Unoriginal though it may be, we don’t believe in tinkering with something which is clearly not broken and our French Regional wine selection is a perfect case in point. Almost all of the regional wines we are listing now have been with us since Private Cellar’s inception and whilst we would love to include a pile of new wines, we know from experience that these are the tried and tested favourites. Vintages aside, there is very little change on the South Western front, although we do, of course, continue to try a vast number of interesting sounding – and sometimes somewhat interesting tasting – wines in order to be sure we are offering the best in class.

In the South West, the focus is generally on freshness and pure fruit definition, in both reds and whites, and the cooling influence of the Atlantic plays an important role in that, extending quite some way inland. The Loire region benefits from both the Atlantic influence and its more northerly position resulting in focused, pure wines which talk as much of their terroir as they do the grape varieties. To our mind, this is the spiritual home of Sauvignon Blanc and although there are many different styles around, there is little to top Pouilly Fumé and Sancerre, wines separated by no more than the river yet very different in style. There is no greater test than trying two wines from the same grower where the soil is the only differentiating factor, and the wines from the Dezat family illustrate these differences perfectly. We encourage you to compare them at home and see for yourself.

This is the most diverse section of our Private Cellar Selection in terms of white grape varieties with Ugni Blanc, Colombard, Sauvignon Blanc, Melon de Bourgogne, Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc all represented in just a handful of wines.