and complexity. Low sulphur at bottling and 12 months ageing. Sylvain Pataille has earned a ‘cult’ following for his cutting-edge, high-quality natural wines. Is it time for a re-appraisal of Aligoté? (13/02).
https://gnarlyvines.co.uk

Over lunch at Au Fil du Zinc in the heart of Chablis overlooking the River Serein, we ordered a bottle of Vincent Dauvissat Chablis Premier Cru Séchet 2018 to pair with owner-chef Mathieu Sagardoytho’s creative menu (27/02). The ethereal, nuanced intensity of this PC Chablis was exactly what we were hoping for. Dauvissat uses old barrels and local 132-litre feuillettes adding depth and structure. Dauvissat is arguably the finest domaine in Chablis rivalled only by Domaine Raveneau. All farming is biodynamic. My Wine of the Year 2025.
https://guide.michelin.com
https://bbr.com

We were honoured that Jean-Marc Brocard sat down to taste some of his wines with us at Domaine Brocard, one of the first wine producers in organic farming in Chablis and Burgundy (27/02). Chablis has always been one of my main loves in wine. The steely acidity, fresh, energetic style of Chardonnay has always appealed. My favourite – as well as Jean-Marc’s; he told me he takes three cases on holiday – was 2022 Jean-Marc Brocard Chablis Premier Cru Montée de Tonnerre, adjacent to grand cru Blanchot on the right bank. Beautiful precision, energetic, and mineral-driven. And, I was thrilled to correctly guess the vintage of a magnum of 2002 Chablis Premier Cru Montmains in a blind tasting.
https://brocard.fr

We enjoyed a Vincent Dancer 2021 Les Corbins Meursault over dinner at La Maison de Pommard (28/02). Les Corbins is a very rocky vineyard on the Volnay side of the village planted in 1986. The 2021 Les Corbins Meursault was chalky and framed by lees-derived reduction. Bright and lively, with lots of depth. Made from 35 year-old vines with élevage of 19 months. Certified organic. Loved this wine (only 1,000 bottles).
https://bibendum.com.au

Isabelle de Montille poured us a glass of William Kelley’s Bourgogne Aligoté 2022, made from 80-year old vines in Meursault, in front of the fireplace at La Maison de Pommard (01/03). Editor-in-Chief of Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, the world’s most influential Burgundy critic, also makes astonishing wine (only 1,784 bottles of Bourgogne Aligoté 2022 made). Fermented and matured in custom-made new barrels from Taransaud for 22-months, this Aligoté has flint and fruit on the nose, insane concentration, layers of flavour and a long finish. Like a Premier Cru. William sent me a DM saying he hoped the wine showed well, but was wondering how La Maison de Pommard had secured a bottle. I asked him where we might buy some; he told me “it’s sold out I’m afraid.”
https://bibendum.com.au

After I conducted a tasting of brilliant Simpsons wines at FZN by Björn Frantzén (the first 3-star Michelin) in Dubai, Ognjen Samardzic, Head Sommelier at Studio Frantzén poured Emma and I a glass of Lieu Dit Cabernet Franc 2022 from Santa Ynez Valley, California over dinner (18/04). A beautiful expression of this classic variety.
https://vinvm.co.uk

Luca Gagliardi invited us over for lunch at his beautifully newly renovated villa in Dubai and opened some interesting wines including a bottle of Château Sociando-Mallet Haut-Médoc 2009 which paired beautifully with an inspired barbecue flank steak (19/04). It had a complex bouquet dominated by black fruit aromas with a touch of minerality, well-integrated oak, and depth of flavour. Chateau Sociando-Mallet is an outperforming Cru Bourgeois property and the wine is made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot in Haut-Médoc. As Jean Gautreau says: “I have a superb terroir which I want to express in the wine. I try to make a classic Médoc for long keeping.” Mission accomplished. The 09 drank beautifully.
https://bbr.com

We ordered a bottle of Champagne Girard-Bonnet A Mi-Chemin Grand Cru NV to celebrate my son Logan’s birthday with Vanessa at One-Michelin Star Dorian in Notting Hill (02/05). One of the Côte des Blancs’ rising stars, Paul Girard leads this relatively new estate located in the Grand Cru village of Les Mesnil sur-Oger. ‘Mi-Chemin’ is Paul’s first bottling, a non-vintage Blanc de Blancs sourced from two different parcels. Based on the 2021 vintage complemented with 30% reserve wines from 2018-2020. Two grams per litre dosage. Cool, intense, linear chardonnay with lots of complexity. Perfect start to a special birthday celebration.
https://champagnegirardbonnet.com

While waiting for our table at Trullo after watching Arsenal at Emirates Stadium, we enjoyed a bottle of Langham Estate Culver Classic Cuvée NV, a classy Pinot Noir dominant blend made from base vintage 2018 and 11% reserve wine from the Dorset team that subsequently won Best Non-Vintage Sparkling at the WineGB Awards 2025 (03/05). A lovely wine with rich, autolytic depth.
https://langhamwine.co.uk

Emma and I had a tasting at Domaine Chaboud-Cellier in Saint Péray in the Rhône Valley – highly impressive wines – particularly their sparkling Saint Péray’s (11/06). Saint Péray “Cuvee Louis Alexandre” Brut Nature 2022, 100% Marsanne, had beautiful freshness, elegance and finesse. 12 months on lees and zero dosage. Of course we bought some to take with us.
https://domainechaboudcellier.com

