France

Sur lie means the wine rests on its yeast over winter, which gives Muscadet its texture and faint spritz.

No sugar added at any point, which strips away the softening most Champagne relies on and leaves the fruit and chalk fully exposed.

Gevrey produces the most structured reds in the Cote de Nuits, and even at village level the wines carry weight the rest of Burgundy doesn't.

Lalande sits directly across the stream from Pomerol, on similar ground, at a fraction of the price its neighbour commands.

The second wine of a Third Growth, from younger vines and shorter ageing.

Cornas is the northern Rhone's most uncompromising appellation — pure Syrah on granite, dark and savage in youth.

Jaboulet are one of the Rhone's historic names, and this is a single-estate Syrah in their more modern register.

Mazis sits directly alongside Chambertin itself and is widely held to be the closest in character to it, at a fraction of the price.

Roederer abandoned the idea of a fixed non-vintage blend in favour of numbered releases built on a perpetual reserve, and 242 is one of the earliest.

Grand Cru fruit — the top rung of Champagne's village classification, and rare at this price.

Chardonnay-dominant where most houses lead with Pinot, giving a lighter, more floral register.

Demi-Sec carries noticeably more sugar than Brut, which makes it the one style that genuinely works with dessert rather than fighting it.

Palmer's prestige bottling, drawn from long-aged reserve wines and released in small quantities.

Premier Cru fruit throughout, from a house that has quietly become one of the region's most reliable.

All-Chardonnay Champagne at a price the famous names can't approach.

One of the oldest houses in Champagne and one of the least talked about, which keeps prices honest.

Cote-Rotie is the northern Rhone's steepest and most celebrated hill, terraced so severely it must be worked by hand.

Moulin-a-Vent is the Beaujolais cru that ages, and its Gamay develops in a direction that fools people into guessing Pinot Noir.

High-altitude Chardonnay from the Hautes-Côtes, where cool north-west facing slopes and a wide day-night swing keep the acidity that warm...

Savigny is one of the last genuinely affordable premier cru appellations in the Cote de Beaune.

A second Sancerre grower with a different touch — the same limestone, more texture and weight.

The regional appellation, from a grower who also makes Puligny-Montrachet and Chambertin.

Village Puligny from old vines on limestone, which gives the wine its characteristic tension between richness and cut.

The hills behind the famous slope, higher and cooler, where prices have not yet followed the Cote d'Or.