Excellent 2018 red from star winemaker Romain Duvernay in Châteauneuf-du-Pape: a snip at £119 per 12 bottles delivered: currently unavailable

The Romain Duvernay 2018 is a really lovely Côtes-du-Rhône—a cracking wine at an unbelievably good price through the Club. Made from Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre grapes from 35-year-old vines, it has a palate of blackberries and forest fruits, aromas of liquorice and subtle hints of nutmeg, with soft tannins. It is a quality wine—particularly at this cracking 12-bottle case price of £119 delivered.

The Duvernay family founded their négociant business in 1904, becoming one of the most reliable and well-known in the Rhône, supplying the best part of the base wine for many famous producers, including Etienne Guigal. Based at Châteauneuf-du-Pape with his father Roland, Romain Duvernay decided a few years ago that the quality of his fruit was so good that he would rather keep the best parcels and produce wine under his own label. It was a wise move—Romain is known as one of the finest palates of the region by his peers—and his wines bear witness to that.