We had a privileged tour and tasting at the iconic Maison M. Chapoutier in the heart of Tain l’Hermitage in the Rhône Valley (12/06). After a tour of the vineyards, we tasted five different wines, including some of the legendary Hermitage Sélection Parcellaire. The standout was the M. Chapoutier Sélection Parcellaire Le Pavillon 2010 AOP Ermitage: 100 percent Syrah from 90+ year-old vines. Purity. Depth (full-bodied with minerality and sensual tannins). And length. Beautiful.
https://chapoutier.com

At a private visit to the stunning newly-renovated Château de Beaucastel winery in Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the Rhône Valley (13/06), we started our tasting with a superb Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 2021 (80% Roussanne). I cheekily asked about the Vieille Vignes and our fantastic host opened a Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Roussanne Vieilles Vignes 2017, considered one of the greatest whites in the world. The VV comes from a three-hectare parcel planted in 1909; only 6,000 bottles of this wine are produced. Pure Roussanne. Pure exhilaration.
This was followed by a Coudoulet de Beaucastel Côtes du Rhône 2022 and three exceptional Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge (2016, 2010, and 2001). 2010 was an exceptional vintage and was my favourite. (Our host told us Beaucastel needs 15 years). A classic blend of 30% Grenache, 30% Mourvedre, 10% Syrah, 10% Counoise and the balance with other permitted varietals. Intense notes of fruit and great elegance and finesse. Merci Famille Perrin.
https://bbr.com

Emma, Logan and his fiancée Vanessa, and I had a mandatory tasting (exceptional) with Norm at Norman Hardie Winery, but also visited impressive newcomer Stoss Lee on a beautiful long weekend in Prince Edward County, Canada (05/09). Brother and sister Kyle and Zoe Marshall planted this small vineyard on a rare south-facing glacial drumlin site in 2020 (haven’t used ‘drumlin’ since geography class). What initially attracted me is that Kyle is also co-owner of Lieu Dit Winery in Santa Barbara County, California where Zoe interned (see Lieu Dit entry above). We tasted three of their sustainable, low-intervention wines, including (cue Roy Orbison), Stoss Lee ‘Only the Lonely’ 2023, the only 55% Pinot Noir, 45% Chardonnay still wine in Canada. Barrel fermented and aged 12 months in neutral oak. Pure and mineral reflecting the limestone soils and cool climate region. The very lightly chilled wine drank like a very light red and we very much enjoyed three bottles sitting outside the winery mid-afternoon. It was awarded Silver at the National Wine Awards of Canada 2025 (the wine, not our consumption).
https://stosslee.com

I was invited by CultX to an evening of fine wine at a stunning private villa in Dubai (29/10). The standout was Domaine Pierre Boisson Meursault Les Grands Charrons 2018. The domaine, run by the father and son team of Bernard and Pierre Boisson, is one of the rising stars in Meursault. Such precision and layered complexity. This ‘climat’ produces only 15-20 barrels of wine, making it one of the domaine’s more significant cuvées. We (my accomplice Emma and I) also loved Pierre Girardin, Vosne-Romanée 2020.
https://bbr.com

Over lunch at Noble Rot Mayfair, we paired Confit Duck Leg, Puy Lentils and Dijon with a glass of Guy Breton Beaujolais Nouveau ‘Fanchon’ 2025 and a bottle of Jean Foillard Morgon ‘Côte du Py’ 2022 and continued to celebrate Rotters’ Fête Du Beaujolais at their Lamb’s Conduit location (20/11). Foillard is a natural winemaker who follows minimal-intervention practices. The vineyards are situated on the Côte du Py, known for its schist and granite soils imparting a distinct minerality and complexity to the wines. Both Neil Martin and James Suckling have praised the exceptional quality of Jean Foillard’s Morgon Côte du Py, with Martin noting “it stands toe-to-toe” with top Burgundy and Suckling calling the wine “The DRC of Beaujolais.” So, I tracked some down at an indie wine merchant in London and bought their small allocation. Ethereal, vibrant, and pure, a beautiful Beaujolais. World-class.
gnarlyvines.co.uk

I had two glasses of Sugrue Rosé Ex Machina 2018 before lunch (and a necessary glass during lunch) with Emma and my in-laws at The Ram Inn, Firle, East Sussex (21/11). A seductive, expansive sparkling rosé with sharp focus. Fully mature from the outstanding 2018 vintage. This is the second year-running I’ve included a wine from Dermot Sugrue in my Wines of the Year (it won’t be the last).
https://sugruesouthdowns.com

Finally, my beautiful wife Emma and I celebrated our anniversary at Il Ristorante Niko Romito – minimalist, Michelin precision – with a bottle of Pelissero 2021 Barbaresco DOCG recommended by the somm (18/12). A powerful, deep wine with the (dark red fruit) aromatics and tannin structure the defining features. The Nubiola (Nebbiolo) is a blend of six parcels. Its elegance and translation of terroir similar to Pinot Noir in Burgundy. And, we left with an iconic Panettone, crafted by Chef Niko Romito for Bvlgari Hotels & Resort, for Christmas.