Red
Red
Elio Grasso 2016 Barolo Ginestra Casa Matè
Italian Red
Black cherry, plum and balsamic notes appear in a profile with ample, creamy texture and depth. Nebbiolo is fermented in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks with daily pumpovers, then matured in twenty-five-hectolitre Slavonian oak casks. After bottling, the wine rests in the cellar for eight to ten months. The vineyard has calcareous, clay-rich soil and a southern exposure in Monforte d'Alba.
Mission Hill Family Estate 2004 Oculus
Canadian Red
Merlot accounts for seventy-four percent of the blend, joined by Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Cedar, cassis and savoury black fruit appear alongside mint, liquorice, black raspberry and bitter chocolate. The wine is medium-bodied, with firm tannins and powerful character. This Bordeaux-inspired red comes from the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia and is presented in a 750 mL bottle.
Nardi 2006 Brunello di Montalcino
Italian Red
Bright full red colour appears with plum, currant, sour cherry, dried flowers, nuts and a suggestion of white fruit. The Sangiovese is silky on the palate, with intensity and subtle sweetness. Its shape is spherical and mouth-coating. The finish is chewy and saline, while the tannins are in harmony with the fruit. This Brunello comes from Tuscany.
Querciabella 2017 Chianti Classico 3 L
Italian Red
Dark cherry, violets and berries appear on the nose and palate. The finish is fresh. The blend is ninety-five percent Sangiovese and five percent Cabernet Sauvignon. Cool spring temperatures and abundant rainfall accompanied the vintage, and alcohol and acidity are balanced. The wine is made from biodynamic grapes, comes from Chianti Classico in Tuscany and is listed at thirteen-and-a-half percent alcohol.
Château Rousselle 2016 Côtes de Bourg 3 L
French Red
Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Cabernet Franc make up the blend. Red and black fruit include raspberry, blueberry and cherry, alongside liquorice, thyme, rosemary and mineral notes. The wine is supple and smooth, concentrated, fruity, round and full. The finish is notably long, and the average vine age is forty years. This red comes from Côtes de Bourg in Bordeaux.
Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste 2005 Pauillac
French Red
Dense purple colour appears with crème de cassis, flowers, wet stones and blackcurrant. The wine is ripe, full-bodied and fleshy, with length and richness. Cabernet Sauvignon accounts for seventy-eight percent of the blend and Merlot for twenty-two percent. The grapes were hand picked. Maceration lasts about three weeks, while maturation lasts sixteen to eighteen months in French oak barrels.
Osoyoos Larose 2011 Le Grand Vin 1.5 L
Canadian Red
Merlot accounts for forty-eight percent of the blend. The balance is thirty-three percent Cabernet Sauvignon, ten percent Petit Verdot, six percent Cabernet Franc and three percent Malbec. Cassis and spice appear with blackcurrant, mulberry, espresso and dark chocolate. Tannins are polished and firm, and cedar appears on the finish. The listed alcohol is fourteen percent. This red comes from British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley.
Castiglion del Bosco 2012 Brunello di Montalcino
Italian Red
Ruby red shows garnet flecks. The Sangiovese has complexity, structure and a mouthfilling palate. Cherry appears with iron, earth, tar and tobacco. Forest berry, underbrush, wild mushroom, lavender, liquorice, balsamic herbs, cola and grilled rosemary are also present. Linear tannins accompany fresh fruit, while the finish is persistent. The wine comes from Montalcino in Tuscany.
Antinori Guado al Tasso 2008 Bolgheri DOC Superiore
Italian Red
Toasted oak, coffee and spices appear with plum and blackcurrant. The palate is soft but firm, with acidity, freshness and crispness. Tannins are extremely elegant, and the aftertaste is very persistent, with coffee, berry fruit and toasted oak. The blend includes Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, with Petit Verdot used in a small amount. Barrel ageing lasts eighteen months.
Château Léoville Barton 1999 Saint-Julien
French Red
Cabernet Sauvignon accounts for seventy-two percent of the blend, with twenty-two percent Merlot and six percent Cabernet Franc. The wine has extremely dense colour and a powerful tannic structure. Harvest ran from late September into early October. The end of summer was warm and dry, and the grapes reached full ripeness. Merlot recorded high natural alcohol levels during the vintage.
Château Lynch-Bages 1997 Pauillac
French Red
Intense red colour appears with blackcurrant, menthol, resin and mocha, set against an elegant oak background. The wine is persistent and rich, with concentrated, ripe and rounded tannin. It is blended mainly from Cabernet Sauvignon, with Petit Verdot accounting for two percent. Violet and blackberry are also present. The overall profile combines structure, finesse, elegance and opulence. This Bordeaux red comes from Pauillac.
Laughing Stock 2021 Portfolio 3 L
Canadian Red
Merlot accounts for half of the blend; the balance is twenty-nine percent Cabernet Sauvignon, twelve percent Cabernet Franc, five percent Malbec and four percent Petit Verdot. Cassis and blueberry appear with cedar box and fresh tobacco. Red fruit, cocoa powder, smoked cherry and tobacco leaf are also present. The wine has structure, texture and a long spicy finish.
