There is very little in common, vinously, between the east and west of France – soils, climate and even the grape varieties are all totally different, with the continental climate influence stretching all the way from Champagne down to Provence and the Languedoc. White wines tend to be broader and richer, often with some barrel ageing, whilst the reds lean towards more spiced, exotic notes, reflecting the summer heat.

Our Rhône selection is dominated by Château Beauchêne, just outside Châteauneuf du Pape, which is run by the Bernard family. Michel Bernard used to head up the Rhône wine producers generic body so there is little he doesn’t know about the region and its growers; a couple of hours in his company gives you the fast track into the psyche of the area and all that is going on. Their wines are extraordinarily consistent, from their succulent Pavillon du Beauchêne right up to their deeply serious Châteauneuf Vignoble de la Serrière. Every year we send out an early bird Rhône offer with the new season’s releases and our next offer will include the 2017s from Beauchêne as well as several other growers.

Official figures claim that rosé sales have plateaued but that doesn’t seem to be borne out by our experience, which shows that interest in higher quality, more serious rosé is continually on the up. Earlier this year we made a very small offer of an unknown Provence rosé called Mira Luna which sold out almost overnight despite being north of the £20 mark. Made by Tom Bové, the former owner of Château Miraval (aka Château Brangelina), it is worth every penny – and we will offer the 2018 as soon as we are allowed to do so.

And finally, the wines from Domaine de Montmarin in the Côtes de Thongue have featured in every one of our fourteen wine lists. Their Chardonnay and the Domaine Bertier Merlot/Cabernet are members of the Private Cellar family, incredibly consistent and always downright reliably drinkable.