Sampler Selection Case of 12

Solar Viejo Crianza

Vintage: 2009

Delicious cranberry and warm spice aromas meet with bright cherry fruit and a touch of creamy-smooth raspberry on the palate. Brisk tannins give a bracing structure to this red but sit very separately from the rich red fruit characters. This is good, complex, classic Rioja with plenty of charm and fruity presence.

About this bottle: José Antonia Montilla is passionate about his country's rich winemaking history and has also experienced his winemaking art in both north and south hemispheres - in three continents. This has given him invaluable international experience. For these Tempranillo grapes he chooses a warm, 28˚C, fermentation for three weeks followed by a year in French and American oak barrels to add smoothness, richness and depth.

Vionta Albarino Rias Baixas

Vintage: 2012

This is a butter-yellow Albariño with tantalising sweet lychee and lime aromas. It's fresh, clean and minerally on the palate with buttery smoothness and a toffee/caramel finish. This delicious white wine is simply bursting with fragrant fruit and Spanish sunshine.

About this bottle: From one of the largest Albariño vineyards in Spain (about 80 acres) in the humid heart of Galicia, this classic white wine is made by charismatic winemaker Adolfo Heredia. Its scarcity and low yield, with tiny grape clusters and small berries, make Albariño a most treasured grape variety. It requires great dedication to grow and to vinify, and Adolfo's attention to detail pays off in this wine. Its natural tangy fruitiness needs no oak embellishment.

Château Mirefleurs Bordeaux

Vintage: 2009

Rich, fragrant Bordeaux bursting with blackcurrant aromas and notes of leather and spice. A twist of dark prune, pencil-lead and liquorice adds a bracing mineral edge that keeps this wine tongue-tinglingly fascinating. And an ever-present weight of cherry and blackberry ensures this red is not only statuesque but generously fruity too.

About this bottle: Made by ambitious young winemaker Paul-Henri Parlange, who aims for depth and concentration in his wines, with rich roasted flavours. This burly claret sees oak casks for maturation and a majority focus (over 75%) on the Merlot grape. Château Mirefleurs is in Yvrac, a small hamlet on the edge of Bordeaux.

Masi Bardolino

Vintage: 2011

This is a vibrant strawberry and spice-filled red wine with tempting cherry aromas and layers of tantalising dried fruit flavour. Light and lively on the palate, it's packed with brisk fresh fruit and tangy red-apple acidity. Well-integrated light tannins give gentle structure and are followed by a touch of star anise on the finish.

About this bottle: This light-bodied red is made with traditional Veronese grape varieties - Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara - grown close to the shores of Lake Garda, where gentle lake breezes and north Italian sunshine promote the perfect ripening and poised aromatics of this wine. It has been aged in Slavonian oak barrels for three months to add extra richness and nutty complexity.

Il Doge Gavi

Vintage: 2012

Pale lemon in colour, with a delightful light spritz. This elegant white has a fragrant floral, tangerine and peach aroma. The palate is a serious combination of soft fruit and minerality. Much richer than many Italian whites, this Gavi has several layers of flavour, it is a real mouthful but at the same time very graceful.

About this bottle: The Broglia Estate is one of the oldest in Gavi with records of vineyards going back a thousand years. Gavi is a commune in the Piedmont region, with beautiful rolling hills full of sunflowers and vines. Piero Broglia is a specialist in white wines and with forty years experience, he really understands the local Cortese grape variety which is the single grape allowed in Gavi. The wines are unoaked allowing the fruit of the grapes, combined with the mineral element imparted by the terroir, to shine through.

Les Tannes Chardonnay

Vintage: 2012

This Languedoc is luminescent mid-gold colour with a discreet, herbal, spicy nose. Rich and complex on the attack, it has almost Burgundian characters. Its mineral elegance and lovely fruit acid balance make for a weighty white wine with serious gravitas.

About this bottle: The Mas family have owned vineyards here in the Languedoc since 1892. Today Jean-Claude Mas is at the helm and he prides himself on creating wines that are both affordable and luxurious. Les Tannes vineyard is situated in Montagnac and benefits from a privileged setting between the Hérault Valley and the Mediterranean coast. This attractive Chardonnay reaps the benefit of mild Mediterranean breezes, deep organic clay-limestone soils, and herby garrigue and pine-strewn.