Château Tirecul La Graviere Monbazillac 2016

Yes, you can buy a Monbazillac from the supermarket for a tenner, but you won’t buy anything that comes as close to world-class as this for less than a thousand pounds. Ok, that is a slight exaggeration, but this is a stunning bottle of wine. The grapes that produce this botrytis marvel come from one block of vines, halfway up a hill in the vineyard so production is very low. “Just use the top and the bottom too” I hear you cry; alas, the bottom of the hill is too open and the top of the hill is too windy. It’s only in two little pockets where the fog will sit and do its magical thing. This is real microclimate, terroir, conjuring, or whatever you want to call it, in action. We tasted this with Cashel Blue cheese and it was 100% en pointe. Incidentally, the 1995 Madame (their top selection wine) from this estate scored 100 points from Robert Parker.