Wine
Wine
Jansz Tasmania Premium Rosé NV
Australian Sparkling
Strawberries and cream, rose petals, Turkish delight and fresh brioche shape the profile. Pinot Noir leads the blend, joined by Chardonnay and a small portion of Pinot Meunier. Classical sparkling production includes hand picking, gentle whole-bunch pressing, cool fermentation, malolactic fermentation and bottle fermentation, followed by extended lees ageing. The mousse is creamy, with texture, richness and lively freshness.
Marchesi di Grésy 2018 Martinenga Langhe Nebbiolo
Italian Red
Bright ruby colour accompanies strawberry, raspberry and black cherry. The palate is fresh, lively and balanced, with medium body and tannins. A short vinification and malolactic fermentation take place in steel. Ageing takes place mainly in cement with some tank. Floral notes accompany the red-fruit profile. Nebbiolo comes from the Martinenga vineyard in Piedmont's Langhe.
Champagne Thiénot Brut NV
French Sparkling
Pale gold colour and plentiful small bubbles accompany green apple, citrus zest, fresh apricot and floral notes. The palate is light-bodied and balanced, with lemon acidity, ripe apple and a citrus-and-green-apple close. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier make up the non-vintage blend. The mousse is creamy and sustained. Quince is also present, and the finish is long.
Chartron et Trébuchet 2023 Chablis
French White
Bright pale yellow colour with green and gold reflections accompanies white fruit and mineral notes. The palate is balanced, and the finish has lemon flavour and freshness. Chardonnay grows on Kimmeridgian marl and limestone in northern Burgundy's Chablis appellation. Vinification takes place in stainless steel without oak, and the wine also ages on its lees. Alcohol is 12.5 percent.
Wynns Coonawarra Estate 2019 Black Label Old Vines Shiraz
Australian Red
Intense ruby colour with a youthful purple hue accompanies cranberry, redcurrant and blackcurrant. The medium-bodied profile includes crunchy dark berries, black pepper, cinnamon, fine tannins and lively acidity. The wine is made entirely from Coonawarra Shiraz. Maturation lasts thirteen months in new and seasoned French oak hogsheads, vats and barriques. The oldest contributing sites include the Undoolya vineyard planted in 1894. Alcohol is 13.4 percent.
Domaine de la Paleine Saumur Brut NV
French Sparkling
Chenin, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc and Grolleau Gris make up the blend in proportions of sixty, twenty, ten and ten percent. The biodynamic vineyard is Demeter-certified, with clay-limestone soil and twenty-five-year-old vines. After stainless-steel fermentation, the wine referments in bottle to produce fine bubbles. Ageing lasts eighteen to thirty-six months. Disgorgement uses no added sugar or sulphites.
Bouchard Père & Fils 2021 Bourgogne Chardonnay
French White
Pale gold colour appears with peach, pear and creamy fruit character. Chardonnay comes from clay-limestone sites across Burgundy. Ageing lasts eight months, predominantly in stainless steel with a small portion in French oak barrels. Alcohol is 12.5 percent, residual sugar is 2.2 grams per litre and total acidity is 3.73 grams per litre. Its pH is 3.35.
Domaine Jacques Girardin 2013 Santenay Les Terrasses de Biévaux
French White
Pale gold colour accompanies yellow flowers and vanilla. The palate is ample, round and rich, with freshness and balance. Chardonnay from the elevated Biévaux slope is made as a still white Santenay and aged in barrel. Production totalled 13,200 bottles. The vineyard is arranged on terraces. Its vines average thirty years of age, and ageing lasts twelve months in French oak.
rennersistas 2024 Gewürz Orange Wine
Austrian White
Gewürztraminer and Pinot Gris are made as an orange wine after several days of skin contact. The profile is floral, ripe and lightly spicy, with rose and lychee. It is also fruity and aromatic. The vineyards are farmed biodynamically and hold Organic and Demeter certification. The wine comes from Burgenland, Austria, and contains 12.5 percent alcohol.
Moon Curser 2015 Carménère
Canadian Red
Plum, green peppercorn, ripe raspberry, fennel seed, cherry, pomegranate, vanilla and cedar shape the profile. The wine is medium-bodied, with balanced acidity, soft tannins and a juicy impression; the finish is long and silky. Carménère comes from the Home and Stubbs vineyards on the Osoyoos East Bench. Hand-picked clusters are sorted in the vineyard and destemmed. Fermentation takes place at low temperature, and maturation uses French oak barriques, about one quarter new.
