2011
2011
Domaine A.F. Gros 2011 Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits
French Red
Delicate red fruit and grilled wood accompany cherry, cocoa, rose and spice. The tannins are round. Earth and dark berries sit with detailed, energetic, middleweight flavours and mineral notes. The finish is balanced, and the structure is ripe. The wine matured in barrel, and production totalled 10,415 bottles. Pinot Noir comes from the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits.
Château Montrose 2011 Saint-Estephe
French Red
Dark-fruited and classically structured, with blackcurrant, blackberry, plum and dark cherry joined by cedar, tobacco, licorice, fine herbs and damp earth. Full-bodied but controlled, the palate combines firm, well-integrated tannins with fresh acidity and a mineral-saline edge. The finish is spicy, savoury and persistent; decant before serving with beef, venison or slow-roasted lamb.
Domaine de Trévallon 2011 IGP Alpilles
French Red
Lush dark fruit meets dried herbs, black pepper and a cool stony note in a deeply savoury expression. The palate has generous ripeness but remains energetic, carried by juicy acidity, chalky minerality and ripe, well-integrated tannins. Earth and pepper return on the structured finish. Decant for an hour and serve with lamb, grilled meats or lentils.
Croft 2011 Vintage Port
Portuguese Fortified
Blueberry, ripe dark berries and violet lead a deeply scented bouquet, with rock rose, blue slate and a touch of leather adding complexity. Full-bodied and velvety, the palate balances luscious fruit with fresh acidity and firm, integrated tannins. Long, structured and energetic, it finishes with floral and mineral lift. Pair with Stilton or dark chocolate.
Poplar Grove 2011 Chardonnay
Canadian White
Tangerine and bright citrus lead this concentrated Chardonnay, with honey, light butter and a touch of coconut adding richness. Extended time in French oak gives the palate a creamy texture, while firm acidity keeps the generous fruit fresh and focused through the finish. Serve cool with roast chicken, seared scallops, grilled salmon or buttery vegetable dishes.
Bodegas Briego 2011 Vendimia Seleccionada Ribera del Duero
Spanish Red
Wild strawberry and fresh fruit meet apple, white flowers and balsamic accents. Liquorice, roasted tones, chocolate, black fruit and bright acidity are also present. Made entirely from Tempranillo, the wine spends eight months in French and American oak. The palate is fleshy and balanced, with present tannins, while the colour is a vivid red-purple and alcohol reaches fourteen percent.
Ramón Bilbao 2011 Single Vineyard Rioja
Spanish Red
Dark fruit, spice and vanilla accompany a soft, supple profile with a long finish. Red cherry and blackberry add further fruit detail, and the colour is vibrant ruby. Tempranillo and Garnacha form the blend. The palate is medium-bodied, and the wine carries the Rioja designation with 13.5 percent alcohol. Suggested pairings include lamb and other red meat.
Château Saint-Michel 2011 Sauternes
French Dessert
Sémillon leads the estate plantings at eighty percent, joined by fifteen percent Sauvignon and five percent Muscadelle. The two-and-a-half-hectare property lies on the heights of Illats, on the Bel Air plateau, where clay-limestone and gravel soils support Sauternes production. Careful, balanced viticulture is practiced across the parcels. Golden colour accompanies honey, apricot and exotic fruit, with an unctuous texture and a balance of sweetness and acidity.
Poplar Grove 2011 Merlot
Canadian Red
Deep maroon in colour, this Merlot combines plum and leather aromas with coffee and mocha flavours. Dates, black cherry and black liquorice appear in a long, lingering finish. The wine spends twenty-one months in French oak and another eighteen months in bottle. Its texture is polished, while blackcurrant, blackberry, tobacco, lingonberry, spice and earth are also present in the profile.
Château Fourcas-Borie 2011 Listrac-Médoc
French Red
Fresh sour cherry, delicate tangerine zest, fine spice and black berries accompany juicy fruit and fine nougat. The profile is full-bodied, with cassis, roundness and supple tannins. Produced in Listrac-Médoc, this red comes from Bordeaux and is based on Merlot. Its structure carries a rough edge, while the red berry fruit is already developing well. The wine is expressive and accessible.
