2019
2019
Keenan Winery 2019 Syrah Napa Valley
American Red
Grown in Coombsville, Syrah is picked late in the season and whole-berry fermented in small half-ton boxes. Seventeen months in French and American oak follow fermentation. Black cherry, blackberry and floral notes accompany a soft texture and firm structure. The wine is dry, made entirely from Syrah, carries 14.5 percent alcohol and was produced in a lot of 492 cases.
Redstone Winery 2019 Limestone Vineyard Chardonnay
Canadian White
Bright straw in colour, the wine shows toast, spice, apple, peach and lemon with a thread of minerality. It is medium-bodied and dry, with integrated oak and good length. Chardonnay comes from Limestone Vineyard in the Twenty Mile Bench. The wine carries thirteen percent alcohol, one gram per litre of residual sugar and was produced in a one-hundred-case lot.
Bodegas Arzuaga 2019 Pago Florentino
Spanish Red
Cencibel is harvested in small boxes from a south-facing vineyard in Malagón. Cold maceration lasts three days, while maturation takes place for twelve months in French and American oak. Blackberry and blueberry appear with liquorice, roasted coffee, dark chocolate, toast and incense. The palate has ripe red fruit, acidity and body, with long, velvety persistence and roasted notes.
Famille Ducourt 2019 Réserve de Famille Bordeaux Blanc
French White
Toasted and vanilla notes appear with citrus zest, acacia flowers and white peach. The palate is round, with white fruit, honey, freshness, structure and a long finish. Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon form the blend. Fruit is selected from one plot for the vintage. Skin-contact maceration is used, followed by six months on fine lees in French oak barrels.
Familia Furlotti 2019 Malbec
Argentinian Red
Malbec comes from a twenty-acre Lunlunta vineyard at 3,300 feet. The site has alluvial soil and uses sustainable farming with vertical-shoot positioning. A pre-fermentation cold soak is followed by a cool, long fermentation with native yeast. Thirty percent of the wine rests in neutral French oak, followed by twelve months in bottle. It is lightly filtered before bottling.
Spier 2019 21 Gables Chenin Blanc
South African White
Dry-farmed Chenin vines grow in decomposed Malmesbury shale on the Tygerberg hills, fifteen kilometres from the ocean. Six hours of skin contact and overnight settling precede fermentation in French oak vessels of several sizes. The wine remains on its lees in barrel for fourteen months. White peach, pear, toasted almond and wood spice accompany a creamy palate and white-grapefruit acidity.
Calcarius 2019 Hellen Bianco
Italian White
Falanghina grows on white Kimmeridgian limestone soils in the Gargano area of Puglia. The grapes are harvested by hand, destemmed and fermented spontaneously in stainless steel, then mature for six months in tank. Bottling is unfined and unfiltered, with a small sulphur addition. The profile is saline, with ripe cedar, chalk, citrus bitterness and a honeyed finish. Alcohol is 11%.
Terre del Barolo 2019 Vinum Vita Est Barolo
Italian Red
Scorched soil, overripe plum, leather and an earthy farmyard note define the aromas. Game, clove and sage join raw red cherry, held by bracing tannins. Nebbiolo supplies this Piedmont red, which contains 14.5% alcohol. The producer matures its Barolo principally in Slavonian oak casks, with time in wood adjusted to the characteristics of each vintage.
Maria Rigol Ordi 2019 Reserva Brut Nature Cava
Spanish Sparkling
Ripe peach, green apple and lemon peel appear with toasted nuts, butter, bread dough and vanilla. Persistent flavours continue through the finish. Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel·lo form the blend. Traditional-method production includes a second fermentation in bottle and at least twenty-four months of bottle ageing, with no sugar added after disgorgement. The wine contains 11.5% alcohol.
Chivite 2019 Finca Legardeta Garnacha
Spanish Red
Ruby red colour with violet hues accompanies raspberry, strawberry and caramelised apple. The palate is medium-bodied, with refreshing acidity and a balanced profile. The blend is entirely Garnacha. The wine spent twelve months in French oak. It contains 14.5% alcohol, with pH 3.4, total acidity of 5.48 grams per litre and residual sugar of 1.8 grams per litre.