Maria Rigol Ordi 2024 Vinya Llarga Xarel·lo
Spanish White
Made entirely from Xarel·lo grown in the single Vinya Llarga parcel, the wine is pale straw-yellow, with apple, fennel, lemon-yogurt and saline notes. Half the wine ferments and ages in two 500-litre amphorae, while the other half uses stainless steel. The amphora portion spends six months on its lees. The profile has good acidity, candied fruit and ripe pear, with a lightly lactic finish. The vineyard is farmed organically.
Crossbarn by Paul Hobbs 2019 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay
American White
Green apple, white peach and citrus blossom aromas accompany pear, kumquat and lime zest. The palate has brisk acidity, minerality and a vibrant finish. Baker's yeast and crushed stone are also present. The wine is medium-bodied and silky, with crisp fruit. Chardonnay comes from the Sonoma Coast in California. The wine is unoaked, and production totalled sixteen thousand cases.
Wynns Coonawarra Estate 2023 Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon
Australian Red
Dark purple at the core with a vibrant plum hue. Aromas include blackberry, white sage and lavender. The palate includes red cherry, plum, moss, earth, cedary oak and thyme. It is fine, long and generous, with soft acidity and pliable tannins. Cabernet Sauvignon comes from Coonawarra. Maturation lasts fifteen months in new and seasoned French oak barrels, including hogsheads, barriques and vats. Alcohol is 13.8 percent.
Domaine du Tix 2017 Cuvée Bramefan Ventoux
French Red
Ruby-purple colour with violet reflections accompanies fine wood, toast, prune, fig and macerated cherry. The bouquet is complex and deep, while the attack is highly spicy. Dusty blueberry, violet and graphite are also present. Full-bodied, the wine has firm, powdery tannins and black and blue fruit. Syrah makes up ninety-two percent of the blend, with eight percent Grenache.
Malacari 2010 Grigiano Conero Riserva DOCG
Italian Red
Montepulciano forms the entire wine. The dry, still red comes from a three-hectare vineyard yielding twenty-five quintals per hectare. Fermentation uses no selected yeast, and the wine is unfiltered. Dark fruit includes prune, raisin, damson and blackberry, with spice and vanilla. Twenty days on skins include délestage; malolactic fermentation takes place in tonneaux, and the wine returns to tonneaux after racking. Alcohol is fourteen percent.
Bordertown 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon
Canadian Red
Dark red in colour, with black fruit, blackcurrant, dark cherry, herbs, spice, stewed plum, mint, pepper and leather. The texture is firm, with fresh acidity and well-managed tannins. Estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignon comes from an east-facing Osoyoos vineyard with gravel, light-coloured sand and heavy soil. Fermentation lasts twenty-four days. Natural malolactic fermentation takes place in French oak, and maturation lasts twelve to eighteen months in French oak.
Vino di Anna 2018 Palmentino Rosso
Italian Red
Bright crimson colour accompanies red cherry and wild strawberry aromas. The palate is dry and fruit-driven, with juicy ripe tannins and fresh acidity. Organically grown Nerello Mascalese comes from old bush vines on high, terraced vineyards on Etna's northern face. Half the blend is made in a traditional palmento, thirty percent in Georgian qvevri and twenty percent in a large used oak botte. Indigenous yeasts conduct spontaneous fermentation; the wine rests twelve months on fine lees and is bottled without fining or filtration.
Domaine Charles Sparr Crémant d’Alsace Brut NV
French Sparkling
Tart citrus, herbs and mineral notes accompany a medium-bodied, moderately fruity profile with full acidity and lift on the finish. Pinot Blanc forms the entire blend. Secondary fermentation takes place in bottle, and lees ageing lasts twelve to eighteen months. The wine is Brut, with twelve percent alcohol and 4.3 grams per litre of residual sugar.
Domaine de la Sarazinière 2020 Les Devants Mâcon-Bussières Gamay
French Red
White pepper, dark spice, kirsch and dried herbs appear with smooth, integrated tannins and a long savoury finish. Gamay comes from a south-facing lieu-dit in Bussières on deep alkaline clay-limestone soils. The vines were planted between the 1930s and 1950s and are seventy to ninety years old. Fully destemmed fruit receives a long, cool maceration lasting nearly one month. Maturation lasts ten to twelve months in neutral oak barrels.
Attems 2022 Cicinis Collio Sauvignon Blanc
Italian White
Citrus, papaya and sage appear with vanilla, moka and jasmine. Lime and white blackberry are present on the finish. Sauvignon Blanc comes from a single vineyard at the foot of Monte Calvario on Ponca soils. Twenty-year-old vines are cooled by Bora winds and harvested by hand. Fermentation and nine months of maturation take place in concrete egg tanks and barriques, without malolactic fermentation. Alcohol is thirteen point five percent.
