A smorgasbord of singlularly sumptuous stunners, some from Spain :

Naire Verdejo 2008 £6.99 – crisp and refreshing verdejo, a bit like a more weighty sauvignon blanc

·         Ultreia 2007 £11.49 – a new wave wine from Bierzo, an up and coming area in northern Spain. Made from Mencia would you believe. Red fruits and medium bodied with lovely freshness.

·         Zorzal £8.99 – a 100% Graciano (one of the Rioja grapes) from Navarra. Lovely perfume and easy going. Sounds like a baddie in a superhero film.

·         Vina Marro Rioja Vendimmia Seleccionada £9.49 – really well made young rioja that won’t break the bank.

·         Chapoutier’s wonderful new Cotes de Roussillon Villages wine called Bila Haut. Rich, full and spicy and only £8.99

·         Turkey Flat Rosé £10.99 – arguably the new worlds best rosé

·         Francis Ford Coppolla Director’s Cut Pinot Noir £17.99– quite a voluptuous style of pinot but not at all overblown.

·         Chapoutier Les Granits St Joseph 2004 £29.99. This is really really lovely, and easily the most affordable of Chapoutier’s top wines.

·         de Sales pomerol 2001 75 cl £24.99 – lovely vintage on the right bank, and classically styled.

Strange and startling sippers to surprise and satisfy

Cotat Sancerre Chavignol Les Monts Damnees 1986 £54.99. So you reckon Sancerre isn’t made for ageing then?

·         Chateau Grillet 1982 £49.99 and Chateau Grillet 1984 £49.99. And what about Viognier then? Eh?

·         Altico 2006 £11.99– a modern new wave wine from Jumilla. Whats so strange about that then? Its made from Syrah, not Monastrell. A first for us.

·         Pesquera Tinto 1985 £49.99– I think this is the very first vintage of Pesquera and is certainly the one that made it famous. This wine is really lovely, almost a combination of mature rioja and mature Bordeaux.

·         Antonio de la Vega Oloroso Vintage 1830 £135 half bottle. Must be just about mature by now I’d think

·         Antonio de la Vega Oloroso Viejissimo £79.99 half bottle. Looks about the same age as the vintage 1830, but from a solera rather than single vintage. The word viejissimo seems to suggest some age too when bottled.

·         11 new(!?) wines from 1966 mostly in case quantities – Leoville Barton £140, Leoville Poyferré £120, Canon La Gaffaliere £69.99, La Gaffaliere £69.99, Pichon Baron £120, Gombaude Guillot (pomerol) £69.99, Calon Segur £94.99, Beau Site £69.99, Talbot £100, La Tour du Pin Figeac £69.99, and last but by no means least and in immaculate condition, Chateau Palmer 1966 £320, the best wine I have had from the vintage, and at a much lower price than we previously had it (the credit crunch has some advantages!)

·         3 new wines from the Massandra Collection, the Crimean dessert wine paradise: Gurzuf Rose Muscat 1937 £89.99, Suroszh White Port 1960 £69.99, and South Coast Cahors 1957 £99.99.

·         Le Vieux Porche Marcillac Lairis 2006 £10.99. As if one Marcillac was enough, we now have another in a younger, less farmyard style.

·         Pierre Ponnelle Bonnes Mares 1969 £120 and 1970 £75

·         And a collection of Vin Doux Naturels from birthday vintages – are you as fresh and fruity as these are?

·         Rivesaltes, Baxas d'Agly 1969 £69.99

·         Banyuls Grand Cru, Domaines et Terroirs du Sud 1959 £79.99

·         Rivesaltes, Amédée de Besombes Singla 1949 £99.99

·         Lindemans Bin 8200 Reserve Shiraz 1991 (!) £29.99 – really good, and unusual to see at this age

·         CDP Reserve du Celestins, Domaine Henri Bonneau 2001  £300 (ouch)