Wine
Wine
Clos du Tue-Boeuf 2018 La Caillère Cheverny
French Red
Predominantly Pinot Noir with a smaller share of Gamay, this red comes from a 1.3-hectare parcel of silex and clay in Cheverny. The vines averaged about thirty-five years of age when documented, and the wine spends around one year in neutral 400-litre barrels. The profile is fresh, clean and aromatic, with reductive and herbaceous character.
Frasca La Guaragna 2022 Freisa d’Asti
Italian Red
Ruby red colour has purple highlights. Wild berries, violet, herbs, redcurrant, mulberry and blackberry accompany black tea, earth and lively acidity. The medium-bodied palate has fine tannins, freshness and a mineral finish. Made entirely from Freisa grown in Moasca, the wine includes thirty percent whole bunches, receives delicate maceration without punch-downs, and matures for four months in a large oak barrel.
Luis Seabra 2019 Xisto Ilimitado Tinto
Portuguese Red
Balsamic notes, fresh red fruit, local scrub and spice accompany flint and broken-stone mineral character. The palate is dense and fresh, with fine tannins, acidity, red cherry and pomegranate. Two vineyards were harvested separately, and sixty percent of the fruit was vinified as whole bunches in old wooden Port vats. Maceration lasted twenty-nine days, followed by eighteen months of ageing.
Giovanni Viberti 2021 Langhe Nebbiolo
Italian Red
Ripe red fruit, cherries, raspberries, lilac, red liquorice and savoury notes shape the profile. Soft tannins accompany tart plum, earth and floral character, with bright acidity and a long finish. Made entirely from Nebbiolo, the wine fermented in stainless steel and aged for nine months before spending two to three months in neutral oak. A further three months of bottle ageing followed.
L’Ormarins 2020 Blanc de Blancs Méthode Cap Classique
South African Sparkling
Fine bubbles accompany lime leaf, sea breeze, floral notes, honey and dried apple. Lime, lemon sherbet and grapefruit appear with toasted, creamy oatmeal-cookie flavours. The palate is full, rounded and textural, with acidity and a long finish. Chardonnay was whole-bunch pressed; ten percent of the base fermented in barrel for twelve weeks, and the wine spent three to four years on lees in bottle.
Tegernseerhof 2016 Bergdistel Grüner Veltliner Smaragd
Austrian White
Medium yellow-green colour has silver reflections. Cox's Orange Pippin apple, blossom honey and delicate floral notes appear in the aromatic profile. The palate is juicy, round and almost creamy, with yellow tropical fruit, fine acidity and discreet fruit sweetness. A mineral finish is long. This stainless-steel-matured Grüner Veltliner comes from Wachau and contains thirteen percent alcohol.
Mendall Alícia Serres 2024 Santa Helena
Spanish Red
This red combines eighty percent Carignan with twenty percent Grenache Blanc from young vines in Vilalba dels Arcs, Terra Alta. The vines are farmed biodynamically on calcareous clay soils, and the grapes are harvested by hand. Maceration and spontaneous co-fermentation take place in amphora. The wine also ages in amphora before pressing and is bottled unfined, unfiltered and without added sulfur dioxide. Alcohol is fourteen percent.
Fairview Cellars 2015 The Bear
Canadian Red
Clear deep ruby colour has garnet tinges. Savoury dark plum, dark cherry, cigar box and thyme appear in an intense aromatic profile. The full-bodied palate combines rich dark fruit with tobacco, leather and a hint of cinnamon. Silky tannins and composed acidity accompany a lengthy finish. This red comes from Oliver in the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia.
Nicolas Mariotti Bindi Cantina di Torra Hors Série Blanc 2017/2018
French White
Acacia blossom, citrus and white fruit accompany a broad, supple texture, fine bitterness, freshness and persistence. This dry white blends Vermentinu from two successive harvests. Grapes are picked by hand and pressed as whole clusters, followed by light settling and spontaneous fermentation in stainless steel. The wine rests for twelve months on fine lees in tank and is bottled without filtration.
Hajszan Neumann 2016 Ried Gollin Weißburgunder
Austrian White
Medium yellow colour carries silver reflections. Fine herbal spice, delicate wood, ripe pear and a touch of vanilla appear with yellow-fruit notes. The palate is substantial, with a fine arc of acidity and lasting flavour. This organic Pinot Blanc was matured in a large wooden cask in Vienna. Alcohol is thirteen percent, and the profile shows capacity for further development.
