Jamie Goode's verdict on the Wessman wines

Les Verdots

Château Les Tours des Verdots Blanc 2021 Bergerac Sec

50% Sauvignon Blanc, 35% Semillon, 10% Sauvignon Gris, 5% Muscadelle. Lovely vivid aromatics here: fine spices, grapefruit, a twist of lime and some sweet pear. The palate shows concentration of fruit, with well-integrated oak notes providing a supporting role, and a combination of rich exotic melon, grapefruit and mandarin fruit together with some lively citrus. There’s good supporting acidity, and the overall feel is one of depth, harmony and sophistication. 94/100

Château Les Tours des Verdots Grand Vin Blanc 2020 Bergerac Sec

75% Sauvignon Blanc, 17% Sauvignon Gris, 5% Muscadelle, 3% Semillon. From the oldest vines on the limestone plateau, fermented and aged in new French oak. Powerful pear, melon and spice with some peachy notes, and citrus freshness. There’s a grainy acid line that offsets the bold rich fruit, and the oak is well integrated. Sophisticated and quite powerful, this is a rich dry white showing off the more exotic side of Sauvignon. 93/100

Château Les Tours des Verdots Rouge

2020 Côtes de Bergerac

90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc. Concentrated with a core of sweet blackberry and blackcurrant, and some fine spiciness. Fresh, despite the ripeness, with a lovely juicy quality and some grainy structure, along with bold, sweet fruit. Such precision winemaking, with everything in its place. 94/100

Château Les Tours des Verdots

Grand Vin Rouge 2020 Côtes de Bergerac

50% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. Rich, seductive but also in balance, with concentrated, sweet blackcurrant fruit, as well as notes of sweet plum and cherry. Powerful with some oak in the mix, adding a spicy veneer to the lush fruit. This has a taste of luxury to it, and it’s drinking really well now. 94/100

Nice fresh, concentrated fruit here: some pear and a lively citrus brightness, with a touch of spiciness in the background. Good concentration and refinement – everything in its place with a slight tingle on the finish, giving it vitality. The limestone influence makes itself felt in the keen acid line, and this is a lovely, expressive wine. 91/100

Petit Cernin Blanc 2019 Limoux

Chardonnay vinified in French oak. Ripe and aromatic with a nose of peach, melon and some nutty savouriness. In the mouth, this has concentration, depth and rich nut, honey, peach and pineapple notes, as well as a citrus core that keeps it all fresh. The oak is present but well integrated, and the wine shows brightness as well as a touch of honeycomb development. Stylish stuff. 92/100

Saint-Cernin No 1 2018 Limoux

Chardonnay vinified in French oak. Concentrated and refined, with a lovely citrus core supported by some richer peach and pear notes, as well as fine spicy notes. Oak is perfectly integrated, and there’s a lovely crystalline, mineral edge. It has a lot of freshness for a four-year-old wine, and lovely harmony. Very serious. 94/100

Saint-Cernin Héritage Merlot

Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec 2019 Bergerac

Highly aromatic with red cherry and strawberry, as well as subtle green hints and some spice. In the mouth there’s some freshness with sweet berry fruits, some nice rich texture, and then a bit of spicy structure. Friendly and approachable, but also with some seriousness and a nice savoury twist, this is very stylish. 90/100

Petit Cernin Rouge 2019 Bergerac

60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon from limestone soils. So refined and aromatic with a chalky, gravelly edge to the blackcurrant and cherry fruit. In the mouth this is fresh and layered, with good texture and notes of gravel, spice and sweet berry fruits. There’s freshness and polish here, but there’s also a nice stony, savoury twist adding interest. 93/100

Saint-Cernin No 1 Rouge 2019 Bergerac

SAINT-CERNIN

Saint-Cernin Héritage Sauvignon Blanc

Sémillon 2021 Bergerac Sec 50% Sauvignon Blanc, 45% Semillon and 5% Muscadelle from limestone soils.

60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon. There’s a real concentration to this wine which has ripe, sleek blackcurrant fruit with some cherry notes, as well as nice green hints and some chalk and gravel savouriness. Polished and refined with a hint of liquorice and salinity under the lush fruit. Lovely purity. 94/100

Tasting notes reproduced with permission from Jamie Goode

Gin Hass

Where is the world’s biggest gin festival? No, not Henley. In fact, it’s Copenhagen. The Danes have gone bananas about gin and a new way of drinking it that blows away G&T conventions, though it’s mangos that feature heavily in it, not bananas. The Gin Hass was created in Odense by the freelance bartender Kim Hass, who was so overawed by its popularity that he made Gin his middle name and registered his cocktail as a brand name. He’s also created his own brand of mango syrup as a result, though wide availability makes Monin the brand to head for in the UK.