Descendientes de J. Palacios 2019 Pétalos del Bierzo
Spanish Red
Red fruit, violet flowers and black-pepper spice accompany a fleshy, light and fresh profile. The finish is juicy and vibrant. Old Mencía vines grow on steep, rocky slate soils, and the vineyards span several Bierzo municipalities. The grapes are partially destemmed and crushed. Maceration lasts thirty days. Fermentation takes place in wooden vats and open stainless-steel tanks, while ageing lasts ten months in French oak.
Enderle & Moll 2019 Pinot Noir
German Red
Pale brick-red in colour, this Pinot Noir shows restrained red fruit, rhubarb, herbs, rosemary and cocoa. Its palate carries juicy acidity, fine tannins, strawberry and light spice. Thirty-year-old vines grow in sandstone and limestone. Whole clusters ferment for about a month, followed by a year in used Burgundy barrels and a small sulphur addition at bottling.
Chahut et Prodiges 2019 Coup de Canon
French Red
Purple-red colour accompanies anise, violet and prune. The profile includes a faintly crisp opening, berry character, tannin and acidity. Grolleau comes from ninety-year-old vines on clay-flint soil. Whole clusters macerate in concrete and are pressed; fermentation and maturation take place in fibreglass tank. The cuvée is a red Vin de France from the Loire Valley and is bottled without added sulphur.
Manoir de la Tête Rouge 2019 Tête de Lard Saumur Puy-Notre-Dame
French Red
Forest-floor, toasted and lightly animal notes accompany a silky, lively palate. The red wine is complex and rich, with present, granular tannins that remain free of astringency, a chalky texture and a long finish. Cabernet Franc grows in clay-limestone soils. Grapes are harvested by hand, and the cuvée is made under organic and biodynamic farming.
Alfredo Maestro 2019 Amanda Rosado de Lágrima
Spanish Rosé
Garnacha Tintorera is pressed directly without skin contact, preserving freshness and crunchy fruit. Most of the fruit comes from El Cuchillejo in Olmos de Peñafiel, a north-facing vineyard planted in nineteen fifty-three at 850 metres on limestone-clay soil. Additional fruit comes from old plots in Burgos, Valladolid and Segovia. The wine is a rosé made without ageing.
Envinate 2019 Lousas Viñas de Aldea
Spanish Red
Mencía grows on slate and granite between 400 and 600 metres. Ten percent whole clusters ferment with wild yeast in open-top vessels. This red wine matures for eleven months in used French oak without racking, then is bottled without fining or filtration. Black pepper, pomegranate and herbs appear with spicy tannins and a dry finish.
Calcarius 2019 Soul Glou Primitivo
Italian Red
Pomegranate, blood orange and summer herbs accompany wild berries, strawberry and balsamic notes, with a lightly tannic, crunchy finish. The Primitivo is hand-harvested and left in whole bunches for carbonic fermentation in sealed stainless steel. After two days on skins, the fruit is basket-pressed. Maturation lasts six months in stainless steel before unfined and unfiltered bottling with a small sulphur addition.
Callejuela 2019 La Choza Palomino de Flor
Spanish White
This unfortified Palomino comes from a four-hectare plot in Macharnudo at seventy-four metres elevation. The vines are listed as fifteen years old and grow on chalk, limestone, clay and sand. After pressing, the juice ferments at controlled temperature in stainless-steel and epoxy-lined tanks. Production is listed at roughly one hundred fifty cases, with alcohol between twelve and thirteen-and-a-half percent.
Rocco di Carpeneto 2019 Admura Albarossa
Italian Red
Medium-bodied and perfumed, the wine has a soft, harmonious palate with fresh acidity and a clean finish. It is made entirely from Albarossa and matured for twenty-six months in ceramic amphora. The wine comes from Piedmont's Alto Monferrato, and the cuvée name means 'toy' in the local dialect. Alcohol is thirteen and a half percent, and production totals nine hundred bottles.
DeLoach Vineyards 2019 Russian River Valley Chardonnay
American White
Bright citrus, lemon zest and peach form the aromatic profile. Bartlett pear, lemon curd, white flowers and baking spices appear on the palate, which is full-bodied, rich and weighty, with integrated acidity. Half of the wine ferments in French oak barrels and half in stainless steel, with some malolactic fermentation. Ageing lasts fourteen months, using ten percent new French oak. It contains fourteen and a half percent alcohol.
