Red
Red
Domenico Clerico 1997 Barolo Ciabot Mentin Ginestra
Italian Red
Dark ruby colour has a garnet edge. Violet, toasty oak, blackberry and plum accompany a full-bodied profile with abundant fruit and ripe tannins. Lead pencil, cedar, black fruit, smoke, earth and vanilla are also present. The texture is velvety, with richness, concentration and sweet tannins. A long finish and a late note of dark chocolate are present.
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.
Wasenhaus 2022 Bellen Spätburgunder
German Red
Pinot Noir comes from a high-elevation plot in Kirchhofen with loam and loess soils. About half of the fruit ferments as whole clusters. The palate is pure, refined and elegant, with a lightly toasted note, ripe fruit and fine limestone tannins. Refreshing salinity accompanies a pithy, grippy profile. Fermentation continued until September, and the finish is intense and long.
Heitz Cellar 2018 Lot C-91 Cabernet Sauvignon
American Red
Cabernet Sauvignon combines fruit from Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena and Howell Mountain. The wine has brilliant concentration and balance, with generous tannins and balanced acidity. Black cherry, black olive, charcoal, black pepper, herbs and black fruit appear in a complex profile. Menthol, boysenberry, blackberry compote, liquorice and earth accompany a velvety feel and a long finish.
Vega-Sicilia 2020 Macán Rioja DOCa
Spanish Red
Tempranillo comes from vineyards averaging forty years old at about 500 metres. The fruit was harvested by hand in twelve-kilogram boxes. The wine is powerful and subtle, with richness, freshness and balance. Fermentation is followed by malolactic conversion in barrels and tanks, while ageing uses fine- and extra-fine-grained French wood. The wine remains in wood for fifteen months before bottle maturation.
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.
Domaine Les Astrelles 2022 Gevrey-Chambertin
French Red
Pinot Noir comes from three small lieux-dits. The nose is compact, while the mouth is direct and fluid, gaining intensity through the middle. The flavour is persistent and the profile is delicious. The bottling carries the Gevrey-Chambertin village appellation and is certified organic. During this growing season, the domaine harvested the cuvée without using whole clusters.
Domaine Bitouzet-Prieur 2018 Volnay Premier Cru Les Pitures
French Red
The Pinot Noir comes from a site near the Pommard border and beside Clos des Ducs. Vines span plantings from the late 1950s to the mid-1970s and cover just under one hectare. Broad, sanguine fruit is accompanied by firm, elemental structure and a sense of elegance. The wine is rich, full-bodied and powerful, with a muscular middleweight profile and a slightly warm finish.
Château Phélan Ségur 2022 Saint-Estèphe
French Red
Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc form a 56/40/2/2 blend. Almost-black colour has purple reflections. Juicy black fruit, spice, subtle floral notes, black cherry, rose and cedar are present. The palate is fleshy, flavourful and mellow, with power, density, richness and silky, assertive tannins. The finish is persistent and balanced, with menthol notes.
Tenuta Luce 2021 Luce Toscana IGT
Italian Red
Intense ruby-red colour accompanies dark fruit, wild blackberry and mulberry, with sweet violet, blossoms and mixed spice. The palate is broad, with silk-smooth tannins, balance and a long spice-infused finish. Merlot and Sangiovese form the blend. Fermentation takes place in concrete for twelve days, with twenty-two days of skin maceration. Ageing lasts twenty-four months in eighty percent new and twenty percent once-used barriques.
Poggio Antico 1997 Brunello di Montalcino
Italian Red
The wine is made from Sangiovese. Plum, berry and cherry aromas are present with a full-bodied palate. Ripe fruit, refined tannins and a long, caressing finish appear in the profile. Dark ruby colour has a garnet core. Clove, juniper berry, white pepper, iris and cedar accompany blackberry, sweet tobacco and liquorice. Dense texture, crispness and firm tannins are also present.
Nittardi 2009 Riserva Selezionata Chianti Classico 1.5 L
Italian Red
Sangiovese and Merlot form a 95/5 blend from the single south-facing Vigna Alta hill at 500 metres. Fermentation lasts fifteen days in stainless steel at twenty-eight to thirty degrees. The wine spends twenty-four months in French oak barriques and six months in bottle. Warm ripe-fruit aromas and freshness are present. This Riserva was produced only in a year selected for its quality.
E. Pira & Figli Chiara Boschis 2020 Via Nuova Barolo
Italian Red
Nebbiolo comes from six vineyards in Barolo, Monforte d'Alba and Serralunga d'Alba. Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel with punch-downs and pump-overs. The wine matures for about two years in casks and French oak barriques, then one year in bottle. Dried leaves, bark and disturbed earth appear with violet, liquorice and spice. Elegance and freshness accompany finely shaped tannins and long saline persistence.
Sea Smoke 2014 Ten Pinot Noir
American Red
Ten Pinot Noir clones from the estate vineyard form the blend, which ages sixteen months in French oak, seventy percent new. Vanilla, warm cherry sauce and caramel appear with berry fruit and purple flowers. Chipped-slate minerality is accompanied by dried thyme and bay leaf. Red currant, raspberry and cherry are finely textured. Chocolate and savoury notes are present. The finish has sandalwood and thyme.
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.
