Ordering a bottle of Pétrus during a friendly lunch is tantamount to social suicide. For most of us, choosing a wine during a meal can be a nerve-wracking experience

Too flashy, and you’re over confident, too cheap, and you don’t know what you’re talking about.

But there is a way round it. Slapping a £5,000 bottle of Pétrus on your company card might be obnoxious, but ordering a bottle of wine by the man who makes it shows you’re astute.

And choosing lesser known wines by iconic winemakers has other benefits; you’re getting their expertise without the price tag. It’s a bit like having Pedro Almodovar shoot the video for your Christmas party.

Besides the wines mentioned below, there are a few other tricks worth knowing about. The Wine Society’s own label Exhibition range demonstrates classic varieties from around the world. Dig a little deeper and you find the Exhibition Pauillac is from Rothschild vineyards, The Exhibition Gewurztraminer from Hugel, the Exhibition Zinfandel by South Africa’s leading proponent, François Naudé. A similar approach is being taken by Oriel. They have enlisted ex-Yquem and current Chateau Giraud winemaker, Xavier Planty, to make their Sauternes, and German maestro Bernward Keiper their Riesling. Both are excellent ways to discover that, no matter what the French might say, it’s not just good dirt that makes good wine.

Petrus

WINE MAKER: Jean Claude Berrouet

Try his: Chateau Magdelaine Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classé, 1998 (approx £75).

Accompanied by A succulent lamb

“I could make one of the over-extracted, super concentrated Saint Emilions that score so highly with critics, but for me that would be heresy,” says Jean Claude Berrouet, neatly summing up his approach both to Chateau Magdelaine and winemaking in general.

Engage him in light conversation and he’s witty and warm, but start talking about wine, and he becomes deadly serious; it’s no coincidence that he’s behind some of the world’s most sought after and expensive bottles, from Pétrus to Dominus.

He began making Chateau Magdelaine in 1964, the same year as Pétrus, and just as he concentrated of bringing out the best of Pomerol, he here has created a classic Saint Emilion – expressive, elegant, with silky red fruits.

This is a wine which improves enormously with age, so be patient before opening a bottle, and pair it with lighter meats.

Penfold Grange’s

WINEMAKER: John Duval

Try his: Plexus 2004, Grenache-Shiraz-Mourvedre (approx £20)

Despite their popularity and commercial success, there are only a few New World wines that have real secondary value on the auction circuit.

Penfold’s Grange isn’t just one of them, it’s bought the entire front row. So when John Duval, Penfold’s chief winemaker for 15 years, decides to leave the company and bring out his own range of wines, you would be wise to take them seriously.

Actually, it’s hard not to. With those grapes, coupled with Barossa Valley’s oldest vines and alcohol levels reaching 14.5%, you know you’re in for a roasting. This is confident stuff: intense and thickly fruity, with a tight grip and gorgeous structure. Also in the range is Entity, a 100% Shiraz that blows you clear across the room.

Dr Loosen’s

WINEMAKER: Ernst Loosen

Try his: J L Wolf Jesuitengarten Riesling 2004, (approx £16 - £17)

“Reisling is an intellectual grape and you have to find your style. It’s challenging, and that can be offputting, but for me, it’s the world’s most interesting and rewarding grape. It’s what wine is all about.” When the charismatic Ernst Loosen took over the JL Wolf estate in 1996, it allowed him to make a drier Riesling style than the one he had perfected to such worldwide acclaim in the Mosel. It also allowed him to do away the Pradikat system of labeling that most of Germany follows. This is just gorgeous; deft, clean and fragrant, full of white peach and pear.

Chateau Pavie’s

WINEMAKER: Gerard Perse

Try his: Chateau Monbousquet 2001 (approx £20)

There’s a high chance that your non wine-loving colleagues will have heard of Gerard Perse. Monbousquet was the first Saint Emilion chateau that Perse owned, five years earlier than Pavie, and many of the techniques that he is famous for were pioneered here – close cropping, late harvesting, Merlot dominated, 18 months in 100% new oak, no fining or filtration. It has the immediate impact of all of Perse’s wines, with decadent, almost bitter chocolate mixed with damsons, liquorice… you get the picture. An extravagant taste that is very definitely not a classic Saint Emilion – but it’ll certainly get the conversation going around the table.

Stag’s Leap

WINEMAKER: Warren Wislowski

Try his: 2003 Hawk Crest Red Hills Cabernet Sauvignon (approx $10)

Undoubteldy one of the icon’s of American wine, Stag’s Leap Cask 23 (Wislowski’s special cuvee made only in exceptional years) is one of the best cabernet sauvignons in the world, with a price tag and waiting list to match.

Stag’s Leap won the 1976 Paris tasting that unleashed New World wines on the world. His Red Hills Lake County Sauvignon is the first appellation specific wine in the Hawk Crest range and comes from a relatively unknown and emerging area. You’ll find an instantly enveloping nose, plenty of chewy toffee and spice, and rich black cherry fruit. The only drawback is that it is currently in limited distribution, although it will increase next year.

Sassicaia’s

WINEMAKER: Marchese Nicolò Incisa della Rocchetta

Try his: Guidalberto Tenuta san Guido 2004 (approx £40)

Despite the subsequent rise of Ornellaia and the other more turbo-charged Super Tuscans, it was Sassicaia’s 1968 birth that sent shockwaves through the Italian wine industry and remains one of the world’s figurehead wines.

Marchese Nicolo Incisa della Rocchetta continues the tradition in the form of Guidalberto.

It’s a softer, gentler wine than Sassicaia, and mixes in Merlot and Sangiovese with its elder brother’s Cabernet Sauvignon.

Cloudy Bay’s

WINEMAKER: David Hohnen

Try his: McHenry Hohnen Margaret River Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2004 (£7.25)

Not a bad career really. First Hohnen launched

Cape Mentelle in Margaret River, back in 1970, putting western Australia on the wine map, then followed it up with the launch of New Zealand’s Cloudy Bay, neatly giving Marlborough its sauvignon blanc renown.

For these wines, bottled under his own name, he returned to Margaret River, starting with a range of southern Mediterranean grapes, such as

Marsanne and Grenache. More recently he has released a classic combination of Sauvignon and Semillon.

The long summer sunshine gives tropical fruit flavours over the fresh lemongrass and citrus. Plenty of gooseberry and passionfruit make it hard to stick to just one glass.

Stockists

- McHenry Hohnen and The Society’s Exhibition Range – The Wine Society

01438 740222

www.thewinesociety.com

- Oriel Wines – New York

212 242 6783. orielinfo@orielwines.com

- J L Wolf and Plexus ABS WIne Agencies

01780 755810, info@abswineagencies.co.uk

- Chateau Magdelaine – Berry Bros & Rudd

0870 900 4300

www.bbr.com

- Hawk’s Crest – Sussex Wines & Spirits

+1 212 867 5838

www.sussexwine.com

- Guidalberto – Everywine

01772 799 023,

www.everywine.co.uk

- Stockists for Perse – Farr Vintners www.farr-vintners.com 020 7821 2000