2019
2019
Fortemasso 2019 Barolo DOCG Castelletto
Italian Red
Clear ruby-red colour has a delicate lightening at the rim. Redcurrant, cherry, dried rose petals and white pepper are present. The palate is lively, fresh and juicy, with savoury character, tension between tannin and acidity, and a salty, persistent finish. Nebbiolo grows on east- and southeast-facing slopes in sandy, limestone-rich soil. The vines use Guyot training, and grapes are harvested by hand into small crates.
Bouchard Père & Fils 2019 Pommard
French Red
Cherry, strawberry, floral and spice notes appear in a refined structure. The wine is linear and balanced, with a lingering red-fruit aftertaste. Small black fruits and an animal note are also present. The profile is firm and solid. Pinot Noir comes from Pommard in the Côte de Beaune. Calcareous and clay soils are coloured red by iron oxides.
Yarra Yering 2019 Dry Red No. 3
Australian Red
Boysenberry and cardamom appear with mocha and charcuterie. Blackcurrant, liquorice, fragrant blue fruit, savoury depth, flowers and bay leaf fill a medium-bodied profile with a long palate. The six-grape field blend uses Touriga Nacional, Tinta Cão, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Amarela, Alvarelhão and Sousão. Grapes are hand picked, destemmed and left uncrushed. Initial working is by foot, and maturation lasts ten months in old oak.
Barale Fratelli 2019 Castellero Barolo
Italian Red
Cherry, raspberry, mint, eucalyptus, pepper and nutmeg appear in the aromas. The palate combines fruit and spice with refreshing acidity, ripe tannins and a persistent, saline finish. Castellero lies in the municipality of Barolo on calcareous, silty clay loam. The organically farmed vineyard has a southwest exposure at 270 metres. The wine is made entirely from Nebbiolo and bottled at fourteen percent alcohol.
Barale Fratelli 2019 Bussia Barolo
Italian Red
An expressive profile brings dried rose, liquorice, tobacco, leather and violet. The palate is robust yet velvety, ample and balanced. Fruit comes from Bussia Soprana in Monforte d'Alba, at 270 metres on calcareous, sandy-loam soil. The wine is made entirely from Nebbiolo. Grapes are harvested by hand, fermented spontaneously in oak with indigenous yeasts and macerated for about fifteen to twenty days.
Haut-Bailly II 2019 Pessac-Léognan
French Red
Fresh fruit and a suave structure define the profile. Merlot brings aromatic freshness and roundness, while silky tannins give the wine a soft texture. The blend is sixty percent Merlot and forty percent Cabernet Sauvignon. Grapes were harvested from September 23 to October 10. Rich berry fruit, cassis, cigar wrapper and loamy soil are also present. The tannins are ripe and powdery.
Domaine Bitouzet-Prieur 2019 Beaune Premier Cru Les Cent-Vignes
French Red
Red cherry, crushed strawberry and rose petal appear in the bouquet. The palate is medium-bodied, with sappy, fleshy red fruit and a rounded, malleable texture. The finish is sweet. Fruit comes from a single 1.25-hectare parcel. The wine is made from Pinot Noir; grapes are harvested by hand, fully destemmed and moved into vat by gravity after sorting.
Colombera & Garella 2019 Cavazucchi 1.5 L
Italian Red
The wine comes from a single 0.8-hectare parcel planted in the early twentieth century. Nebbiolo accounts for eighty-five percent of the blend, with Croatina and Vespolina making up the remainder. The parcel lies in Masserano in Alto Piemonte, and fragrance is a hallmark of the site. The bottling is separate from the winery’s Bramaterra cru, and the vineyard is now owned by the winery.
Tenuta di Carleone 2019 Chianti Classico 1.5 L
Italian Red
Bright ruby colour accompanies raspberry, wild strawberry and fine oak spice. Racy acidity and grippy tannins are present, with tension and a lingering finish. The wine is made entirely from Sangiovese and is dry, medium-bodied and oaked. It contains 13.5 percent alcohol and is closed with cork. Maturation includes eighteen months in steel, eighteen months in cement and eighteen months in large wooden barrels.
Sancaba 2019 Pinot Nero Toscana IGT
Italian Red
Ripe raspberry and blackberry accompany clove and cardamom. Fine, polished tannins and juicy fruit accompany a long finish. The colour is a medium-dense ruby. The wine is made entirely from Pinot Nero and contains fourteen percent alcohol. Alcoholic fermentation lasts ten days, partly in stainless steel and partly in large oak. Maturation takes place in large oak, second-use barriques and then concrete tanks. The wine is organically produced.