Domaine Buronfosse 2019 L’Hôpital Trousseau Côtes du Jura
French Red
This red is made from Trousseau under the Côtes du Jura appellation. The estate is located in the Combe de Rotalier and covers about five hectares. Its vineyard has been farmed organically, while cellar work follows a low-intervention approach with minimal technical intervention and few oenological products. Peggy and Jean-Pascal Buronfosse began producing wine there at the turn of the millennium.
Echo Bay 2017 Cabernet Franc
Canadian Red
The fruit was destemmed and crushed before fermentation in an open-top tank. The wine then spent eighteen months in barrel, half of it new, and was bottled with thirty parts per million of sulphur. Production totalled 120 cases, and alcohol is 13.5 percent. Cabernet Franc comes from a southwest-facing vineyard above Skaha Lake, just north of Okanagan Falls.
Domaine Pierre Gaillard 2018 Saint-Péray Blanc
French White
Exotic and tropical fruit aromas accompany ripe peach, honeysuckle and orange blossom. The broad, juicy palate has phenolic grip, while spice and mineral notes appear in the finish. This dry white combines equal parts Marsanne and Roussanne. It carries 13.5 percent alcohol and comes from the Saint-Péray appellation in the Rhône. The profile also includes honeyed, candied-fruit and acacia notes.
Clos Lentiscus Greco di Subur Malvasía Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature
Spanish Sparkling
An elegant crown and creamy bubbles accompany red reflections and a fine, fruit-led bouquet with forest-floor notes. The finish is intense, and the wine carries a strong character. This white sparkling wine is made entirely from Malvasía and is classified as Brut Nature, with less than three grams per litre of sugar. It comes from Penedès, contains twelve percent alcohol and is bottled at 750 millilitres.
Stolpman Vineyards 2019 So Fresh Crunchy Roastie
American Red
Blackberry, strawberry and blueberry appear with cherry candy and floral perfume. The palate is light to medium-bodied, bright and fresh, with a soft frame and juicy finish. This red combines ninety-five percent Syrah with five percent Viognier. Winemaking uses whole berries and whole clusters for carbonic fermentation, with ageing in large neutral vats. The vineyard is farmed organically, and alcohol is 12.5 percent.
Stolpman Vineyards 2019 So Fresh Love You Bunches Sangiovese
American Red
Cherry sour candy and tart berry appear with crunchy red fruit and zippy tannins. The wine is darker and more giving than the preceding vintage, with high acidity and 12.8 percent alcohol. Organically farmed Sangiovese from Ballard Canyon undergoes carbonic maceration. Raspberry, crushed stone and freshness are also present in the profile, together with light herbs.
Château Tour Léognan 2023 Pessac-Léognan Blanc
French White
Pale yellow colour has a brilliant golden aspect. Grapefruit, citrus, peach and a subtle wood note appear in a rich profile with acidity and balance. Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon each account for half of the blend. Fermentation and maturation take place in barrels and foudres for six months with lees stirring and fifteen percent new wood. The vineyard soils combine deep gravel with clay and limestone.
Château Fourcas-Borie 2011 Listrac-Médoc
French Red
Fresh sour cherry, delicate tangerine zest, fine spice and black berries accompany juicy fruit and fine nougat. The profile is full-bodied, with cassis, roundness and supple tannins. Produced in Listrac-Médoc, this red comes from Bordeaux and is based on Merlot. Its structure carries a rough edge, while the red berry fruit is already developing well. The wine is expressive and accessible.
Pierre-Olivier Bonhomme 2020 Romorantin Vin de France
French White
Rich fruit and a full, generous body define this Romorantin. The thirty-four-year-old vines grow on clay and flint in Cheverny. The fruit was fermented without skin maceration by indigenous yeast for three months, then matured for thirteen months in a used 400-litre barrel. Only one barrel was produced from the harvest, which reached more than fourteen percent potential alcohol.
Vinos Ambiz 2020 Rosado
Spanish Sparkling
Strawberry, cream and walnut appear in an aromatic, creamy profile with an oxidative edge. This dry rosé is made from Grenache grown on limestone soils in the Sierra de Gredos. Grapes were basket-pressed into steel with little to no skin contact, and the wine spent six months on lees. The vines are eighty years old, and alcohol is thirteen percent.