Antinori Guado al Tasso 2009 Bolgheri DOC Superiore
Italian Red
Balsamic notes appear with ripe fruit and spices. The palate is velvety, with soft tannins and finesse. Savoury mineral notes, length and persistence are also present. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc are joined by a small amount of Petit Verdot. Malolactic fermentation and eighteen months of ageing take place in small oak barrels. Bottle ageing lasts ten months.
Château Cantenac Brown 2010 Margaux
French Red
Cabernet Sauvignon accounts for sixty-one percent of the blend and Merlot for thirty-nine percent. The colour is deep and dense. Fresh red fruit appears with coffee, toasted almond and toast. The palate is fleshy, rich and tense. The wine has precise tannins and natural acidity. Ageing lasts sixteen months in French oak barrels, sixty percent new and forty percent one year old.
Marqués de Murrieta 2009 Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial
Spanish Red
Tempranillo accounts for eighty-one percent of the blend and Mazuelo for nineteen percent. Dried flowers, eucalyptus, smoke and violets accompany depth of fruit, concentration and fine tannins. The finish is elegant and ethereal. The grapes come from the La Plana vineyard in Rioja Alta and spend twenty-six months in 225-litre American and French oak barrels.
Joseph Phelps 2019 Insignia
American Red
Cabernet Sauvignon accounts for seventy-five percent of the blend, with Petit Verdot and Merlot each at ten percent, Malbec at three percent and Cabernet Franc at two percent. An inky dark hue accompanies ripe blackberry, star anise, cigar box, clove and sweet mocha. The full-bodied palate has velvety texture, supple tannins, black plum, violets and baking spices.
Marchesi di Barolo 1964 Barolo
Italian Red
Garnet-red colour carries orange reflections. Preserved forest fruit and cherry appear with dried rose petals, tobacco, leather, sweet spices, undergrowth and liquorice. The palate is structured, with integrated tannins and lively acidity. Dark chocolate and mineral notes are present. The finish is long. This dry Nebbiolo comes from Piedmont's Barolo appellation and is listed at 13.5 percent alcohol.
Quilceda Creek 2018 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
American Red
Blackberry, dark plum and crème de cassis appear with graphite, violets, herbs, sweet spices and mocha. Dark ruby colour has a deep core and purple reflections. The palate is full-bodied, concentrated and fresh, with a round, polished texture and layered dark fruit. This Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is listed at 14.8 percent alcohol. A cork closes the bottle.
Château Lynch-Bages 2020 Pauillac
French Red
Cabernet Sauvignon accounts for sixty percent of the blend, with Merlot at thirty-one percent, Petit Verdot at five percent and Cabernet Franc at four percent. The vineyard soil is Garonne gravel. The grapes are hand-picked and sorted in the vineyard. Ageing lasts eighteen months in French oak barrels, with new wood accounting for seventy-five percent.
Remoissenet Père & Fils 1969 Vosne-Romanée
French Red
Pinot Noir comes from the Vosne-Romanée appellation in Burgundy's Côte de Nuits. The appellation covers vineyards in Vosne-Romanée and neighbouring Flagey-Échezeaux and is reserved for red wine. Limestone mixed with clayey marls is characteristic, with soil depths ranging from tens of centimetres to one metre. The plots have an easterly exposure and may lie at the top or foot of the slope.
Château Léoville Poyferré 2010 Saint-Julien
French Red
Cabernet Sauvignon accounts for fifty-six percent of the blend, with Merlot at thirty-four percent, Petit Verdot at seven percent and Cabernet Franc at three percent. Mindel gravel terraces lie over sandy-clay subsoil. Blackberry, black cherry and orange peel accompany a full body, round creamy tannins and a flavourful finish. Violet edging appears around the rim.
Château Rousselle 2016 Côtes de Bourg 6 L
French Red
Red and black fruit, raspberry, blueberry and cherry are joined by liquorice, dried wild herbs and mineral tones. The palate is soft, creamy, fruity, round and concentrated, with a long finish. The vineyard is planted mainly to Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec on limestone slopes beneath brown clay. The wine ages for twelve months in French oak barrels.
Remoissenet Père & Fils 1967 Volnay
French Red
Deep cherry-red colour accompanies mushrooms, Asian spice and sous-bois. Dark cherry, earth, rhubarb and strawberry open in the glass, and the profile gains detail with air. The mature expression also shows beautiful colour, a pleasing structure and fine grain. The wine comes from Volnay in Burgundy's Côte de Beaune, where Pinot Noir forms the appellation's red wines.
Pio Cesare 1964 Barolo
Italian Red
Sand and leather appear on the nose, with sweet fruit, rose, nuts and sweet tar. The palate is slaty and soft, with leathery, savoury fruit, sweetness and acidity. Tannins have receded. Smoothness and balance are also present. Cigar, chocolate, smoke and tar accompany this Nebbiolo from Piedmont's Barolo appellation. The wine is red and listed at 13.5 percent alcohol.
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.