Robert Mondavi Winery 2019 The Estates Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon
American Red
Blackberry, blueberry, plum, chocolate, nutmeg and subtle oak accompany black plum and fine, well-integrated tannins. The profile is juicy, with good acidity. The blend is eighty-five percent Cabernet Sauvignon, six percent Cabernet Franc, six percent Petit Verdot, two percent Malbec and one percent Merlot. Maturation lasts twenty months in French oak barrels, with ninety percent new oak. The wine contains 15.3 percent alcohol.
Domaine Roblet-Monnot 2019 Pommard Chanlin-Haut
French Red
Cherry, raspberry, sweet soil, peony and spice are present in a medium- to full-bodied Pinot Noir. The profile is layered, deep and concentrated, with powdery tannins, lively acidity and a long saline finish. Chanlin-Haut is a higher-altitude, later-ripening site. The wine comes from clay-chalk soils, and the vines are seventy and thirty-five years old. Fermentation uses natural yeast in stainless steel, while maturation lasts twenty months in French oak.
Château Pichon Baron 2019 Les Griffons de Pichon Baron Pauillac
French Red
Intense purple colour accompanies black fruit, subtle oak and spice. The opening is generous, full and structured, with tannins; the profile also has richness, harmony, tension, minerality and length, with a fresh finish. The blend is fifty-nine percent Merlot and forty-one percent Cabernet Sauvignon. Maturation lasts eighteen months in barrels, using sixty percent new oak and forty percent one-wine barrels.
Domaine Vincent & François Jouard 2019 Chassagne-Montrachet Vieilles Vignes
French White
Almond, hazelnut, ripe apple and honey appear in a rich, structured white with fruit, finesse and power. The Chardonnay comes from vines more than fifty years old in rocky clay-limestone soil over white stones. Fermentation takes place in French oak. Maturation lasts twelve months in barrel, with ten percent new oak. The wine contains fifteen percent alcohol.
Vidal-Fleury 2019 Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde
French Red
The colour is red with carmine glints. Aromas include fresh fruit, violet, pepper, smoke and black olive. Blackcurrant, red fruit and curry spice are present on a rich, soft and fresh palate. The blend is ninety-five percent Syrah and five percent Viognier. Traditional maceration lasts three weeks, indigenous yeast conducts fermentation, and maturation on the lees lasts two years in barrels and large oak casks.
Champagne Domaine Hélène 2019 Vertus Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru Vieilles Vignes
French Sparkling
Fresh and baked green apple, lemon pith, lemon peel, bitter almond and white blossom appear with wet chalk. The profile has a structural frame and a subtle oxidative touch. Old vines in Vertus Premier Cru supply all the Chardonnay. Native fermentation takes place in stainless steel and older wood. Lees ageing lasts four years, and dosage is zero. The finish retains a chalk note.
Force Majeure 2019 Red Mountain Estate Syrah
American Red
Blue fruit, candied violet, chocolate, game, blood and iron appear with ripe tannins and a large finish. The blend is ninety-eight percent Syrah and two percent Viognier, with eighteen percent whole clusters. Fermentation took place in concrete. The wine spent eighteen months in large-format French oak, twenty percent new, and was bottled without fining or filtration. Production totalled 520 cases.
Domaine de Cristia 2019 Renaissance Châteauneuf-du-Pape
French Red
Deep red colour appears with milky black fruit, vanilla and woody notes. The profile has a soft attack, fruit, vanilla, butter and a rich creamy finish. The blend is sixty percent Grenache and forty percent Mourvèdre. Cassis, ripe blackberry, spicy oak, roasted meat, toasted spice and chocolate are also present. Ageing used a combination of demi-muids and new barriques.
Castello Romitorio 2019 Brunello di Montalcino
Italian Red
Dark, bright ruby colour accompanies ripe cherry, milk chocolate and smoky notes, together with toasted almonds and mint. The palate is lively, with precise acidity and fresh, taut, juicy fruit. Fine-grained tannins have grip. The persistent, balanced finish includes iron tones. This red Sangiovese comes from Brunello di Montalcino in Tuscany and carries 14.5 percent alcohol.
Battenfeld-Spanier 2019 Frauenberg GG Riesling
German White
Herbs, mineral notes and yellow fruit form a dense profile with additional spice. The palate is generous and complete, with balance among fruit, acidity and substance. Delicate acidity is closely woven into the structure, and the expression is clear. This dry Riesling comes from the Frauenberg site in Rheinhessen and carries 12.5 percent alcohol.
