What is your most memorable wine experience?

Wine combines many factors; climate, culture, geography, geology, history (and more besides!). For me, the most memorable experiences happen when you explore those factors in person. Travelling through the Loire many years ago we stopped in Chinon, tasting many superb wines – but the highlight was picnicking on a beautiful (if chilly) day, at the foot of a vineyard studded with Cabernet Franc vines, with a view of the Forteresse Royale de Chinon to complement the food and wine.

If you could choose any wine from the CV Top 100, what would it be and why?

Being a Cabernet Franc / Bordeaux fan, I will gladly take a Lafleur ’82 and Figeac ’05 to taste two incredible, historic vintages side by side at two very different stages of development.

You’re throwing a dinner party and can invite anyone, dead or alive. Who do you invite and what would be your signature food and wine pairing?

Great wine should be enjoyed with great friends – so I’d simply invite my closest friends (also wine nerds) as special guests and we’d start with a Lucien Le Moine Bâtard Montrachet 2015 alongside smoked eel. Next up, a Corison Kronos Cabernet 2010 to perfectly match a classic Beef Wellington, and finally a Royal Tokaji 6 Puttonyos 2000 to go with cheese.