Legendary Wines Box
In this box, we’ve brought together 4 wines from 4 of France’s most iconic appellations. From Bordeaux’s classified growths to Burgundy’s legendary wines, discover a piece of history in every sip.
🍷 Please note: wines or vintages may change depending on availability from our partner winemakers. We’ll update this page accordingly!
Châteauneuf-du-Pape
- Estate and wine: Château de la Gardine, Cuvée des Générations Marie Léoncie
- Appellation: Châteauneuf-du-Pape
- Region: France, Rhône Valley, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
- Grape varieties: 90% Roussanne, 10% Clairette
- Vintage: 2020
- Wine colour: White - Golden-yellow colour with elegant highlights.
- Colour intensity: It has a lovely brightness.
Aromas of candied fruit, cooked, fermented and flambéed banana, caramel, even rum. Opulent and complex notes of dried fruit, gingerbread, honey and white flowers are wrapped in vanilla and incense.
- Body: 4/6 - Full-bodied
- Tannins: 0/6 - None
- Sweetness: 1/6 - Dry
- Acidity: 2/6 - Soft
- Alcohol: 4/6 - Warming (14%)
- Finish: 2/6 - Rather short (3–4 sec)
This white wine has the power and refinement of the finest white Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines, with floral aromas (jasmine, acacia, lime blossom) alongside notes of fruit (apricot, peach, melon) and almonds. It has the roundness and rich, buttery character of exceptional white wines. A slightly honeyed finish. A delight for the taste buds.
Oily fish and shellfish such as salmon, king prawns and lobster... Scrambled eggs with truffles, curry, tagine, foie gras. Roquefort, Gorgonzola.
Desserts made with yellow or white fruit, tarte Tatin, poached pears.
Gevrey-Chambertin
- Estate and wine: Maison André Goichot, Gevrey-Chambertin
- Appellation: Gevrey-Chambertin
- Region: France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin
- Grape varieties: 100% Pinot Noir
- Vintage: 2019
- Wine colour: Red - In its youth, it shines a vivid ruby, deepening with age to dark carmine and black cherry.
- Colour intensity: A bright wine with lovely intensity.
Strawberry, blackberry, violet, mignonette and rose are among its youthful aromas, while maturity will bring a bouquet of liquorice, leather and fur, with hints of game and woodland undergrowth.
- Body: 4/6 - Full-bodied
- Tannins: 3/6 - Silky
- Sweetness: 0/6 - Very dry
- Acidity: 4/6 - Lively
- Alcohol: 3/6 - Generous (13%)
- Finish: 2/6 - Rather short (3–4 sec)
Powerful yet velvety, its tannins give it a firm, robust structure and excellent ageing potential.
A wine for meat lovers, our Gevrey-Chambertin pairs beautifully with game, rib of beef, braised lamb or lamb in sauce. It also goes well with all characterful cow’s milk cheeses.
Saint-Émilion Grand Cru
- Estate and wine: Château Grand Corbin-Despagne
- Appellation: Saint-Émilion Grand Cru
- Region: France, Bordeaux, Libourne, Saint-Émilion
- Grape varieties: 75% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Franc, 1% Cabernet Sauvignon
- Vintage: 2018
- Wine colour: Red - Dark, almost black colour with garnet highlights.
- Colour intensity: Intense, deep black.
An intense nose with lovely notes of red and black fruit and a rich range of spices from harmonious oak ageing.
- Body: 5/6 - Full-bodied
- Tannins: 4/6 - Firm
- Sweetness: 0/6 - Very dry
- Acidity: 4/6 - Sharp
- Alcohol: 6/6 - Warming (14.8%)
- Finish: 5/6 - Long (9–10 sec)
Subtle and refined on the palate, with a lovely texture from its smooth tannins. A beautiful finish with peppery and vanilla spice notes. Excellent ageing potential: 4 to 15 years.
Red meats, dishes in sauce, strong goat’s and cow’s milk cheeses, coffee or chocolate desserts
Sauternes
- Estate and wine: Château d'Arche, Sauternes
- Appellation: Sauternes Grand Cru Classé
- Region: France, Bordeaux, Sauternes
- Grape varieties: 90% Sémillon, 10% Sauvignon
- Vintage: 2011
- Wine colour: Gold - Golden-yellow colour with gold highlights.
- Colour intensity: Bright and luminous.
An expressive nose with aromas of white fruit (pear, apple) and floral notes. Hints of honey and candied fruit.
- Body: 5/6 - Powerful
- Tannins: 0/6 - None
- Sweetness: 6/6 - Lusciously sweet
- Acidity: 5/6 - Sharp
- Alcohol: 4/6 - Warming (14%)
- Finish: 6/6 - Very long (>10 sec)
On the palate, the attack is fresh and mellow, confirming a lovely balance. Notes of candied orange and apricot jam are accompanied by subtle smoky hints.
Foie gras, strong cheeses (Munster, Maroilles, blue cheese), bitter dark chocolate mousse...
Calculate your score:
You love wine, but wine doesn’t love you back. No matter how much you sniff corks for faults, all you can smell is cork. You look but see nothing, sniff but smell nothing, slurp but taste nothing… Is rosé a blend of red and white? There’s still a long way to go, but with practice and plenty of tasting, you’ll get there!
It’s not the desire to become a true tasting expert you lack — it’s practice. You clearly aspire to be a sommelier, but your senses aren’t quite sharp enough yet and all wines taste much the same. Don’t despair, though: if Bach could become a musical virtuoso despite being deaf, there’s hope that one day you’ll be able to tell a Chardonnay from a Champagne. Put your nose and taste buds to work — practice makes perfect!
Perhaps you spend too much time deciphering the label and not enough analysing what’s in your INAO tasting glass. But you have a taste for adventure: curious about everything, you fearlessly hack your way through the jungle of vines. You make mistakes, lose your way and stumble, but you always get back up. You have all the enthusiasm of a budding wine expert: don’t despair, you’re on the right wine route!
You’re an initiate of the order of fine bottles. You may not yet be a grand master of wine tasting, but you have the discipline and curiosity to get there. You might not yet detect subtle notes of yuzu at the end of the second sniff of an obscure little wine with pronounced minerality, but you know exactly what you like and what you don’t — and that’s already a lot!
Your tasting precision borders on witchcraft. You must have fallen into an oak barrel as a child! You’re simply a master of wine tasting, well versed in the most advanced techniques, with senses as sharp as a professional sommelier’s. You’ve certainly got plenty of experience under your belt… The path to absolute greatness is now within reach!
You’re the Mozart of wine tasting, the Picasso of the cellars of Pomerol, the Einstein of pairing aged Savagnin with Comté matured for 36 months and a sprinkling of salt! At a glance, you can tell Mourvèdre from Tannat. Your senses have reached divine heights: you can pick out the most unexpected aromas in any bottle within seconds. You’ve crossed over to the other side: you no longer just taste wine, you write its destiny.
The connoisseurs’ corner
The 1855 Classification is the most famous of all French wine classifications. In 1855, for the Paris Universal Exhibition, Napoleon III requested a classification of Bordeaux wines.
More than 160 years later, the 1855 Classification has changed only twice and remains a benchmark despite considerable criticism.