Moric 2019 Hidden Treasures No. 3 Balaton Riesling Furmint
Hungarian White
Riesling and Furmint are used in equal proportions for this dry white wine from Hungary's Balaton region. Floral notes, white and yellow stone fruit and a faint herbal note appear with intense fruit, balanced acidity, minerality, darker saline tones and length. Fermentation is spontaneous, and maturation takes place in stainless steel and Hungarian oak. The wine contains thirteen percent alcohol.
Absentee Winery 2019 Pink Carignan Rosé
American Rosé
This California rosé is made entirely from Carignan grown at Poor Ranch Vineyard under practicing-organic farming. The vineyard lies in Mendocino County. Whole clusters undergo carbonic maceration in newly sealed barrels. The wine is bottled without fining, filtration or added sulphur. It is dry and slightly savoury, with strawberry and watermelon notes, a rich texture and a mineral finish.
Absentee Winery 2019 Elephant Syrah
American Red
This California Syrah contains fourteen and a half percent alcohol. Raspberry and blackberry fruit appear with strawberry-buttercream and cinnamon notes. The profile has acidity, richness, weight and intensity, and the wine remains approachable. The fruit comes from an organically farmed vineyard in Mendocino County. Bottling takes place without filtration, sulphur or other additives of any kind.
Pacina 2019 Donesco Toscana Rosso
Italian Red
Made entirely from Sangiovese, this dry red comes from younger vines at the Pacina estate in Tuscany. Fermentation and malolactic fermentation take place in concrete, and ageing lasts approximately twenty-four months in concrete and stainless-steel tanks. The wine is neither fined nor filtered, and selected yeasts are not added. Total sulphur is ten milligrams per litre. The vineyard work is organic, and the finished wine contains 14.5 percent alcohol.
Quinta da Falorca 2019 Traditional Blend Tinto
Portuguese Red
Deep ruby with violet reflections, the wine offers ripe red fruit, mild spice and a light touch of wood. The palate is full-bodied, with lively but integrated tannins, balanced acidity and a long finish. The blend combines Touriga Nacional, Rufete, Jaen, Alfrocheiro and Tinta Roriz. Half matures for six months in used barrels, followed by nine months in bottle.
Clos du Tue-Boeuf 2019 La Guerrerie Touraine
French Red
Ripe redcurrant, blackcurrant and blackberry appear with violet and spice. The palate is ample, dense and fruity, with fully integrated tannins. This is a fresh, fruit-driven red made without added sulphur. The wine carries fourteen percent alcohol and comes from Touraine in the Loire Valley. The family estate works sixteen hectares across Touraine and Cheverny on flinty clay over chalk.
Uva de Vida 2019 Sol del 19
Spanish Red
Wildflowers, spiced fruit, violets, cherry and blueberry accompany fresh earth and an earthy umami note. Graciano accounts for seventy percent of the blend, with thirty percent Tempranillo. Fruit from clay-limestone soils is harvested by hand in small boxes. Maceration lasts eighteen days, native yeasts carry out fermentation, and maturation lasts twenty-four months in stainless steel. The wine is unfined and unfiltered, with no added sulphites.
Carranco 2019 Villa dei Baroni Etna Rosso
Italian Red
Nerello Mascalese grows on the northern side of Etna in volcanic soils at about 500 metres. Vinification takes place in concrete, followed by maturation in large Slavonian-oak casks. Currant, rose, cherry, ripe peach, sulphur, liquorice, citrus, anise and mint shape the profile. The palate is juicy, with lively acidity, reactive savoury tannins and a long saline trail.
Zuccardi 2019 Polígonos Paraje Altamira Malbec
Argentinian Red
Malbec comes from Paraje Altamira at about 1,100 metres. Fermentation and ageing take place in concrete, without cultured yeasts or oak. Red and blue fruit accompany a juicy, savoury and almost saline palate. Country herbs, violets and lavender are also present, while a chalky path extends through the wine. The profile is fresh and zesty, with lightness and tension.
Stolpman Vineyards 2019 Para Maria de las Tecolotes
American Red
Berry juice, pepper and thyme give a savoury profile with fruit purity and spicy complexity. Syrah makes up eighty percent of the blend, with Petit Verdot comprising the remaining twenty percent. The fruit was carefully selected for the bottling. The vineyards lie in Santa Barbara County, where the growers responsible for the fruit have cultivated vines at the estate since the mid-1990s.