Who run the world? Girls!

Two wines by women winemakers for International Women's Day

Who run the world? Girls!
- "Run the World (Girls)", Beyoncé (2011)

March 8th is International Women's Day - there are worse things you could do than raise a toast to the women behind with these two excellent wines:

CVNE Imperial Reserva 2012 (£26.00, Majestic Wine, Wine Rack, Coop, Waitrose, Tesco) a top-notch Rioja with a bit of age that is still very youthful. Plums and cherry fruit with dried green herbs, leather, peppery spice and cigarbox. Good freshness, minerality, very fine tannins and a firm, muscular core.

Very good; drinking nicely now and will continue to improve for many years.

Match with red meat, especially game.

Winemaker Maria Larrea says of beginning a career in wine: it is important to surround yourself with a good work team, observe the vineyard, study about other viticultural areas of the world. In short, always learn, enjoy work and always try to make the best wine.

Her most memorable moment so far: Undoubtedly, the award we received with Imperial Gran Reserva vintage 2004 as the best wine in the world for the Wine Spectator. It really was a prize for the long history of Imperial, more than 100 years as a wine of great quality.

Domaine Ferret Pouilly Fuissé 2016, (£33.40, independents) a complex, youthful white Burgundy; citrus, stone fruit and acacia flowers, with creamy oatmeal, honey, sweet spices and nuts. Fresh, rounded and very adept with excellent underpinnings.

Good and will further improve age.

Match with meaty white fish, creamy cheeses or risotto.

Audrey Braccini winemaker at Domaine Ferret says of the most memorable moment in her career: when I started working in Fuissé ten years ago, the welcome from the other producers was a little bit cold… and this continued for some years after. You can imagine my joy when some of them came to me and said, with kindness in their eyes, ‘good job, great wines, it is a good thing you came!’.