2016
2016
Château de Beaucastel 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape
French Red
Deep ruby colour appears with a fresh chocolate note. The wine is round, with ripe fruit, soft tannins, good length, acidity and balance. Grenache and Mourvèdre each account for thirty percent of the blend, with fifteen percent Syrah, ten percent Counoise and five percent Cinsault. The remaining ten percent comprises eight other permitted varieties. The grapes are grown organically.
Castiglion del Bosco 2016 Brunello di Montalcino
Italian Red
Complex and rich, the Sangiovese shows small red fruit with thyme and bay leaf. Plum appears alongside finesse and elegance. The finish has an acidic note, while balance and persistence are also present. The vintage brought ripe tannins, rich colour and good acidity. A mild winter and spring were followed by a cool, mild summer, and harvest concluded around the middle of October.
Elio Grasso 2016 Barolo Ginestra Casa Matè
Italian Red
Black cherry, plum and balsamic notes appear in a profile with ample, creamy texture and depth. Nebbiolo is fermented in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks with daily pumpovers, then matured in twenty-five-hectolitre Slavonian oak casks. After bottling, the wine rests in the cellar for eight to ten months. The vineyard has calcareous, clay-rich soil and a southern exposure in Monforte d'Alba.
Château Rousselle 2016 Côtes de Bourg 3 L
French Red
Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Cabernet Franc make up the blend. Red and black fruit include raspberry, blueberry and cherry, alongside liquorice, thyme, rosemary and mineral notes. The wine is supple and smooth, concentrated, fruity, round and full. The finish is notably long, and the average vine age is forty years. This red comes from Côtes de Bourg in Bordeaux.
Château Rousselle 2016 Côtes de Bourg 6 L
French Red
Red and black fruit, raspberry, blueberry and cherry are joined by liquorice, dried wild herbs and mineral tones. The palate is soft, creamy, fruity, round and concentrated, with a long finish. The vineyard is planted mainly to Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec on limestone slopes beneath brown clay. The wine ages for twelve months in French oak barrels.
Tenute Silvio Nardi 2016 Brunello di Montalcino
Italian Red
Sangiovese from Casale del Bosco and Manachiara is blended from twenty separate vinifications. Grapes are hand harvested, then fermentation and maceration last twenty-eight days below twenty-eight degrees. Maturation lasts twenty-four months in large Slavonian oak, followed by eighteen months in bottle. The wine shows dark colour saturation, with dark fruit, plum, soft potting soil and grilled herb, alongside freshness and a tannic backbone.
Pol Roger 2016 Blanc de Blancs Vintage Champagne
French Sparkling
Chardonnay from six grands crus in the Côte des Blancs is gently pressed, settled twice and fermented slowly in cool stainless steel. Malolactic fermentation, secondary fermentation and cellar ageing are part of the production. Silvery tints and delicate bubbles accompany chalk, flint, white flowers, yellow cherry, dried nuts, citrus and exotic fruit. The texture is delicate and almost crunchy, with lemon and orange zest, toast, and a long saline finish.
Château Malartic-Lagravière 2016 La Réserve de Malartic Red
French Red
Merlot forms sixty percent of the blend, with thirty percent Cabernet Sauvignon and five percent each Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Ripe blueberry accompanies a supple, medium-bodied profile and a long, silky finish. Vinification uses thermoregulated stainless-steel or oak vats, while maturation lasts fifteen months in French oak barrels. The cuvée is a red from Pessac-Léognan.
Domaine Marcel Deiss 2016 Huebuhl
French White
Almond, citrus zest and toasted detail accompany an aromatic profile and an acid structure. The 1.6-hectare vineyard lies at Bergheim between Gruenspiel and Rotenberg on lacustrine clay. Muscat is planted alongside members of the Pinot family, and noble rot is part of the site record. The wine is soft and rich, with a tonic, refreshing character.
Poplar Grove 2016 The Legacy
Canadian Red
Cabernet Franc leads the blend at thirty-three percent, joined by twenty-five percent Malbec, fifteen percent Merlot, fourteen percent Cabernet Sauvignon and thirteen percent Petit Verdot. Savoury cedar, lead pencil and red fruit accompany fresh red cherry, dried herbs and dense, sweet tannins. Estate-grown grapes were hand-picked and sorted. Production included extended maceration, twenty-one months in French barriques and two years in bottle.
