The first day is now behind us for the 18th annual '100 Best Champagnes' ranking,, a joint project by Tastingbook and FINE Champagne Magazine, highlighted exceptional vintage and prestige cuvées. Top accolades today went to the Dom Pérignon 2017 and Salon Cuvée 'S' Le Mesnil Blanc de Blancs 2015, both achieving 98 points. The tasting showcased the evolution of cooler vintages against the warm, solar characteristics of 2015 and 2018, culminating in a definitive selection for the 2026 ranking. With hundreds of Champagnes still left to taste over the coming weeks, the race for the ultimate crown in The 100 Best Champagne 2026 ranking remains wide open!

Château Lafite 2025 / Deep dark ruby garnet, opaque core, violet reflections, delicate edge brightening. Floral touch, delicate roses, dark wild berries, candied violets, delicate licorice, some velour, multi-faceted, inviting bouquet. Juicy, elegant, red cherries, delicate redcurrants, fine, silky tannins, a hint of lime, salty minerality, delicate, full of finesse and long-lasting, sure maturity potential. 99p

Bordeaux 2025 Vintage / Pomerol / Château Trotanoy 2025: 96% Merlot + 4% Cabernet Franc. Tiny yield of 15 hl/ha! What a wine! Everything is fabulous. It’s extraordinarily fragrant and intense on the nose, with wild cherries, blueberries, and blackberries; it's massive on the palate, with an iron-strong backbone, a stupendous midpalate, and a mesmerizingly long finish. It’s not too much, and the wine keeps its balance effortlessly. It’s like there is an extra layer of everything compared to recent vintages. I am speechless! This wine has at least 50 years of life. 100p.

Mount Edelstone 70th Anniversary Tasting 1956-2022

Dom Ruinart Rosé 1988 / “Onionskin-hued cherry red colour. Really powerful toast, spice, meat, and gunflint nose that comes with a charming coffee and cream note. A wild one. Ripe and massive, yet vibrant and super silky. Impressive in 75cl bottle and out-of-this-world in magnum. ”

Tastingbook visited at Monteverro / The 10-member tasting panel from Tastingbook.com recently concluded a follow-up visit to the Monteverro estate in Tuscany to evaluate the winery's latest releases. This was far from the group's first pilgrimage to the property. With every consecutive visit, expectations have naturally heightened as the winery's quality trajectory continues its stratospheric ascent. Once again, the estate delivered an uncompromising masterclass in viticulture.This latest review confirmed that the wines continue to meet high international standards, showing no signs of slowing down.

The flagship red releases—the Monteverro 2020, 2021, and 2022—performed consistently well, with each vintage receiving scores above 96 points. Meanwhile, the newly released white flagship, the Chardonnay 2023, established itself as a highlight of the lineup, securing a strong 98 point rating.

Australian New Releases / Claymore Wines The Fields of Anfield Road 2024 ($75) – When one thinks of Claymore wines, two things come to mind – cracking Clare Valley wines and an unfathomable devotion to the Liverpool Football Club (I guess you can’t have everything). Those who follow the sport will know that the mugsmashers, as they are fondly known, snuck in to win the competition earlier this year. To celebrate that, they have released this Shiraz Cabernet blend and a bottle can be yours for literally just 0.00000025% of what the Club has spent on players in the off-season. 

An inky maroon hue with a purple rim, there are notes of cocoa powder, blackberries, cassis, mocha, cold tea, dried herbs, chocolate and smoked meats. The oak is deftly handled and there is an intriguing saline/iodine notes running through the wine. Good balance and focus, with bright acidity, there is excellent length. It will drink well over the next decade and continue to improve. Those who are not fans of Liverpool are probably hoping that this is a one-off. 93.

Large Coche-Dury tasting and few others: The Corton-Charlemagne 2002 was equally as impressive, but in a more mature way. It was in a perfect spot, on a bridge between youth and wisdom, with extraordinary balance and tension. I think that the 15-20 year mark is a real sweet spot for great vintages of Coche CC. Ooh la la (98).

2025 is another wonderful vintage in Bordeaux. It started off quite well with a warm winter. January was filling up the water reserves in the soil, February and March however were already dry. Some cold spells in the early months of the year delayed budburst, which occurred early April. Ideal conditions in spring promoted the start of flowering at the end of May. Flowering as well as véraison were early and homogeneous therefore contributing to uniform ripening. However fruit set was rather difficult influencing the low yields in 2025. A number of heat waves were putting the vines under stress and resulted in a smaller berry size. The heat waves started as early as June and ended on August 20th only were some rain brought the relief. It was just the right amount to promote further ripening but not causing any fungal danger. The tannins found the time to have their physiological ripeness and harvest date was crucial. In the cellar a careful fermentation and maceration with focus on less extraction and more fruit continued the trend already seen in the last two years. Bordeaux goes back to a more classic style with lower alcohol levels (fort the reds between 12.5% and 13.5% ABV) which show a lot of fruit and freshness and are very appealing at a young stage. But the high values of polyphenols will guarantee an excellent and long lasting evolution over a long time in the bottle. The fruit is absolutely charming and will be able to win the heart of younger consumers but the excellent structure, freshness and promising potential will make this vintage also ideal for collectors. In fact, Bordeaux is back to its roots with elegance and freshness, leaving the 15% ABV wines just a memory in the past. 2025 is a vintage of excellent quality but very little quantity.

Perfect 100 points Graham 80 year old Tawny Port – Only 600 bottles of the 80y old were bottled and the shelf price will be well above 1.000 GBP. For Charles Symington the blending process was very emotional, as his father, Peter Symington, was born in 1944. When turning 80, Peter very much enjoyed this special Port. Dark red colour with intense reflections and a green-gold rim. Gentle and perfectly balanced Douro Bake aromas on the nose with coffee, dried orange and tobacco. Complex, dense herbal notes in the bouquet, chocolate, malt, tobacco leaves and caramel, floral notes and a hint of chocolate and toffee in the background. Incredibly complex notes on the palate. Herbal mix, chocolate, tea, malt, honey, tobacco. Perfectly long, balanced and complex finish with many overlapping layers. A perfect Port! 100

Burgundy’s greatest wines are not built on sheer power, but on tension, texture and the ability to unite intensity with elegance. In this fascinating Montrachet-focused tasting, centered largely around the outstanding 2010 vintage, it was precisely the minerality, freshness and poised structural calm that left the most lasting impression and defined the wines so beautifully. The tasting was completed by a selection of vintage 2009 Pinot treasures from the Côte de Nuits, bringing depth, sensuality and quiet grandeur to the lineup.

Tim Smith Barossa Mataro 2023 / For all the hype, Mataro/Mourvedre from the Barossa is still a grumpy thing. It’s the dark, moody, reductive, fortified grape that helps fill out blends and only enjoyed a solo career in recent years. But Tim Smith has Barossan Mataro sorted. Old vines, old oak, and Tim’s knack for nailing texture means these wines just work. Same again with the Tim Smith Wines Mataro 2023. Sourced from two vineyards, 70 and 140 years old, on the Barossa Valley ‘floor’, and this has that old vine complexity on full show. Cola, ‘Provençal herbs’ as Tim says on the label, and this licoricey black fruit endless depth without a sense of heaviness. Instead, here’s a real medium feel to it – this isn’t an unapproachable dark and heavy thing at all. The palate just sings on through in that cola, dark chocolate and savoury grainy vibe. It’s a hit.