Wine
Wine
Domaine Sylvain Pataille 2023 Marsannay Pinot Noir
French Red
Candied cherry, raspberry, peony, spice and mineral notes form the profile of this dry Pinot Noir. The wine has present acidity, a generous texture, medium body and discreet oak. It is made entirely from Pinot Noir and carries thirteen percent alcohol. A serving temperature between fifteen and seventeen degrees Celsius is recommended for this red Burgundy.
Casanova Di Neri 2016 Brunello di Montalcino White Label
Italian Red
This Sangiovese is selected manually, then passes through an optical selector after destemming. Fermentation is spontaneous, without added yeasts, in temperature-controlled conical steel vats. Maceration lasts twenty-five days. Oak maturation lasts forty-three months, followed by six months in bottle. Small red fruits, spice and chocolate accompany ripe tannins and bright acidity. The colour is a youthful ruby red. Harvest took place in the first week of October.
Domaine Poulleau 2023 Volnay Pinot Noir
French Red
Pinot Noir comes from a 0.76-hectare Volnay site with limestone and brown-silt soils. The vines average fifty years of age, and the fruit is picked by hand. Maturation lasts one year in oak casks, including twenty percent new casks. Wild cherry, raspberry, rose petals, spice and forest-floor notes accompany supple fruit and silken tannins.
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.
Château Tronquoy-Lalande 2009 Saint-Estèphe
French Red
Boysenberry, spring flowers, blackcurrant and ink accompany a supple texture and a long finish. The colour is dense purple, and the profile is full-bodied. The blend is fifty-one percent Merlot, forty-two percent Cabernet Sauvignon and seven percent Petit Verdot. Alcoholic fermentation lasts six to seven days, with an average maceration of eighteen days. Harvest ran from September 18 to October 7.
Comando G 2023 Villanueva Garnacha Cebreros
Spanish Red
Fresh cherries and raspberries are present alongside floral and mineral notes. The texture is light and fluid, with length. The wine is made entirely from Garnacha and comes from Villanueva within D.O. Cebreros. Maturation lasts ten months in cement tanks and barrels. The vines are thirty to sixty years old, rooted in granitic sand and silt above 1,000 metres.
Champagne Tarlant Rosé Zéro Brut Nature NV
French Sparkling
A blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier forms this rosé Champagne. First fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel and oak barrels, while reserve wines mature in barrels. The cuvée combines white and red wines, and disgorgement is carried out by hand. Dosage is zero grams per litre, placing the wine in the Brut Nature style.
Podere Forte 2018 Petruccino Orcia DOC
Italian Red
Bright, deep ruby colour accompanies strawberry, red berries, fine wood, white chocolate and peppery spice. The Sangiovese is juicy, mineral and saline, with tension. The six-hectare site lies at 430 metres and faces west and southwest. Calcareous schist sits beneath thirty to forty centimetres of clay. Aromatic herbs and fresh notes are present, with a balsamic finish.
Domaine Billaud-Simon 2023 Chablis Premier Cru Montée de Tonnerre
French White
White-gold colour with green reflections accompanies mineral and spice notes. The Chardonnay shows freshness, sweet fruit and floral detail, with body and an oily texture. The Montée de Tonnerre climat lies beside the former Roman road linking Auxerre and Tonnerre, where the route climbs toward the plateau. A serving temperature of ten to twelve degrees Celsius is recommended.
Alice et Olivier De Moor 2023 Nuova Descriptio Vin de France
French White
The blend combines sixty percent Sauvignon Blanc with twenty percent Aligoté and twenty percent Chardonnay. Sauvignon Blanc is divided between direct pressing into amphora and whole-bunch maceration in tank. Aligoté macerates on skins in tank, while Chardonnay is directly pressed and ferments in barrel. The finished wine is lightly filtered and has gentle grip and bitterness. The organically farmed fruit is harvested by hand.
Averill Creek 2018 Barrel 24 Pinot Noir Cowichan Valley
Canadian Red
This Pinot Noir comes from fifteen-year-old vines in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island. The vineyard occupies a south-facing slope of Mount Prevost, where four Pinot Noir clones are planted. The property is located just outside Duncan, and the site is cropped at low yields. The bottling was offered to CRU Society members. Cowichan Valley holds recognition as a British Columbia sub-geographical indication.
La Rioja Alta 1995 Gran Reserva 890 Rioja
Spanish Red
Soy, marmalade, Seville orange, clove, strawberry, citrus lemon, floral detail and spice accompany crisp, finely tuned tannins. Raspberry, leather, game and cinnamon add further detail. The blend includes Tempranillo, Graciano and Mazuelo. Maturation lasts six years in American oak, and the wine contains 12.7 percent alcohol. The colour is dark tile red, while ripe fruit, wood and forest fruit are present with a persistent finish.
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.
Merryvale Vineyards 2017 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
American Red
Plum, blackberry and cherry accompany leather and granite-like mineral detail. Lively acidity, soft tannins, a velvety texture and a long finish are present. The blend is eighty-five percent Cabernet Sauvignon, ten percent Cabernet Franc and five percent Merlot. Native-yeast fermentation follows a five-day cold soak in small tanks. Maturation lasts twenty-two months in French oak, with fifty percent new barrels, before bottling without fining or filtration.
J.J. Prüm 2005 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese
German White
Peach, apricot, candied citrus, honey, flowers, smoke and slate minerality are present. Baked apple and vanilla appear on the palate alongside floral detail, vanilla cream and nut paste. Fermentative aromas are present. The finish is long, with spicy botrytis. The Riesling comes from slate sites in the Mosel. Concentration and an airy character are both present.