Château Batailley 2016 Lions de Batailley Pauillac
French Red
Cabernet Sauvignon forms 61 percent of the blend, joined by 31 percent Merlot and 8 percent Cabernet Franc. The wine has balanced, silky tannins, acidity and length. Fruit comes mainly from young vines on gravel and silica soils. Fermentation lasts fifteen days with pumpovers, followed by eighteen months in French oak barriques, divided between one-year-old barrels and forty percent new oak.
Château La Création 2016 Pomerol
French Red
Black fruit, perfume and spice sit within a rich profile, with the oak ageing kept in balance. The blend is 61 percent Merlot, 28 percent Cabernet Franc and 11 percent Cabernet Sauvignon. Grapes are harvested by hand, followed by a cold maceration and vinification in temperature-controlled stainless steel. Maturation lasts fifteen to eighteen months in French oak barrels.
Domaine des Sarradels 2016 Bandolino Magnum 1.5 L
French Red
A Grenache and Mourvedre blend from Côtes Catalanes in Roussillon, this red is listed at 13.5 percent alcohol. The estate farms 9.5 hectares at Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet, using certified organic and biodynamic viticulture. Dry farming, hand harvesting and no added sulphur form part of the domaine's approach. Its total production is around 16,000 bottles a year.
Bella 2016 Reserve Brut Nature Oliver Eastside Chardonnay
Canadian Sparkling
Broken stones, lemon pith and green apple accompany a saline palate. A brisk, stony finish includes almond detail. Made by the traditional method, this Chardonnay comes from Cerqueira Vineyard in Oliver, where the soils are laced with limestone. The site lies in British Columbia's Okanagan Valley, and the wine belongs to the producer's black-label series.
Lo Sparviere 2016 Franciacorta Brut Millesimato
Italian Sparkling
Green-yellow colour with silver highlights accompanies hazelnut, candied fruit and apple peel. The palate is creamy, direct and linear, while the finish highlights acidity and fruit. Made from Chardonnay and farmed organically, the wine is Brut. The estate's vineyards lie in Monticelli Brusati and Provaglio d'Iseo, on calcareous marl with mineral-rich sedimentary clay for Franciacorta.
Halos de Jupiter 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape
French Red
Game, leather and dried herbs accompany mulberry, plum and dried strawberry. The wine is opulent and full-bodied, with a rounded, voluminous texture, a warming finish and ripe, grippy tannins. The blend is 85 percent Grenache, 10 percent Syrah and 5 percent Mourvedre from sandy parcels in the appellation, with maturation in once- and twice-used demi-muids.
Domaine du Comte Armand 2016 Auxey-Duresses Premier Cru
French Red
A clean, fresh bouquet brings black plum, red cherry and undergrowth. The medium-bodied palate shows cranberry and raspberry preserve with a light soy tang, while black pepper appears on the aftertaste. Earth, dark berry fruit, light mineral notes and a sappy mouthfeel add further detail. Fruit from Les Bréterins and Bas des Duresses was vinified with ten percent whole clusters, and one of eight barrels was new.
Garnet Valley Ranch 2016 Traditional Method Sparkling
Canadian Sparkling
Red berry aromatics accompany mouthwatering acidity, creamy texture and a savoury edge. Apple, almond, brioche, dried apple and sagebrush add further detail. The sparkling blend combines Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from Garnet Valley in the Okanagan. Traditional-method production includes seventy-two months on lees. Alcohol is 12 percent, with 2.93 pH and 9.1 grams per litre total acidity.
Domaine de l’Ecu 2016 Mephisto Cabernet Franc
French Red
Black fruit, blackberry, strawberry, redcurrant and white pepper accompany sweet spice in a rich Cabernet Franc. Tannins are tight yet velvety, with volume and delicacy. Grapes are harvested by hand from granite soils and fermented with native yeasts. The wine matures in old barrels and amphorae for fifteen months. The vineyards have been farmed organically since nineteen seventy-five and carry Demeter Biodynamic certification dating from nineteen ninety-eight.
WALT 2016 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay
American White
Toasted hazelnut, white flowers, lemon verbena and peach appear alongside lemon curd and stone-fruit flavours. The Chardonnay has texture, tension and length, with bâtonnage and ageing on the lees among its production details. Subtle oak and bright minerality accompany ripe grapefruit, lemon tart, preserved kumquat, honeysuckle, beeswax and allspice. Medium body and a long, zesty finish complete the profile.