Château Malescot Saint-Exupéry 2018 Margaux
French Red
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc form a 60/32/8 blend. The vineyard has Pyrenean gravel, ten thousand vines per hectare and an average vine age of forty-five years. Fruit is hand harvested and sorted. The wine ferments in temperature-controlled stainless steel and concrete, then spends thirteen to fifteen months in barrel, seventy percent new. Balance, depth, freshness and silky tannins appear with lightly woody, toasted notes after aeration.
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.
Domaine Rostaing 2022 Cuvée Ampodium Côte-Rôtie
French Red
Syrah from thirteen parcels forms the blend, which ages primarily in old 600-litre demi-muid barrels. Saturated ruby in colour, the wine offers ripe dark berries, cherry, olive, pungent flowers and black pepper. Black raspberry, cherry-cola, violet pastille and star anise are also present. The finish is pliant, sweet and focused, with smooth tannins and tenacity.
Paul Hobbs 2018 Coombsville Cabernet Sauvignon
American Red
Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot form an 85/10/5 blend. The fruit is hand harvested at night and fermented with indigenous yeasts in small, closed stainless-steel tanks. The wine receives a five-day cold soak and thirty days of total maceration. After spontaneous malolactic fermentation in barrel, it ages twenty months in French oak, sixty-nine percent new, before unfined and unfiltered bottling. Wild blueberry, dried lavender, mocha, red currant, black fig, sage and leather meet fresh acidity, fine-grained tannins and crushed-rock minerality.
Ridolfi 2018 Brunello di Montalcino
Italian Red
Hand-harvested Sangiovese comes from the north-eastern side of Montalcino at 300 metres, where the soils contain clay, marine fossils and alberese. Fermentation uses indigenous yeasts, and skin maceration lasts forty-three days. The wine spends thirty-six months in large Slavonian oak and at least twelve months in bottle. Dark berries, cherries, violet, sweet spices and balsamic notes accompany an elegant, rich profile with salty tannins and long persistence.
Jurij Fiore & Figlia 2021 PuntodiVista Lamole Chianti Classico
Italian Red
Fifty-year-old Sangiovese grows at a density of ten thousand bush-trained vines per hectare and is co-fermented with a small share of local varieties. Eucalyptus, sandalwood, white pepper and cinnamon are present. Broad, grainy tannins accompany a juicy blood-orange note. The wine is powerful, sinewy and midweight, and comes from the Chianti Classico area of Lamole.
Château Bahans Haut-Brion 2004 Pessac-Léognan
French Red
Vanilla, leather and tobacco meet ripe plum, smoked meat and undergrowth. The wine is pure and focused, with a mineral spine and solid tannins; freshness remains present in the well-enveloped tannins. Cabernet Sauvignon makes up seventy-three percent of the blend, with twenty-two percent Merlot and five percent Cabernet Franc. Barrel ageing is part of the production.
Pio Cesare 1997 Il Bricco Barbaresco
Italian Red
Nebbiolo comes from elevated micro-plots in Bricco di Treiso. Fermentation and long skin maceration take place in stainless steel. Ageing lasts nearly twenty-four months in large French and Eastern European oak, with a small share in French barriques. Powerful, structured tannins meet intense spicy fruit, concentration and acidity. Bottle ageing is also part of the production.
Hickinbotham 2014 The Peake Cabernet Shiraz
Australian Red
Deep garnet-purple colour accompanies warm red and black fruit preserves, mocha, vanilla, yeast extract and lavender. The profile also includes blackcurrant, rhubarb, old books and Chinese five spice with earthy, savoury elements. Full-bodied, firm, rich and concentrated in character, it has velvety, fine-grained tannins and a long finish. The blend is fifty-six percent Cabernet Sauvignon and forty-four percent Shiraz.
Joseph Phelps 2021 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
American Red
Ripe currant, tobacco, leather, pencil shavings and dark chocolate are joined by dark plum, blackberry and savoury spice. The full-bodied wine is rich, fleshy, dense and layered, with acid structure and depth. The blend is ninety-two percent Cabernet Sauvignon, four percent Petit Verdot, two percent Cabernet Franc, one percent Merlot and one percent Malbec. It matured for sixteen months in new and used French and American oak barrels.
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.
Poderi Colla 2024 Pian Balbo Dolcetto d’Alba
Italian Red
Purple-red colour has violet edges, with cherry, plum, almond and spice. Ripe fruit, fine tannins and vinosity shape the palate. Dolcetto comes from a hilltop vineyard with established plantings. After manual harvest, the grapes are destemmed and crushed. Skin maceration lasts five to seven days, followed by full malolactic fermentation and maturation in stainless steel before bottling.
Justin 2020 Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon
American Red
Deep ruby-purple colour accompanies black cherry, cassis, tobacco leaf, baking spice, oak, leather, camphor and purple flowers. The dry, nearly full-bodied palate includes black cherry, blackcurrant, red berries, vanilla and cinnamon. Fermentation takes place in open- and closed-top stainless-steel tanks with twice-daily pumpovers. The Cabernet Sauvignon matures for thirteen months in American oak, one quarter new.
Domaine Naudin-Ferrand 2024 Gamay de Bully
French Red
Fresh red fruit and wild pepper accompany pleasant acidity, softened tannins and a light alcoholic profile. The grapes are harvested by hand into small cases, refrigerated, carefully sorted and placed whole into concrete. Fermentation proceeds without added sulphites and with minimal extraction. Early pressing precedes full malolactic fermentation on the lees, followed by early bottling.