Caparsa 2019 Bianco di Caparsino Toscana IGT
Italian White
Trebbiano and Malvasia form this still white. The fruit was harvested in late September, after the estate picked Sangiovese for its traditional-method sparkling base. Lemon rind and candle wax define the profile. The wine was made in Tuscany; no following edition was produced because the next season was considered too hot to make a balanced white.
Decoy 2020 Limited Sonoma Coast Chardonnay
American White
Green apple, nectarine and candied citrus accompany roasted nuts and acacia blossom. The palate is richly textured, with fresh citrus, stone fruit and a long, silky finish. The wine is made entirely from Chardonnay. Half fermented in stainless steel and half in barrel, with thirty-five percent new French oak and fifty percent malolactic fermentation. Alcohol is 14.2 percent.
Heidi Schröck & Söhne 2021 Tour de Rosé
Austrian Rosé
Berry and cherry fruit notes accompany rose petals, lavender and sage. The wine is modestly tangy, with delicate saline elements and harmonious acidity. The blend includes Blaufränkisch, Zweigelt, Sankt Laurent, Syrah, Merlot, Lagrein, Teroldego, Petit Verdot and Pinot Noir. This dry rosé comes from Burgenland in Austria. The finished wine contains 13.5 percent alcohol.
Clos des Centenaires 2021 Luxe, Calme et Volupté IGP Pays d’Oc
French Red
Forest fruit and sweet spice shape the aromas. The palate is luscious, with fine tannins on the finish. The blend combines forty percent Cabernet Sauvignon, forty percent Petit Verdot, ten percent Merlot and ten percent Syrah. Vinification took place in concrete tanks, followed by twelve months in oak barrels previously used for one to three vintages. The site has pebbly soil and a continental climate influenced by the nearby Mediterranean Sea.
Cantine Volpi 2021 La Zerba Derthona Timorasso Colli Tortonesi
Italian White
Ripe stone fruit, chamomile, sweet spice and herbal notes accompany an exotic perfume. The wine has oily richness, ample acidity and a grassy finish. Timorasso was harvested by hand, gently pressed and fermented slowly at cool temperature in stainless steel before resting in old oak barrels. The finished wine is certified organic, sustainable and vegan. It comes from Colli Tortonesi in Piedmont.
Bruno Rocca 2023 Langhe Rosato
Italian Rosé
Cherry-red colour accompanies raspberry and strawberry. The rosé has concentration, crisp freshness and a red-fruit profile. Nebbiolo comes from young vines in the producer's vineyards. Grapes were harvested by hand, destemmed and sorted as whole berries into stainless-steel tanks. The wine then spent several months in stainless steel before bottling. It is dry and carries the Langhe designation.
Baldovar 923 2022 Cerro Negro Mencía
Spanish Red
Red berries, flowers, wild herbs and spice accompany freshness and minerality. Ruby colour has violet reflections, with lavender, geranium, strawberry, sour cherry jam, toasted wood, soft earth, structure and salinity. Mencía comes from forty-year-old vines at 980 metres on schist. Grapes were harvested by hand, and seventy percent of the wine aged in clay vessels. Production totalled 5,890 bottles.
Miner Family Winery 2009 La Diligence Marsanne Stagecoach Vineyard
American White
Ripe stone fruit, buttered bread, liquorice and honeycomb meet a mineral element. The texture is lush and thick, with ripe fruit and a long finish. Marsanne comes from Stagecoach Vineyard in Napa Valley. The wine spent five months in French Burgundian oak, approximately forty percent new. Production totalled four hundred cases, and alcohol is 14.4 percent.
Arnaud Lambert 2022 Brézé Clos de Midi Saumur Blanc
French White
Pears, herbs, white pepper and spices appear in a satiny, medium-bodied profile. The wine is pure, precise and tense, with salinity and a long, delicate finish. Chenin comes from southeast-facing vines in Brézé, planted on sandy clay over chalk. The fruit was matured only in stainless-steel tanks. The vineyard is farmed under certified organic and biodynamic standards.
Domaine de Gaubourg 2023 Mon Garenne Grolleau Noir IGP Val de Loire
French Red
Grolleau Noir comes from fifty- to sixty-year-old vines in the Grand Pierre sector. The shallow sandy-silt soil lies over grey schist crossed by quartz. Grapes were harvested by hand and destemmed. Maceration in vat lasted about three weeks. Ageing ran for one year, with half the wine in barrels that had previously held three wines. The finished wine is red and classified IGP Val de Loire.