Wine
Wine
Poderi Colla 2022 Costa Bruna Barbera d’Alba
Italian Red
Black cherry, chocolate, liquorice and a hint of meatiness form the aromatic profile. Wild berry fruit and bright acidity accompany a finely textured palate with a subtle rustic edge. The finish is quiet and lingering. Barbera grapes come from a west-facing vineyard at 250 metres and are harvested by hand in small baskets. Maceration lasts ten to twelve days before eight to twelve months of maturation in Slavonian and French oak.
Tenuta di Arceno 2021 Campolupi Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG
Italian Red
Violets, ripe plum and black pepper appear with blueberry, cassis, sage and rosemary. The palate is full-bodied, with racy acidity from Sangiovese and round intensity from Colorino. Cedar and forest floor mark the lingering finish. The inaugural dry release comes from high-elevation blocks at 550 metres and combines ninety-five percent Sangiovese with five percent Colorino.
Mark Haisma 2023 A Bogan in Bogandy Coteaux Bourguignons
French Red
Bright red and black fruit meet a subtle spice accent. The palate is light, forward and juicy, with freshness and balanced acidity. Pinot Noir accounts for sixty percent of the blend and Gamay forty percent. Fermentation takes ten days in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts. Maturation includes twelve months in 228-litre French oak, ten percent new, and five to six months in stainless steel.
Occhipinti 2015 Siccagno Nero d’Avola
Italian Red
Intense, bright ruby colour introduces berry jam, Mediterranean scrub, cinchona, tamarind and spice. The palate is powerful and vigorous, with austere tannins, freshness and glyceric softness. Bitter cocoa appears on the long finish. Made entirely from Nero d'Avola, the red wine carries the Terre Siciliane IGT designation and contains thirteen percent alcohol. Suggested pairings include lamb, mature cheese, pasta and beef fillet.
Jean-Claude Ramonet 2019 Bourgogne Aligoté
French White
Pale straw in colour, this Aligoté offers spicy aromas with lime, vanilla and white fruit. Apple and lemon accompany pure fruit on a bone-dry palate, with focused minerality, a fleshy middle and bright acidity. Saline notes are also present. The structure is sharp and lively, with substance and balance, and the wine contains twelve and a half percent alcohol.
El Maestro Sierra Cream Sherry
Spanish Fortified
Almond, prune, raisin, caramel, roast coffee and tobacco form the aromatic profile. The palate is rich and sweet, with balancing acidity, a round texture and good intensity. Cinnamon and walnut appear on the finish. The blend combines fifteen-year-old Oloroso with five-year-old Pedro Ximénez, which accounts for thirty percent, followed by four years in old American oak through the solera system.
Domaine Seguin-Manuel 2021 Viré-Clessé
French White
Gold in colour, the Chardonnay combines fruit, mineral and floral notes. The palate is straightforward and concentrated, with ripe fruit and a delicate, lively mineral finish. Old vines grow on east-facing limestone-and-clay slopes in Viré. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel, followed by nine months of maturation in French oak casks. Viré lies north of Mâcon and fifty miles south of Beaune.
Jean-Claude Ramonet 2018 Bourgogne Aligoté
French White
Lemon thistle, river stone and crunchy pear appear over a layer of downy lees. A reductive thread runs through the profile. The finish brings wild meadow grass and ample flake salt. Aligoté comes from vines planted in nineteen fifty-six and nineteen sixty-three. The wine is intense yet restrained, with twelve and a half percent alcohol. Its slender frame combines lightness with complexity.
Jean-Claude Ramonet 2018 Bouzeron Aligoté
French White
Fresh and bright Aligoté aromas and spice accompany rich, dense and sweet flavours. The palate is mouthwatering, with a hint of vanilla, a silky texture and a light-bodied frame. Natural acidity balances the density and weight of the warm growing season. Stony and saline notes recall a clean oyster shell, and subtle spice appears on the tightly woven finish.
Maison en Belles Lies 2019 L’Étrange Vin de France
French Red
Morello cherry, marzipan, black pepper, tamarind and allspice are present. Dark fruit and developed aromatics accompany precise acidity and soft tannins. Gamay à petits grains accounts for sixty percent of the blend, Pinot Noir twenty-five percent and Muscat Chardonnay fifteen percent. Grapes are farmed biodynamically, and the red wine is bottled without fining, filtration or added sulphur.