Gérard Bertrand Château La Sauvageonne 2011 Grand Vin Rouge Terrasses du Larzac
French Red
Grenache is joined by Syrah, Mourvèdre and Carignan. Grapes are harvested by hand and sorted. Maceration lasts twenty to twenty-five days in temperature-controlled vats, while maturation lasts twelve to sixteen months in two-hundred-and-twenty-five-litre French oak. Deep ruby colour with brick-red highlights accompanies wild thyme, rosemary, ripe black fruit, jam, gingerbread and mineral notes. The palate is lively and balanced. Spice and tannins are present, and the finish is long.
Fairview Cellars 2011 The Bear Okanagan Valley
Canadian Red
Medium ruby-purple colour accompanies ripe cherry and liquorice. The wine is dry, with medium-plus acidity and full, ripe tannins. Cherry, plum, cassis, spice and tobacco appear, with a long finish. Cabernet Sauvignon leads the blend, joined by Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. Mint, blackcurrant and spicy cherry are also present. Production totalled three hundred cases.
Yarra Yering 2011 Dry Red No. 1
Australian Red
Blackcurrant, cloves, cedar, pencil lead and fennel seed are present in a berry-filled profile. The palate is vibrant and medium-bodied, with cassis, crisp acidity and medium-firm grainy tannins. Cabernet Sauvignon is joined by Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot. The varieties are fermented separately in open fermenters, hand-plunged twice daily, and matured in French oak before blending.
Domaine A.F. Gros 2011 Vosne-Romanée Aux Réas
French Red
Bright summer berries meet gravel and freshly ground black pepper. Crisp, ripe cherries and sweet spice accompany blueberries and crushed stone in a clean finish. The Aux Réas lieu-dit lies immediately south of the Clos des Réas premier cru, a Gros-family monopole. This village-level red Pinot Noir comes from Burgundy, France, and carries 13 percent alcohol.
Allegrini 2011 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico
Italian Red
Dark cherry, mocha, blue flower and exotic spice appear with raspberry jam, raisin, chocolate and baking spice. The profile is full-bodied and firmly structured, with concentrated fruit and velvety tannins. The blend comprises ninety percent Corvina Veronese, five percent Rondinella and five percent Oseleta. This dry red comes from the Valpolicella Classica area in Veneto.
Christian Tschida 2011 Hommage
Austrian Red
Cabernet Franc and Syrah make up this dry red wine from Burgenland. It is unfiltered and carries 12.5 percent alcohol. The wine matured for six years in small barrels and was created as a tribute to Austrian painter Alfred Hrdlička. Its producer is based in Illmitz beside Lake Neusiedl and represents the fourth generation of a winemaking family.
Osoyoos Larose 2011 Le Grand Vin 1.5 L
Canadian Red
Merlot accounts for forty-eight percent of the blend. The balance is thirty-three percent Cabernet Sauvignon, ten percent Petit Verdot, six percent Cabernet Franc and three percent Malbec. Cassis and spice appear with blackcurrant, mulberry, espresso and dark chocolate. Tannins are polished and firm, and cedar appears on the finish. The listed alcohol is fourteen percent. This red comes from British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley.
Montevertine 2011 Le Pergole Torte Toscana IGT
Italian Red
Sangiovese comes from historic vineyards planted between the late 1960s and late 1990s. Medium-dense ruby colour accompanies raspberry, sour cherry, strawberry, fennel and aniseed. The tannins are polished and fine-meshed, with juicy ripe raspberry and plum and a long finish. Fermentation takes place in concrete, followed by twelve months in Allier barriques and twelve months in Slavonian oak casks.
Domaine Billaud-Simon 2011 Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos
French White
Pale, bright yellow-green colour accompanies aromas of lime, apple, powdered stone, quinine, mint and white pepper. Citrus fruit, spice, white flowers and fresh herbs appear in a fresh, elegant profile that is precise, brisk and seamless. The Chardonnay was made entirely in stainless steel. The long finish has mineral and white-flower notes, with salinity, penetration and concentration also present.
Borgo Salcetino 2011 Lucarello Chianti Classico Riserva 1.5 L
Italian Red
Sangiovese and Canaiolo form a 90/10 blend. The grapes ferment and the wine ages in oak for up to three years from harvest. Deep ruby-garnet colour accompanies perfumed red-fruit aromas. Berry and cherry flavours are structured and balanced, with spice and cedar present on the palate. The wine is sweet, soft and supple, and has a very long finish.
