September 2025

The Alpine A110 R 70 arrives like a perfectly timed coup de théâtre—the final act of a 70-year love affair between Dieppe's engineers and the art of making automobiles dance. This 70th anniversary edition is, quite literally, the last of its breed before Alpine succumbs to the electric revolution. Consider it the automotive equivalent of Catherine Deneuve’s final film: impossibly beautiful, utterly French, and destined to leave you pining for what once was.

One of the things I love most about wine is how it refuses to sit still. Just when you think you’ve seen it all, along comes a bottle that’s been resting in a river two hundred metres underground, or a grape variety you thought had vanished, suddenly shining again in a glass. In this issue I’ve been tasting wines with stories of rescue and resilience, growers saving old vines from the axe, families bringing abandoned plots back to life, and cooperatives keeping traditions alive against the odds. They’re reminders that wine is never just about flavour.

White Peak Distillery’s Necessary Evil Returns

Turn off the A6 and into the Derwent Valley and you’re in another world. The old Johnson & Nephew wire works loom over the river, relics of a time when men clocked in for twelve-hour shifts and left coated in soot and metal dust. Today part of that site is White Peak Distillery, founded in 2016 by Max and Claire Vaughan. What could easily have been left to crumble has instead become Derbyshire’s first whisky distillery, with a still house that feels as much cathedral as factory.

It’s not often that a whisky takes you from the Highlands of Scotland to the forests of northern Japan, all while sitting in Leicester Square. Yet that was the atmosphere at 8 at The Londoner Hotel, where Glengoyne unveiled its latest limited edition: the Mizunara Oak 16 Year Old. I love these tastings, as I got to see my friends, enjoy plates of Japanese inspired finger food, and have wonderful whisky and cocktails. I have been so busy recently that I almost pulled out, but am very pleased that I didn’t.

For the Alpine A110 R 70 Tour, we took that feather-light French racer—the automotive equivalent of a bespoke Yves Saint Laurent dinner jacket—and let it loose on the winding backroads of Sussex, heading to the rather fabulous Star Hotel in Alfriston.

A Wild Lust Tour Begins: Lexus NX 450+ Takumi

A Weekend with the Audi Q8 in the Cotswolds

The Audi Q8 SUV 50 TDI MHEV is a bold statement, far from shy and retiring. For our latest luxury motoring escapade, we toured the Cotswolds, gliding from the genteel splendour of the Greenway Hotel near Cheltenham to the utterly fabulous Chalk Restaurant at Wiston Estate winery.

Unearthing Wine, Wonder, and the Heart of the Rhône

The sun rises over the vineyards of southern France, scattering gold across a landscape steeped in centuries of viticultural tradition. As we continue our journey through the Côte du Rhône, we delve deeper into the region’s enchanting terroir, unearthing not only exceptional wines but also the stories, people, and natural marvels that make this corner of France so captivating.

Perched high above the dramatic embrace of the South Devon coastline, The Cottage Hotel in Hope Cove stands as a quiet, graceful anomaly. In an age of sleek minimalism and curated experiences, this cherished family-run institution is unapologetically traditional, a testament to the enduring appeal of genuine warmth and a hospitality that feels less like a service and more like a welcome home.

One doesn’t simply pass through the Cotswolds; one glides through it in a stately fashion, ideally in a gleaming Audi Q8. It was in just such a manner that we swept up to the Greenway Hotel and Spa, a 16th-century Elizabethan manor just outside Cheltenham. There are grand hotels, boutique boltholes, and heritage inns, but the Greenway manages to be all three at once: a luxurious little country estate with a serious culinary pedigree, an Elan Spa that makes monks of even the most restless, and a garden straight from Alice’s dreamscape.