Wasenhaus 2022 Spätburgunder
German Red
Delicate cherry and violet are joined by juniper, bay leaf and a soy-sauce spice note. The palate is cool and spare, with a subtle outline of oak, cocoa bean, freshness and firm tannins. Lots from different parcels are handled separately: some use whole clusters and others are destemmed. Overall whole-cluster use is twenty percent, and pressing follows about two weeks.
Margins 2020 Sattler’s Vineyard Counoise Santa Clara Valley
American Red
Fresh, fruity and spicy, this Counoise is lightly hued and suited to a light chill. Fruit comes from Sattler's Vineyard in Santa Clara Valley, a small foothill site. Hot, dry conditions are tempered by a marked daily temperature swing, preserving acidity. Alcohol is twelve point nine percent, and the red is versatile at the table.
Maison en Belles Lies 2021 Bourgogne Aligoté
French White
Aligoté from Saint-Aubin grows on white limestone soils. Whole clusters are pressed directly and cold-settled for three days. Spontaneous fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel, followed by fifteen months of maturation, thirty percent in tank and seventy percent in 350-litre barrels. The white wine is unfined and unfiltered, with minimal sulphur added before bottling.
Trisaetum 2021 Coast Range Estate Riesling
American White
Round and fruity, the Riesling combines baked apple and pear with a hint of almond paste. A touch of sweetness remains far from dessert level, while the palate is full and the finish lingers. Production totals two hundred and sixty-nine cases, and alcohol is eleven point three percent. The estate vineyard lies in Oregon's Yamhill-Carlton District.
Oddero 2022 Monlià Derthona Timorasso
Italian White
Bright straw yellow with green reflections, the white wine combines white-fleshed fruit, wildflowers and light citrus notes. The palate is fresh and savoury, with good structure and persistent mineral character. Grapes are harvested by hand and gently pressed. Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel, followed by about ten months on fine lees in steel with periodic bâtonnage.
Castello di Tassarolo 2023 Ombra Orange Wine in Amphora
Italian White
Made entirely from Cortese, this unfiltered orange-style white ferments with partially crushed skins in handmade terracotta amphorae. Organic grapes are harvested by hand, and no sulphites are added. Alcohol is thirteen percent. Production is limited to two thousand bottles. The wine is Biodynamic, Vegan and Natural. The winery is based in Tassarolo in Italy's Piedmont region.
Domaine de la Touraize 2022 Les Voisines Chardonnay Arbois
French White
Textured and crunchy, the Chardonnay carries slight oxidative notes. The vines grow across three hills north of Arbois on gravel over marl, limestone and blue marl. Whole clusters are pressed into vat, then the settled wine is racked into barrel for indigenous fermentation. It ages on fine lees for two winters in oak puncheons and is bottled unfined and unfiltered.
Escoda-Sanahuja 2019 Mas del Gaio
Spanish White
Light and fragrant, the skin-contact white is tightly woven, firm and concentrated. Tropical fruit and salinity are present, with a long finish. Parellada forms half of the blend, joined by Grenache Blanc and Macabeu from old vines. After eight days of skin contact, fermentation takes place in amphora. The wine remains in amphora for eight months before moving to old oak.
Château du Hureau 2017 Lisagathe Saumur-Champigny
French Red
Cabernet Franc comes from old vines rooted in clay and sand over Turonian limestone. Harvesting is by hand, followed by sorting and complete destemming. Maceration lasts twenty-five to thirty-five days, and malolactic fermentation takes place in tank. The wine matures for eighteen to twenty-four months in foudres and barrels. Its profile combines depth and power with finesse.
Cirelli La Collina Biologica Vino Bianco 3 L
Italian White
Fresh and lively, this organic white has a rustic, salty and mineral profile. The grapes come from estate vineyards near Atri and grow on clay-limestone soils. They are harvested by hand, destemmed and given twenty-four hours of skin contact in stainless steel before gentle pressing. The wine then remains in stainless steel for about four months before bottling.