Howling Bluff Estate Winery 2022 Century Block Pinot Noir
Canadian Red
Kirsch, blackcurrant and raspberry appear with leather, forest floor and pepper. Pinot Noir clones 667 and 777 grow beside the wine shop in the riverbed of the now-dry Three Mile Creek. The block’s name refers to the hundred different species that once grew there. Maturation lasts eighteen months in French oak barrels. Production totalled 250 cases, and the wine can be cellared for up to ten years.
Howling Bluff Estate Winery 2022 Three Mile Creek Pinot Noir
Canadian Red
Tobacco, ripe cherry, pepper and clove appear with mulled berries, blackcurrant and baking spices. Pinot Noir clones 667 and 777 come from the Three Mile Creek vineyard, whose oldest vines grow only five metres from the Century Block. Maturation lasts eighteen months in French oak barrels. Production totalled 305 cases. The vineyard has received two Lieutenant Governor’s Awards of Excellence and a Red Wine of the Year from the Canadian Wine Awards.
La Miraja 2021 Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato
Italian Red
Violet, rose, iris, jasmine, cardamom, white pepper and lychee appear with wild berries, red cherry and pomegranate. The palate has robust acidity and moderate tannins. Ruchè comes from estate vineyards at 250 metres on calcareous red-clay soils. Hand-harvested fruit is destemmed, basket pressed into stainless steel and kept on the skins for ten days during native fermentation. Malolactic fermentation is spontaneous. Maturation includes three months in cement and four months in bottle.
Sant’Or Winery 2022 Krasis Achaia Red Wine
Greek Red
Mavrodafni comes from fifty-year-old, rain-fed vineyards in Santomeri, Achaia. The vineyards are farmed organically and biodynamically on clay-loam soil with schistose rock. Indigenous yeasts carry out fermentation, and maturation takes place in old oak barrels. The wine is bottled without filtration. Vivid ruby colour accompanies cherry and strawberry jam, earthy and animal notes, a velvety texture and spice. Production totalled 2,200 bottles.
Maison Tardieu-Laurent 2022 Gigondas Vieilles Vignes
French Red
Grenache forms ninety percent of the blend, with five percent Mourvèdre and five percent Syrah. Three quarters of the fruit is not destemmed. Maturation includes ten months in one- and two-vintage Allier and Tronçais barrels, plus twelve months in foudre. Bottling occurs without fining or filtration. Black raspberry, sandalwood, ground pepper, dried herbs, dark cherry and cassis are present with fine, firm tannins and a long, spicy finish.
Howling Bluff Estate Winery 2021 Three Mile Creek Pinot Noir
Canadian Red
Sour cherry and raspberry form a tart, cool red-fruit profile with savoury and earthy notes. The vines include Pinot Noir clones 115, 667 and 777 and were twenty-two years old when reviewed. Fruit receives a two-day cold soak. After three weeks, the wine is pressed into French oak barrels and aged there for eighteen months. Further acidic fruit appears on the finish.
Michele Reverdito 2023 Verduno Pelaverga
Italian Red
Pale ruby colour accompanies rose, violet, wild strawberry and spice. The wine is dry and fine, with persistence. Pelaverga grapes are destemmed and vinified in temperature-controlled stainless steel, with no barrel ageing. The vineyard covers 0.65 hectares and faces southwest at 290 metres. Stainless steel is also used for maturation. Red berries, dark cherry, mint, camphor and white pepper are present.
Mersel 2020 Lebnani Abyad Skin-Contact White 1 L
Lebanese White
Merwah forms seventy percent of the blend, with thirty percent Sauvignon Blanc. The wine is a still, skin-contact natural white with no residual sugar. Merwah comes from old vines in North Lebanon, while Sauvignon Blanc grows in the Bekaa Valley. Fermentation takes place on the skins in stainless steel. The lots undergo malolactic fermentation, are racked twice and are bottled without fining or filtration. Alcohol is eleven percent.
Tenuta di Biserno 2023 Occhione Toscana Bianco IGT
Italian White
Citron and grapefruit appear with floral, mineral and herbal notes recalling sage. The palate has lively freshness and an enveloping texture, with a savoury, citrus-led finish. The wine is made entirely from Vermentino. Medium-textured soils combine sand and pebbles, while the vines are trained by spurred cordon and Guyot at 6,500 plants per hectare. The colour is bright straw yellow with green reflections.
Ken Wright Cellars 2022 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
American Red
Red and blue fruits, cedar, violet, anise and turned earth form the profile. The palate is balanced, with natural acidity and velvety tannins. Pinot Noir comes from vineyards in the northern Willamette Valley sub-appellations. The vineyards include marine-sediment and volcanic-rock soils and are organically certified. Maturation takes place in stainless steel and neutral French oak. Alcohol is thirteen point two percent.