Six-Pack · Brilliant on a Budget · Virtual Pop-Up Shop 2026
The Dinner Party
(Nobody Needs to Know)
For when the company is excellent and the wallet is sensible
A dinner party that travels — from Champagne to Bordeaux, Bordeaux again, the Rhône Valley, the southern Rhône, and finally to the Douro for a Tawny that makes the whole evening feel like it was planned this way all along.
Six bottles that prove thoughtful selection beats extravagant spending every time. Proper Champagne, a white Bordeaux of rare charm, a Saint-Émilion that punches well above its fee, a Ventoux that surprises, a Châteauneuf with genuine gravitas, and a 20 Year Old Tawny that is one of the most versatile and underrated endings in wine. Nobody needs to know what any of this cost. They just need to know it was delicious.
The Bottles — Open in Order
Deutz Brut Classic NV 750mL
Champagne · Non-Vintage · Deutz · Aperitif
The welcome. Proper Champagne at a price that doesn’t require an apology.
Deutz is one of Champagne’s most elegant and consistently excellent houses — refined and precise, with fine bubbles, white pear, fresh brioche and a clean, dry finish that sets exactly the right tone. Pour it generously before anyone sits down. It asks nothing of the evening except that it be allowed to begin it properly.
Château Bastor-Lamontagne 2022 Bordeaux Blanc B
Bordeaux Blanc · Sauvignon Blanc & Sémillon · 2022 · Château Bastor-Lamontagne · First course
The quiet charmer — white Bordeaux from a celebrated Sauternes estate.
Château Bastor-Lamontagne is best known for its Sauternes, which means their dry white Bordeaux arrives with a pedigree that its modest price entirely fails to suggest. Crisp Sauvignon Blanc lifted with the texture of Sémillon — citrus zest, white flowers and a freshness that bridges the Champagne beautifully and sets up the reds that follow. The most versatile bottle in the pack and the one that works hardest without demanding any credit for it.
Château la Chapelle 2020 Saint-Émilion
Saint-Émilion · Merlot-dominant · 2020 · Second course
The red opener — plush, approachable and deeply satisfying.
The 2020 Saint-Émilion vintage was generous and warm, and La Chapelle caught every bit of it. Dark cherry, a whisper of cedar and a velvety Merlot texture that makes it the ideal bridge from the whites into the more serious reds that follow. Pour it early in the main course, when appetites are up and the conversation has found its rhythm. It will not disappoint.
Château Pesquié 2017 Quintessence Rouge
Ventoux · Grenache & Syrah · 2017 · Château Pesquié · Main course
The discovery — the one that makes people ask where Ventoux actually is.
Mont Ventoux casts a long shadow, and Château Pesquié farms in it beautifully. The Quintessence is their flagship — a serious, structured Grenache-Syrah blend with dark fruit, garrigue, a mineral backbone from the mountain soils, and the kind of complexity that makes guests put down their forks and pay attention. The 2017 is in an excellent place right now: open, expressive, generous. Pair it with the main course and let it do what Ventoux does when a skilled producer takes it seriously.
Domaine LaFond 2010 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge
Châteauneuf-du-Pape · Grenache blend · 2010 · Domaine LaFond · Cheese course
Fifteen years old and exactly where it should be.
The 2010 Châteauneuf vintage is widely considered one of the finest of the modern era — concentrated, structured, built for the long haul — and Domaine LaFond made the most of every bit of it. Fifteen years of bottle age has transformed its youthful power into something more composed and complex: dried cherry, leather, warm garrigue, iron and a finish that lingers well past polite company. Serve it with the cheese board, or simply let it close the savoury chapter of the evening on its own terms. It has plenty to say.
Taylor Fladgate 20 Year Old Tawny
Douro · Aged Tawny Port · Taylor Fladgate · Two decades in oak · Dessert & beyond
The elegant closer — nutty, complex and completely irresistible.
Twenty years in small oak casks has transformed this Tawny into something of rare elegance — amber in the glass, with a bouquet of roasted hazelnuts, dried apricot, toffee, orange peel and a gentle sweetness that is sophisticated rather than cloying. Where a Vintage Port commands attention, a great Tawny invites conversation. Pour it slightly chilled, linger over it, and let it do what it does best: make the end of a very good evening feel unhurried, warm and entirely worth repeating.
What’s included
Deutz Brut Classic NV 750mL
Château Bastor-Lamontagne 2022 Bordeaux Blanc B
Château la Chapelle 2020 Saint-Émilion
Château Pesquié 2017 Quintessence Rouge
Domaine LaFond 2010 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge
Taylor Fladgate 20 Year Old Tawny
Pick-up available Fri–Sun · Serve the Tawny lightly chilled
Six bottles. One evening. Nobody needs to know a thing.