Frank Cornelissen 2016 Munjebel Bianco Classico
Italian White
Grecanico and Carricante come from vines more than forty years old on volcanic soils. The white wine spends four days in contact with its skins before fermentation in neutral fibreglass tanks. It then rests on the lees for about eighteen months. The wine is dry, carries thirteen percent alcohol and comes from vineyards on Mount Etna cultivated according to organic methods.
Domaine Rebourgeon-Mure 2022 Bourgogne Rouge Maison Dieu
French Red
Vibrant ruby in colour, the Pinot Noir combines cherry and blackberry with red-fruit flavour and an earthy undertone. Fine tannins accompany a medium-bodied palate with balanced structure and acidity. The finish lingers. Alcohol is twelve and a half percent. The vines are managed under lutte raisonnée, and the red wine comes from Burgundy in France.
Domaine Marcel Deiss 2020 Alsace Rouge Pinot Noir
French Red
Tart redcurrant and cedar appear with red plum and cranberry. Fine-grained tannins and lively acidity accompany the fruit, while earth and black pepper mark a medium-length finish. Pinot Noir comes from clay-limestone soils. Whole bunches are pressed slowly, and indigenous yeasts carry out fermentation. The wine matures on fine lees for one year. The wine is organic.
Emrich-Schönleber 2021 Monzinger Niederberg Riesling 1G
German White
Bright citrus peel, spice and mineral character accompany piercing acidity and a grippy texture. The dry Riesling is linear, with length and focus. Native yeasts ferment the wine in stainless steel. Niederberg's slate and quartzite slopes sit in the upper Nahe. The parcel ripens later than Halenberg because it does not receive the same thermal updraft. Farming is identified as sustainable.
Château Cap Léon Veyrin 2010 Listrac-Médoc
French Red
Garnet colour accompanies an intense bouquet that combines black fruit with forest-floor aromas. On the palate, roundness and generosity sit alongside a consistent structure supported by firm yet silky tannins. Merlot forms sixty-two percent of the blend, followed by thirty-five percent Cabernet Sauvignon and three percent Petit Verdot. The wine was aged in cask, and seventy thousand bottles were produced.
Quinta da Falorca 2019 Encruzado Reserva Dão
Portuguese White
Dry and structured, the palate is balanced and has a big, lingering finish. Most of the wine matures in stainless steel, while eleven percent spends two months in new French oak. Encruzado is accompanied by a small amount of Malvasia from vines interspersed in the field. The mouthfeel coats the palate, while the structure lifts the fruit. Alcohol is thirteen percent.
Telmo Rodriguez 2014 Pegaso Granito
Spanish Red
Blackberry, black cherry, thyme, rosemary and earthy notes accompany a deep ruby colour. The palate is fleshy and concentrated, with firm tannins, mild acidity and a mineral finish. Orange, lime, bark, forest floor, spice and red fruit are also present. The texture is balanced and expands across the back of the palate, adding length. This is a dry Garnacha red.
Poderi Colla 2016 Bricco del Drago Langhe Rosso
Italian Red
Deep ruby in colour, the wine shows fresh plum, Morello cherry and almond. The palate is juicy and concentrated, with balanced tannins and a long finish. Dolcetto accounts for eighty-five percent of the blend and Nebbiolo fifteen percent. Alcohol is thirteen and a half percent, residual sugar is below three grams per litre, and acidity is five point six grams per litre.
Clos Marie 2023 Manon Languedoc Blanc
French White
Fine oak accompanies yellow and exotic fruit, floral notes and freshness. The palate is rounded and balanced. Tapenade is also present, and the finish is fresh. The blend combines Grenache Blanc, Grenache Gris, Roussanne, Rolle, Carignan Blanc, Clairette and Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains. Alcohol is thirteen and a half percent. The vines occupy a former olive grove.
Le Coste 2019 Pinotto
Italian Red
Black fruit, earthy notes and spice accompany a delicate, light palate with marked acidity. Pinot Noir and a small proportion of Syrah come from two young plots on volcanic soils at about four hundred and seventy metres. Whole bunches undergo carbonic maceration for one month in old barrels with indigenous yeasts. The wine then spends twelve months on fine lees in oak vats.