France

Across its many regions, French wine is shaped by place first — soil, season and time guiding each bottle long before technique or trend. This way of working has influenced how the world understands wine, favouring balance, restraint, and character over immediacy.

Spend time with French wine and a familiar question tends to surface naturally: is French wine the best? For many, it becomes the reference point; not because it outshines everything else, but because it teaches you how to notice vintage, variation, and the value of patience.

That perspective also explains why French wine prices fluctuate. Weather shifts, harvests vary, and many vineyards work with naturally limited yields. Some wines are made in generous quantities for early enjoyment, others in smaller volumes that reflect time, scarcity, and reputation. Value here is not manufactured; it emerges from circumstance.

When exploring French wine, it helps to think in intent rather than labels:

• Made for drinking now: These are wines that feel ready the moment they’re opened. They tend to be fresh, balanced and expressive, often from recent vintages, with nothing to wait for and nothing to wrestle with.

• Comfortable now, better with time: Wines that already feel complete, but hint they’ll grow into themselves. There is enough structure or freshness to carry them forward, without needing a long stay in the cellar.

• Built for the cellar: These don’t rush. They often feel more reserved at first, with firmer structure and layers that take their time to show up. If a wine feels like it is holding something back, it usually is.

• Chosen for gifting: Confident, familiar and quietly impressive. Think classic French wine regions, well-judged vintages and styles that feel thoughtful without trying to be rare for the sake of it.

Within these styles, French red wine offers some of the clearest expressions of this approach, particularly in regions such as Bourgogne, where wines evolve quietly in the glass, revealing detail and texture rather than intensity.