1. Franz Haas Pinot Grigio 2020, IGT Vignetti delle Dolomiti, Italy (13%), VINVM, £14.20

Medium yellow, a touch of richness and honey on the palate with balanced acidity – a favourite on the night

2. Gasper Pinot Grigio/Sivi Pinot 2021, Brda, Slovenia (13.5%), VINVM, £13.65

Very pale, slight pinkish (cf. PG skin colour), nicely mineral on palate but more floral a less rich than previous, maybe just lacking something

3. Kumeu River Estate Pinot Gris, Auckland, New Zealand (14%), VINVM, £13.90

Pinkish-gold, nose quite shy with just a touch of bottle-stink, full and a ouch sweet on the palate with hints of flint and smoke. Wild yeast ferment, made by a Master of Wine. For an NZ PG, maybe just a little bit disappointing

4. Joseph Cattin Grand Cru Hatschbourg Pinot Gris 2018 (13.5%), The Wine Society, £13.80

Golden, PG is third most planted variety in Alsace (after Riesling and Gewurtz). Very rich and on the definite sweet side, ever so slightly “woody” feel. Typical of the Alsace style

5. Spice Route Bushvine Mourvèdre 2019, Swartland, South Africa (14.5%) , VINVM, £15.20

Mourvedre originated in Valencia; this winewih balck fruit on the palate and a very savoury finish, just a touch bitter, aged 20% in quevri and 89% in barrel. Maybe a little one-dimensional but really good structure. Favourite red of the night.

6. Teusner The Dog Strangler Mataro 2019, Barossa Valley, Australia (14.5%), VINVM, £18.35

Unmistakable Barossa nose, vanilla and cigar-box but again with that characteristic savoury finish. Long and big on the palate, aged in old French oak, bit young, needs some bottle age to calm down.

7. Domaine Dupuy de Lôme Bandol 2019, Provence, France (14%), The Wine Society, £19.00

Lovely nose, gorgeous palate with 10% Grenache giving excellent balance to the blend, aged in olkd oak for 18 months and has a long way to go, be good to see how this ages as the tannins soften. CJ’s favourite!

8. Pepe Mendoza El Veneno Monastrell 2019, Alicante, Spain (14%), The Wine Society, £22.00

Unusually fragrant on the nose and palate, finishes relatively sweet which is also unusual. Not so big, almost gentle and certainly fresh, diametric opposite of the Teusner. Aged 12 months in old French oak, a charming wine on the lighter side of Mourvedre