Duckhorn 2004 Three Palms Vineyard Merlot Napa Valley
American Red
Red fruit, dried herbs, allspice, vanilla bean and dust accompany ripe strawberry, dried cherry, toasted oak, chocolate and spice. The texture is velvety, with bright acidity and firm, well-integrated tannins. The blend is seventy-five percent Merlot, ten percent Cabernet Sauvignon, nine percent Petit Verdot, five percent Cabernet Franc and one percent Malbec. Maturation lasts twenty months in new sixty-gallon French oak barrels. The wine contains 14.5 percent alcohol.
Duckhorn 2003 Three Palms Vineyard Merlot Napa Valley
American Red
Strawberry, raspberry, cherry, black olive, almond and spice accompany red fruit, cedar and oak. The texture is silky, with balanced acidity and ample tannins in a smooth, full-bodied profile. The blend is seventy-five percent Merlot, eleven percent Cabernet Sauvignon, seven percent Petit Verdot and seven percent Cabernet Franc. Maturation lasts twenty months in new sixty-gallon French oak barrels. The grapes were harvested over six days in September.
Far Niente 2006 Estate Bottled Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville
American Red
Ripe purple fruit accompanies black liquorice and briar. A silky texture, dense velvety chocolate and toast sit within a full-bodied, concentrated profile with a long finish. The wine is made entirely from Cabernet Sauvignon. Maturation lasts sixteen months in French oak barrels, using seventy-three percent new oak and twenty-seven percent once-used oak. Skin contact lasts twelve to twenty-nine days, and the fruit comes from Martin Stelling Vineyard in Oakville.
Vietti 2021 Perbacco Langhe Nebbiolo 1.5 L
Italian Red
Fruit, mint, spice and raspberry accompany round tannins and a long finish. The wine is made entirely from Nebbiolo, with grapes drawn mainly from vineyards in the Barolo and Barbaresco production areas. Alcoholic fermentation lasts about three to four weeks, followed by malolactic fermentation in steel or barriques. The separate vineyard lots mature in barriques and large casks for approximately eighteen to twenty months before blending in steel for bottling.
Château Pichon Baron 2012 Les Griffons de Pichon Baron Pauillac
French Red
Cassis, blackberry and spice accompany a tannic, fresh profile. The wine is made from sixty percent Cabernet Sauvignon and forty percent Merlot. It is a red from Pauillac in Bordeaux, with fruit drawn primarily from gravelly parcels near the Gironde estuary. Production for the inaugural release totalled forty thousand bottles. Maturation takes place in barrels. The wine has a pure, direct, vigorous and full-bodied character.
Château du Cèdre 2006 GC Cahors Malbec
French Red
Dried black plum, cassis, blackberry, leather, cigar box, truffle, graphite, liquorice and earth are present. Full-bodied texture and rounded tannins accompany fresh acidity, stewed dark fruit, cocoa, tobacco, forest floor and savoury spice. A long finish is also present. The wine is made entirely from Malbec. Ripe tannins and fresh fruit sit alongside flavours from new oak, with a restrained character.
Domaine Rebourgeon-Mure 2020 Pommard
French Red
Restrained, dense, pure, firm and tight, this Pinot Noir comes from Pommard in Burgundy. The village wine is assembled from Les Perrières, La Vache, La Rue au Port and La Croix Planet. The vineyards lie between 230 and 270 metres on clay-limestone soils with south and southeast exposures. Grapes are harvested by hand and fully destemmed. Maturation in oak lasts fourteen to eighteen months, depending on the cuvée.
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.
Champagne Forget-Brimont 2012 Millésime Premier Cru Brut
French Sparkling
Pale gold colour and fine, persistent bubbles accompany green apple, apricot and white peach. The wine is made from forty percent Pinot Noir, forty percent Meunier and twenty percent Chardonnay. The soils are mainly chalky across Premier and Grand Cru villages. Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel, and malolactic fermentation is completed. Bottle ageing lasts about eight to ten years. Dosage is four grams per litre.
Champagne Tarlant Zéro Brut Nature NV
French Sparkling
Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Meunier each account for thirty-two percent of the blend; Petit Meslier, Arbanne and Pinot Blanc make up the remaining four percent. The wine has no dosage. The soils include chalk, clay-chalk, flint, silica sand and limestone. Slow gravity pressing, spontaneous fermentation and six months on the lees in French oak are used. Bottle maturation generally lasts five to six years, and the wine is not fined.
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.
Champagne Charles Dufour Bistrotage B19 NV
French Sparkling
Made entirely from Pinot Noir, the wine draws on three calcareous-clay sites in Chervey: Bicheret, Les Copies and Val Herard. Most of the blend comes from the principal harvest with a small amount of reserve wine. Native fermentation takes place half in steel and half in older wood. Bottle ageing on the lees lasts more than four years. Dosage is two grams per litre. Red fruit, anise, limestone and bergamot are present.
Montes 2021 Purple Angel Carménère Petit Verdot
Chilean Red
Deep brick-red colour accompanies intense aromas of ripe blackberry, plum and blueberry. Black and blue fruit, sweet spice, pink pepper, coffee and tobacco appear on the palate. The texture is balanced and silky, with a caramel-like body and a very long finish. The blend is ninety-two percent Carménère and eight percent Petit Verdot. Maturation lasts eighteen months in French oak, with seventy percent first-use barrels.
Guigal 2012 Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde de Guigal
French Red
Plummy fruit appears with ground clove and cracked pepper. The texture is ripe and creamy. Vanilla and bacon are present on a slightly dusty finish. The blend is ninety-six percent Syrah and four percent Viognier. Maturation lasts at least thirty-six months in oak, with forty percent new wood. The colour is dark ruby red, and the wine has round, soft tannins.