Fine Wines of the World Box
What better way to broaden your wine horizons than a trip around the world!
In this box, we’ve selected four wines representing some of the best the world has to offer. Classic grape varieties grown in unexpected regions: the combination promises to be exciting!
🍷 Please note: wines or vintages may change depending on availability from our partner winemakers. We’ll update this page accordingly!
Château Musar Jeune Rouge
- Winery and wine: Château Musar, Jeune Rouge
- Appellation: Bekaa Valley
- Region: Lebanon, Jounieh, Bekaa Valley
- Grape varieties: Cinsault 50%, Syrah 30%, Cabernet Sauvignon 20%
- Vintage: 2020
- Colour: Red - Ruby red with flowing legs
- Colour intensity: Deeply coloured
The nose is very appealing, with fresh fruit, blackcurrant, redcurrant and a hint of delicate spice.
- Body: 5/6 - Powerful
- Tannins: 3/6 - Balanced
- Sweetness: 2/6 - Dry
- Acidity: 3/6 - Fresh
- Alcohol: 6/6 - Generous (14.5%)
- Finish: 4/6 - Fairly long (7–8 sec)
Round and rich with fruit on the palate (wild strawberries, red berries...), firm tannins that meld beautifully and a supple finish that brings everything together.
A wine to pair with charcuterie, red meat, poultry, game, mushroom dishes, barbecued food and spicy Asian dishes.
Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc
- Winery and wine: Villa Maria Estate, Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc
- Appellation: Marlborough
- Region: New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough, Wairau and Awatere Valleys
- Grape variety: Sauvignon Blanc
- Vintage: 2022
- Colour: White - A beautiful straw-yellow colour.
- Colour intensity: Beautiful, bright highlights.
The aromas shaped by Awatere’s cool climate leap from the glass: lemongrass, jalapeño pepper and fresh herbs. Young, fresh notes that are almost vibrant.
- Body: 2/6 - Supple
- Tannins: 0/6 - None
- Sweetness: 2/6 - Medium-dry
- Acidity: 5/6 - Sharp
- Alcohol: 3/6 - Subtle (13.5%)
- Finish: 3/6 - Elegant (4 sec)
Juicy on the palate, with notes of invigorating grapefruit, lime zest and makrut lime. A lovely long finish. A perfect aperitif wine, served chilled on hot summer days.
The fresh herbal flavours pair well with most salads, while the riper tropical flavours go well with many fish dishes. The chef’s tip: this wine will subtly enhance steamed mussels with lemongrass and chilli...
Ernst Gouws & Co
- Winery and wine: Ernst Gouws & Co, Chenin Blanc
- Appellation: Stellenbosch
- Region: South Africa, Western Cape, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch
- Grape variety: 100% Chenin
- Vintage: 2022
- Colour: White - Straw-coloured with green highlights.
- Colour intensity: Bright and luminous.
The nose has a chalky character, with notes of juicy pear, subtle tart touches and intense citrus aromas.
- Body: 2/6 - Light
- Tannins: 0/6 - None
- Sweetness: 0/6 - Very dry
- Acidity: 5/6 - Very fresh
- Alcohol: 2/6 - Subtle (12.5%)
- Finish: 2/6 - Delicate (4 sec)
A wine that wins everyone over with its burst of fruit on the nose and palate.
It strikes an ideal balance between concentration, finesse and freshness. The lively, invigorating character of this dry Chenin Blanc is an absolute delight!
Its finesse makes it lovely as an aperitif, with white meat (chicken with mushrooms, guinea fowl...) or delicious fresh cheeses.
Hacienda Araucano - Clo de Lolol
- Winery and wine: Hacienda Araucano, Clo de Lolol
- Appellation: Colchagua
- Region: Chile, Central Valley, Rapel Valley, Colchagua Valley
- Grape varieties: Syrah 35%, Carménère 25%, Cabernet Franc 20%, Cabernet Sauvignon 15% and Petit Verdot 5%
- Vintage: 2020
- Colour: Red - Deep, bright red with purple highlights.
- Colour intensity: Deep and fairly intense.
The nose is fresh and elegant, with notes of black fruit jam and tobacco, as well as spices such as cinnamon and clove.
- Body: 4/6 - Full-bodied
- Tannins: 4/6 - Firm
- Sweetness: 0/6 - Very dry
- Acidity: 3/6 - Fresh
- Alcohol: 4/6 - Warming (14.5%)
- Finish: 6/6 - Very long (>10 sec)
This wine reveals itself in stages, bringing out the complexity of the blend, with background notes of leather, white pepper and liquorice. Its aromatic power brings everything into balance and reflects the elegance of the Lolol Valley.
This well-balanced wine pairs well with game in a wine sauce or barbecued red meat...
Calculate your score:
You love wine, but wine doesn’t love you back. However much you sniff corks for possible faults, all you can smell is cork. You look but see nothing, sniff but smell nothing, swish 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!
You’re certainly keen to become a true master of wine tasting; what you need is practice. You aspire to be a sommelier, no doubt about it, but your senses aren’t quite sharp enough yet and all wines taste much the same. But don’t despair: if Bach could become a musical virtuoso despite being deaf, there’s hope that one day you’ll tell a Chardonnay from a Champagne. Train your nose and your taste buds — that’s what counts!
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: you’re curious about everything and fearlessly hack your way through the wine jungle. You make mistakes, get lost and fall down, but you always get back up. You have the enthusiasm of a budding wine expert: don’t despair, you’re on the right wine trail!
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 pick out subtle notes of yuzu at the end of the second sniff of an obscure little wine with pronounced minerality, but you know for certain what you like and what you don’t. And that’s already a lot!
The precision of your tasting is almost witchcraft. You’d think you fell 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 with bottles, to say the least… You’re not far from absolute mastery!
You’re the Mozart of wine tasting, the Picasso of the Pomerol cellars, the Einstein of pairing aged Savagnin with 36-month-matured Comté and a sprinkling of salt! You can tell Mourvèdre from Tannat at a glance. Your senses have reached godlike 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 taste wine, you write its destiny.
The connoisseur’s corner
In wine terminology, Old World wines are those produced in traditional wine-growing regions such as Europe and the Middle East.
Wine production in the New World, including the Americas and Africa, is more recent. Can you work out which category each of the four wines in this box belongs to?