Jean Foillard 2019 Fleurie Magnum 1.5 L
French Red
A deep, silky-smooth profile includes black cherry, violet, wet earth, smoky berry character and spice. The wine is concentrated and elegant, with medium-to-full body, velvety texture, fine depth, lively acidity and a sapid, fresh finish. A serious tannin structure, drive and energy are also present, together with loamy soil and potpourri. This is Gamay from Fleurie in Beaujolais.
Trimbach 2019 Riesling Grand Cru Schlossberg
French White
Clear, elegant aromas include concentrated bright fruit with light flinty and smoky notes. The wine is round, juicy, supple and silky, with delicate bitterness on the finish. Lemon, pear and apple accompany a stony, precise and balanced profile and a lingering finish. Riesling grows on granite terraces that face south beside the castle. The wine is dry, delicate and chiselled.
Domaine Henri Rebourseau 2019 Gevrey-Chambertin
French Red
Crunchy red fruit and sweet spice appear in a medium-bodied Pinot Noir. The blend draws on village parcels including La Brunelle, Aux Corvées, Sylvie and Champs-Chenys. La Brunelle covers 2.78 hectares; its brown surface soils sit above limestone gravel, with sand and clay two metres down. The estate's Aux Corvées parcel covers 2.35 hectares and has relatively deep soil.
Collemattoni 2019 Albori Brunello di Montalcino
Italian Red
Made from Sangiovese selected from the estate's highest parcels, this red comes from Montalcino in Tuscany. Pure, mature fruit appears with a broad and clear aromatic profile. The taste is balanced between alcohol and tannins, with dynamic, fine and defined character and a fresh, savoury close. The fruit includes grapes from a high vineyard near Passo del Lume Spento. Alcohol is listed at 15.5 percent.
Joseph Phelps 2019 Insignia
American Red
Cabernet Sauvignon accounts for seventy-five percent of the blend, with Petit Verdot and Merlot each at ten percent, Malbec at three percent and Cabernet Franc at two percent. An inky dark hue accompanies ripe blackberry, star anise, cigar box, clove and sweet mocha. The full-bodied palate has velvety texture, supple tannins, black plum, violets and baking spices.
Salicutti 2019 Brunello di Montalcino Sorgente
Italian Red
Sangiovese grows in a high vineyard with heavier clay and a gentle southwest incline. Red cherry, molasses, herbs and candied violet accompany freshness, elegant acidity and concentrated fruit. Peony, red-currant blossom, red plum and watermelon are also present. The tannins are suede-like, and the finish is long and complex. The organically grown fruit undergoes extended skin maceration.
Foppiano 2019 Russian River Valley Estate Pinot Noir
American Red
Cranberry, cherry and wood spice accompany a tar-like detail. Smooth tannins lead into balanced density and a soft finish. The Pinot Noir was harvested at lower sugar and fermented with Assmanshausen yeast. Maturation lasted sixteen months in tight-grain French oak, thirty-five percent new. Fruit came from the estate’s cooler land near the Russian River, south of Healdsburg.
Domaine Jamet 2019 Syrah Collines Rhodaniennes
French Red
Syrah grows on micaschist and granite in parcels on the higher slopes around Ampuis and Condrieu. The grapes are destemmed and macerate for about fifteen days. Maturation lasts twelve months in oak barrels that have held five or six earlier vintages. This French red wine is made entirely from Syrah within the Collines Rhodaniennes indication.
Giovanni Valentini 2019 Crebesco Toscana Rosso
Italian Red
Raspberry, blackcurrant, wild strawberry and guarana accompany a medium-to-full body, mature tannins and a warm, enveloping finish. Mineral and spice notes sit beside ripe red fruit, chocolate, leather and tobacco. The blend is 40 percent Sangiovese, 40 percent Merlot and 20 percent Syrah. Grapes are hand harvested, while Sangiovese and Syrah are partially dried before fermentation.
Maison en Belles Lies 2019 Santenay Blanc
French White
Toasty fruit and autumn leaves shape the nose. Baked pear appears on the palate, joined by roasted nuts and a fresh citrus finish. Biodynamic farming, sustainable sourcing, sustainable production and very low sulphur levels frame the winemaking approach. Alcohol is 13 percent. Suggested pairings include chicken, daal and chicken satay. The wine comes from France's Burgundy region.