Veyder-Malberg 2016 Alter.Native Grüner Veltliner
Austrian White
Handpicked fruit comes from terraced parcels at Buschenberg, Hochrain and Weitenberg, where mica schist, gneiss and loess are present. The grapes are completely destemmed, with five percent stems returned for four weeks of skin contact. Spontaneous fermentation is followed by fifteen months in used 300-litre wood. Bottling uses minimal sulphur and coarse filtration, and the dry white carries twelve and one-half percent alcohol.
Trefethen 2016 Estate Pinot Noir
American Red
Forest floor, dark cherry, raspberry and strawberry appear in the aromas. The palate is velvety and carries truffle, mushroom and baking-spice flavours. Fruit comes from Oak Knoll District in Napa Valley, and the bottle carries thirteen and six-tenths percent alcohol. The winery recommends leaner meats, poultry or sausage, with coriander, rosemary, thyme, tarragon, cinnamon or allspice.
POE 2016 Manchester Ridge Vineyard Chardonnay
American White
Preserved lemon, orange blossom, white grapefruit and struck flint accompany saline minerality. Honeyed texture, mineral zest, integrated oak and mouth-watering persistence add further detail. Apple, fresh pineapple, nutmeg, vanilla and a musky floral note are also present. The full-bodied Chardonnay carries bright acidity, focus and grip, with thirteen percent alcohol and a long, poised finish.
Rippon 2016 Mature Vine Pinot Noir
New Zealand Red
Pale yet saturated in colour, with a fine perfume of game, dry berries and cherry. Savoury, dry tannins accompany mouthwatering, meaty and herbal character. Raspberry, Asian five-spice, delicate herbs, crushed stone and firm, ripe tannins also appear. Medium- to full-bodied, the wine has a long finish and a slightly chewy texture. The Pinot Noir comes from biodynamically farmed vines in Central Otago, New Zealand.
Ashes & Diamonds 2016 Blanc No. 2
American White
Fully ripe and textured, this bright and zesty Napa Valley white wine combines Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon. Its mineral notes sit beside details of dried citrus and herbs. Fruit comes from two organically farmed sites: one in Oak Knoll District and the other in Yountville. Both districts lie within Napa Valley in California, United States.
Fattoria Carpineta Fontalpino 2016 Dofana Chianti Classico
Italian Red
Red berries, watermelon and pomegranate accompany blueberry, floral nuances and dried herbs. The wine is clear, juicy and youthful, with fresh fruit, marked acidity and fine tannins. Dried herbs, floral nuances and a lightly peppery note sit beside a soft finish. This Tuscan red is made entirely from Sangiovese and carries the Chianti Classico designation.
Bénédicte & Stéphane Tissot 2016 Arbois Traminer
French White
Concentrated and intense, this dry Savagnin shows freshness, length and clean varietal character. Noble oxidative notes appear alongside acidity, bitterness and vibrant tension. Made in the ouillé style in Arbois, the wine is serious and flavourful. Freshness and oxidative character share the profile, joined by concentration, acidity, bitter notes and the clean expression of the Savagnin variety.
Château Guiraud 2016 Sauternes 375 mL
French Dessert
Pure botrytised fruit and mineral notes meet subtle white flowers. Crisp acidity accompanies orange rind, tangerine and stem ginger, with a long finish. The blend is 65% Sémillon and 35% Sauvignon Blanc, fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured in new French oak. Organic certification, noble rot, floral freshness and exotic notes also form part of the estate's profile.
Neal Family Vineyards 2016 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
American Red
Maraschino cherry and Red Delicious apple sit beside savoury notes and strong tannins. Blackcurrant, plum, baked cranberry, allspice, smoked meat, thyme and black pepper are also present. Made entirely from estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignon in Napa Valley, the wine aged twenty-four months in 67% new French oak. The fruit came from vineyards certified organic. Cabernet Sauvignon is the only grape in the blend.
Agricola Punica 2016 Montessu Isola dei Nuraghi 1.5 L
Italian Red
Deep ruby in colour, with intense fruit aromas and liquorice. The palate is elegant and full-bodied. The blend is 60% Carignan, with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Syrah each at 10%. Dark berry, lavender and black tea add further detail. Round, velvety tannins and a flavourful finish accompany the wine's juicy, deep Sardinian profile.