Very deep purple. Cherry and blueberry aromas. Vital, pure blackcurrant mouthful, with even a suggestion of blackcurrant leaf. Textured, earthy and spicy. Ripe tannins and a spine of crunchy acid. Mineral thread. Really impressive. "It's wonderfully bright and aromatic, with notes of raspberry and red cherry, good texture, lightweight tannins and old vine concentration, with sappy acidity and a refreshing finish. It should keep for a year or two, too." Tim Atkin’s Wine of the Week on his website (www.timatkin.com) on the 13th June. Now-2013

Product Code: LAG309

This well-priced favourite, which often wins a Coup de Coeur in the Guide Hachette, was bottled too late for us to ship last summer. Regnié is the southernmost of the Cru Villages, and the last to be elevated to that status in 1988.

This is a typical French family-owned estate, now in the sixth generation of vignerons, with all the benefits that bestows: a sense of tradition, and a priceless inheritance of old vines, which were largely planted either 58 or around 100 years ago. Gerard Lagneau is quiet, with a weather-beaten face and broad smile: he prefers to be out among the vines. The energetic Jeannine runs the place. They really work hard here: the vineyards are grassed and carefully tended; and all their grapes are handpicked, usually later than all their neighbours, to ensure quality and full ripeness. Vinification is all carbonic maceration.