The Autumn Case

The Autumn Case consists of:

Les Jours Blanc 2018, Domaine de la Petit Tuille, Gaillac

Adèle Blanc 2022, Eric Texier, Rhone

St. JOHN Beaujolais Villages 2023

Pinot Noir 2023, Gerard Metz, Alsace

L’Hurluberlu 2023, Sebastien David, Loire

‘1883’ Merlot, Maison Sichel, Bordeaux

Case of 6 - £120

Case of 12 - £220 (Two bottles of each wine)

Trevor says "This is our first “Autumn” case as we ring the changes as we head to the end of the year. Game will arrive through these months, harvests are in and there is bounty in the kitchens far and wide. You could argue that the season almost has a texture, the turning leaves are a tapestry, the ploughed fields a weave, store cupboards are filling, and pickles and preserves are on our mind. 

We took texture as a guide in our selection and both the whites are, well ... textural. It has been a long search for a new Gaillac, a traditional region of mixed farming where the weather can be wet but the traditions are deep, a place of stored apples and vegetables over the winter, of the cattle being brought in come the worst of the weather. The whites are made from the indigenous Loin de l’Oeil grape and produce full and rounded wine, happy both as a winter white aperitif or enjoyed with a good meal. There are notes of ripe pear through to a long and gently complex finish. Eric Texier is undoubtably one of the stars of the Northern Rhone nowadays and we are long-time friends. The Adele is predominantly Clairette with a little Marsanne, it has a little weight on the palette, but like the Gaillac you can sense terroir and fruit, in this case red apples and bergamot, and the freshness of the Clairette reminds one of a fresh gently breezy blue sky Autumn day, as we head towards the winter.

We have balanced these against four reds from across France. Our St. John Beaujolais and the Pinot Noir from the Alsace are both fresh wines, the Beaujolais full of black fruits with hints of violet and soft red fruits folded in. Early in the last century they could argue in the Alsace that their Pinot Noir was the best in the country, graphite, some ink, a firm structure and clean, a classic cuvée. You will need a Bordeaux for those game birds, for pies and other good things, the 1883 Merlot from Sichel is a supple wine, elegant with red and black fruits, perfect for the task. We are always happy to include l’Hurluberlu, a perennial favourite that has evolved over the vintages, always a fresh wine with classical Cabernet Franc notes at its heart, blackcurrant, and pastille with a hint of green and pencil, floating across the tongue. So, there is variety, varietals and texture to take you through the Autumn, it’s store cupboard time!"