Les Frères DutruyGamaret Grande Réserve, Les Romaines 2023

This is the bottle you reach for when the evening calls for something with backbone, a dinner where the meat course matters as much as the conversation. Les Frères Dutruy built this Gamaret to last, and you can feel that ambition in the glass.

Dark cherry colour, deep and intense. On the nose, ripe blackcurrant and blackberry mingle with licorice, spice and a touch of leather. The tannins are firm and generous, giving real volume in the mouth, while the oak stays in the background, just enough to frame the fruit.

Pour it with a lamb shank or a venison stew, where the tannins find something to grip onto, and decant it for an hour before serving at 16-18°C.