Top 10 new products

Pol Roger Champagne Tankard

Champagne house Pol Roger has teamed up with John Jenkins Fine Glassware to create a bespoke Champagne tankard inspired by an antique crystal glass dating back to 1785. The Pol Roger Champagne Tankard sees a resurrection of this lost style, handmade by craftsmen at John Jenkins, the royal family’s crystal supplier.

The vessel, which is engraved by hand on the base, serves as a fitting tribute to Pol’s biggest fan, Sir Winston Churchill, who famously drank vintage Pol Roger from a tankard, allegedly consuming 42,000 bottles of the fizz over his lifetime.

The design of the handle, which is thicker at the top and narrower at the base with a small flourish at the lower end, is typical of silver tankards of the early Georgian period. The horizontal “beading” around the body of the tankard is also a design detail taken from tankards of that time.

RRP: £35
CONTACT: Pol Roger UK +44 (0)1432 262 800

Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque 2007

Perfectly timed to mark the start of spring, Perrier-Jouët has launched the 2007 vintage of its prestige cuvée Belle Epoque.

Described by cellar master Hervé Deschamps as “a crystalline vintage whose subtlety and generosity highlight the precision of the Perrier-Jouët style,” according to brand owner Pernod Ricard, the fizz offers “lightness and luminosity” alongside “delicate freshness and elegance”. Viewed by Deschamps as the ultimate expression of the house, hallmarked by the quality of its Côte des Blancs Chardonnay, which imbues the wine with floral notes, the 2007 vintage is a blend of 50% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noirs from Mailly, Verzy and Aÿ, and 5% Pinot Meunier from Dizy.

Aged in the P-J cellars for six years before being disgorged, the wine, bearing Emile Gallé’s famous anemone flower design, is on sale at Harvey Nichols.

RRP: £125.00
CONTACT: Pernod Ricard +44 (0)20 8538 4484

Williams Chase Rosé 2014

Better known for the likes of its Marmalade Vodka and gin made from cider apples, Herefordshire-based Chase Distillery has launched the second vintage of its Provençal rosé onto the market.

Boasting a pretty salmon pink hue, the wine hails from Château Constantin close to the village of Lourmarin in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, which distillery owner William Chase bought three years ago. The 20-hectare site is planted with vines dating back to the ‘60s, with the grapes going into the wine undergoing a 24-hour cold maceration. The 13% abv Williams Chase Rosé 2014 is a blend of equal parts Grenache, Syrah and Cinsault, with the Grenache aged on its lees to give the wine a creamy character.

According to its makers, the wine is “crisp, fresh, fruity and beautifully balanced”, with “stone fruit aromas of white peach, grapefruit, crushed strawberries and herbs”.

RRP: £15
CONTACT: Chase Distillery +44 (0)1432 820 455

Capensis Chardonnay 2013

Based in the Western Cape, Capensis is a joint venture between Jackson Family Wines’ director Barbara Banke and Antony Beck, director of Graham Beck Wines. The duo, who share a passion for horse racing, were keen to show off the quality of the Chardonnays currently coming out of the Cape. Enlisting the help of go-to viticulturalist Rosa Kruger, the winemaking process was overseen by Jackson Family’s head winemaker Graham Weerts.

The debut 2013 vintage hails from three vineyards in the Cape with alluvial and clay soils: Fijnbosch, Kaaimansgat and Overberg. Aged for a year in French oak, the wine boasts aromas of “white peach, red apple, bosch pear, lime and vanilla”. If you sniff very closely, you should also get aromas of “granite dust”. Just 1,000 bottles were made.

RRP: £70
CONTACT: Jackson Family Wines +44 (0)1359 251 570

Fogo do Chão Tinto

A new venture for Port producer Martha’s Wines and marking its first foray into the world of table wines, Fogo de Chão literally means “fire from the earth”, and is named in honour of the heat emitted from the Douro Valley soils during the hot days of the harvest. The red is made from the same grapes the company uses in the production of its Ports: Touriga Nacional, Tinta Barroca, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinto Cao and Tinta Amarela. According to its makers, the wine is “elegant with fruity flavours, fresh aromas and a lingering finish”. It spends six months in American oak before bottling and is recommended as a match for roasted meats and soft cheeses.

CONTACT: Martha’s Wines +351 254 828 095

ABK6 Honey Cognac Liqueur

Sweet-toothed Cognac fans rejoice! A honey-flavoured Cognac by Domaines Francis Abécassis has landed on the market and a buzz is steadily building around it. Housed in an elegant bottle sporting a gold tassel, ABK6 Honey Cognac Liqueur is made with nectar from the Charentes woods in order to stay faithful to the single estate philosophy. Cellarmaster Christian Guérin then blended the aromatic, powerfully flavoured honey into the Cognac during the ageing process.

According to its makers the liquid boasts “elegant and subtle revealing notes of jasmine, violet, honeysuckle, rose petals, spices, candied orange, vanilla wood and toffee”. Guérin recommends drinking it either next, over ice or mixed with lemonade, ginger and lemon zest.

RRP: £21
CONTACT: Domaines Francis Abécassis +33 545 663 572

Grand Marnier Cordon Jaune

Grand Marnier has had a makeover. The orange-flavoured Cognac liqueur, owned by Lapostolle, has revamped its “Cordon Jaune” edition in sunny yellow. The chic new look for its triple sec expression was created by JDO Brand Design & Innovation.

The original Cognac liqueur, made with bitter orange essence, was founded in 1880 by Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle. César Ritz reportedly came up with the name “Grand Marnier” for Marnier-Lapostolle, who in return helped him purchase and establish The Ritz in Paris, where the drink is used as a key ingredient in the making of Crêpes Suzette.

Keen to take its Cordon Jaune brand upmarket and at the same time appeal to younger consumers, the traditional design was revamped for a contemporary audience. “Grand Marnier Cordon Jaune now has a bottle design befitting its iconic status,” said Isabelle Seguin, international group marketing manager for Grand Marnier.

RRP: £26
CONTACT: Diageo +44 (0)20 8978 2749

Les Dauphins village wines

The Rhône producer with one of the prettiest labels in the business, Les Dauphins, has released a trio of single village wines from neighbouring villages in the Côtes du Rhône – Puyméras, Visan and St Maurice. Brand owner Cellier des Dauphins is comprised of 3,000 growers across the southern Rhône, giving it access to parcels of premium fruit from all three villages.

While the names Puyméras, Visan and St Maurice may be unfamiliar to consumers, Cellier des Dauphins hopes that the strength of the Les Dauphins brand will give them the confidence to experiment with the trio. All three are Grenache/Syrah blends boasting the signature blue and red carnival-esque Les Dauphins label.

RRP: £12
CONTACT: Dedicated Wines +44 (0)1235 512 278

The Last Drop 48 Year Old

Rare whisky specialist The Last Drop Distillers has released a 48-year-old blended Scotch boasting “distinguished provenance”.

The 592-bottle release is only the fourth bottling since the company was founded in 2008 by a group of spirits industry veterans. The rarity saw its youngest components laid down in 1965, although many parts of the blend are considerably older, with some of the malt coming from distilleries that have since ceased production. The bottling is drawn from a small batch of the original blend, which was transferred into ex-Bourbon casks 27 years ago and matured in an old warehouse in the Scottish Highlands.

The Scotch, which offers notes of “ripened peaches, pear brandy and toasted oak”, is packaged in a green leather case with cream suede lining and is accompanied by a 50ml miniature. A drawer in the case contains a leather-bound booklet offering space to add tasting notes.

RRP: £2,600
CONTACT: www.lastdropdistillers.com