Had a couple of lovely bottles on Thursday night at St Swithins Wine Shippers. It’s a wine bar and retail shop in the City of London, and it has a nice list. It’s not a natural, totally geeky place, but it has a really well chosen list with some good things on it. You can drink any of the wine shop wines in the bar for a £10 corkage fee, which is very generous. And there are 48 wines on enomatic, and you can have these in three different serving sizes. This makes it a good destination for a nice wine-fuelled evening out. There’s a limited but nice food menu, too (the food comes from sister restaurant The Sign of the Don, over the street). We were looked after very well by Corey Evans, who runs the wine shop here.

Maison Nicolas Perrin Crozes-Hermitage 2013 Northern Rhone, France
A collaboration between Nicolas Jaboulet and the Perrin family. Very fresh, juicy and bright with red cherry and raspberry fruit, as well as a bit of pepper. Very fresh, pure and supple with nice grip. This is bright and drinkable, and the essence of Northern Rhone Syrah. 93/100

Catherine & Pierre Breton Chinon Beaumont 2013 Loire, France
This Cabernet Franc is the epitome of a smashable wine. It’s fresh, juicy and crisp with lovely raspberry fruit. Crunchy berry fruits define the palate, with lovely purity and nice acidity. Supple and drinkable. 92/100

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