Gifts - To drink now .....................................................................................................................................................................................................
These are wines which are drinking perfectly now.

Crego e Monaguillo Godello - Monterrei, Castilla-Léon, Spain - £8.61 per bottle This is not one of the usual Chardonny or Sauvignon wines, but a deliciously fresh alternative: Pale straw colour with green hues. Fresh and lively with intense aromas of mature fruit and floral notes; apple, hay roses. The palate is fresh with an excellent balance between fruit and acidity. Silky and buttery with a long finish. Located in Salgueira, Monterrei is in the river Duero basin where the river Támega flows from north ot south. The history of the region spins around Monterrei Castle, the cultural and commercial centre of the region. Monterrei is characterized by having a mild Mediterranean climate with a continetal trend, influenced by the Atlantic Ocean. For this reason, Monterrei has a special microclimate with hot, dry summers and cold winters, providing considerable fluctuations in temperature of up to 30 degrees during the ripening season. APERITIF/POULTRY/SHELLFISH/ FISH/VEGETARIAN ..................................................................................................................................................................

Champagne Cuvée des Dames Chardonnay Brut, NV - Jean-Michel Gremillet - £21.68 per bottle The Cuvée des Dames Chardonnay has a very fine ‘bead’ and creamy fresh fruit with a classic bouquet of ‘pain-grillé’. Jean-Michel Gremillet’s ‘grower’s Champagne’ continues to be extremely well written-up in press reviews but, more importantly, has won over an increasingly large band of supporters in the past fifteen years. These are extremely elegant wines that have undergone a surprisingly long bottle-ageing process that gives them a roundness not often found at this level. The Gremillet family own some prime-site vineyards in the Aube département and their impeccable cellars are situated in the village of Balnot-sur-Laignes, about 50km. to the south-east of Troyes. The Brut Réserve has a firm structure with a lovely soft, toasty fruit and pale straw colour. FISH/SMOKED FISH/APERITIF ..................................................................................................................................................................