Wirth Michel Champagne Extra Brut Origines NV NO20230816 and granite-driven Atlantic-cooled vineyards above

and granite-driven Atlantic-cooled vineyards above the Miño in A Cova

Kavalan's flagship bottling - a must try if you're looking for an introduction to the style of the distillery

while ripe banana sweetness balances crisp acidity

co-ferments Syrah with a healthy dose of Muscat over a quick three-day maceration

Blue Gin is spicy

Wirth Michel Champagne Extra Brut Origines NV NO20230816 and granite-driven Atlantic-cooled vineyards aboveMeunier usually gets treated as Champagne's third wheel the workhorse blended in for flesh, rarely credited. The Wirth family, five generations deep in the Coteaux Sud d'pernay villages of Vinay, Moussy and Brugny, build their house wine around it instead: 70% Meunier to 30% Chardonnay, farmed organically, fermented partly in 600 liter barrel with reserve wine held in concrete. Twenty six months on the lees give it depth, and a dosage of just 2 grams