Blandy’s 2011 Bual Colheita Madeira
Portuguese Fortified
Hand-harvested Bual matures under the canteiro system in 650-litre American oak casks until bottling. Amber-gold colour accompanies toasted walnut, crystallized fig and date, and dried-fruit cake. Rounded and medium-sweet, the wine has biscuit and vanilla butter-cookie notes, fresh acidity and a long finish. It contains twenty percent alcohol, carries the DOP Madeira designation and comes from Calheta on Madeira.
Blandy’s 2011 Malmsey Colheita Madeira
Portuguese Fortified
Hand-harvested Malmsey matures under the canteiro system in 650-litre American oak casks until bottling. Amber-gold colour is present. Floral tea, spice, fruitcake and brandy-soaked raisins are part of the profile. The wine is sweet and full-bodied. Concentrated milk, mature brandy, spice and a long finish are also present. It contains twenty percent alcohol and comes from São Jorge on Madeira.
Blandy’s 2011 Sercial Colheita Madeira
Portuguese Fortified
Hand-harvested Sercial matures under the canteiro system in 650-litre casks until bottling. The dry, fresh profile combines candied citrus, aged brandy and saffron, with lemon character and a long finish. Brandy and orange marmalade are also present. The grapes come from cooler northern vineyards near Seixal and elevated southern sites near Jardim da Serra, and alcohol is twenty percent.
Blandy’s 2011 Verdelho Colheita Madeira
Portuguese Fortified
Hand-harvested Verdelho matures under the canteiro system in 650-litre casks until bottling. Golden colour accompanies candied and dried apricot, aged brandy and iodine. Medium-dry in style, the wine has salinity and a long finish; mango chutney and spice are also present. Soft texture, wood-ageing flavours and twenty percent alcohol are also part of the profile.
Cesari 2011 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico
Italian Red
Forest floor, dried dark fruit, cedar and smoke accompany dried black cherry, baked plum, ground pepper and clove. Firm and full-bodied, the red carries solid, fine-grained tannins. Raisined fruit, cherry, vanilla and spice also appear within a warm, velvety profile. The blend is seventy-five percent Corvina, twenty percent Rondinella and five percent Molinara. The finish is persistent.
La Spinona 2011 Barbaresco Bricco Faset
Italian Red
Black cherry, plum, clove and new-leather notes accompany a dark, powerful red with an open-knit profile. Nebbiolo from the three-hectare Faset vineyard is softly crushed after sorting and destemming. Fermentation lasts twelve to fifteen days after a one-day cold maceration, followed by natural malolactic fermentation. The wine then spends nine months in large Allier and Slavonian-oak casks and twelve months in bottle.
Viña Errázuriz 2011 Kai Carménère Aconcagua Valley
Chilean Red
Deep violet-red colour precedes black cherry, blackberry, date, fig and blueberry-pie aromas, with black pepper and paprika. The palate is full-bodied and velvety, carrying dark berries, chocolate and refined oak. Firm tannins and vibrant acidity provide structure and freshness, while a long, elegant finish closes the wine. The recorded blend is predominantly Carménère with a small Syrah component.
Viña Errázuriz 2011 La Cumbre Syrah Aconcagua Valley
Chilean Red
Cool, earthy and forest-like aromas lead into sweet berry and spice. Dark berries, plum and smoke add depth, while mild herbal and peppery notes keep the profile savoury. The palate carries weight and lively acidity, with firm, well-integrated tannins providing structure. Meaty complexity and juicy length complete the documented Syrah profile from the Aconcagua Valley.
Château Pradeaux 2011 Bandol Rouge
French Red
Mourvèdre forms the core, with Grenache in support. The cuvée is made with gentle crushing without destemming, native-yeast fermentation in temperature-controlled concrete and extended maceration. Long ageing follows in seasoned oak foudres. Freshness and firm tannins are central to the house style, placing grape composition, maceration and long foudre ageing at the centre of this traditional red.
Bachelder 2011 Nuits-Saint-Georges La Petite Charmotte
French Red
Field berries and wild flowers lead the aroma, followed by raspberry, ripe cherry, cassis and a light anise note. Floral and incense details sit beside the fruit, with savoury spice appearing through the palate. The tannins are evident but smooth, and a mineral element supports the fruit. Cherry, spice and floral notes carry into the long, documented finish.