Selection
Selection
Roland Lavantureux 2022 Chablis
French White
Pear and lemon appear with a touch of wet walnut. The palate has concentration, mid-palate weight and salty preserved-lemon freshness, with a bright finish. Chardonnay comes from a five-hectare parcel in Lignorelles. The estate vinifies each parcel separately, and this wine receives twenty-five percent barrel élevage. The profile is long and direct, and alcohol is 12.5 percent.
Domaine Tatsis 2020 Limnio
Greek Red
Raspberry, tart cherry, ripe red fruit, white pepper and herbal notes accompany a medium-bodied palate. Rustic tannins, fresh acidity, a light green vegetable note and an earthy character are also present. Limnio is the sole grape variety. The wine is aged in old French oak barrels and bottled without additional sulphur. The fruit is certified organic, and the wine carries the PGI Macedonia designation.
Intellego 2020 Chenin Blanc
South African White
Hay, naartjie, peach and cut apple appear with fresh acidity and a gently savoury finish. The medium-bodied wine is made entirely from Chenin grown on a single Paardeberg hillside vineyard of nineteen-year-old bush vines. Hand-harvested fruit is whole-bunch pressed with solids, and spontaneous fermentation takes place in neutral 500-litre French foudres. The wine ages eleven months on gross lees without bâtonnage and is bottled unfined and unfiltered with a small sulphur addition.
Garnet Valley Ranch 2021 Pinot Noir
Canadian Red
Clear garnet-red colour appears with lush berries, delicate flowers and earthy undertones. Raspberry, dark cocoa, anise, a silky texture and soft balance are also present. Estate-grown Pinot Noir ferments in small concrete tanks with fifty percent whole clusters. Basket pressing and ageing in neutral barriques and small concrete tanks are also used. The finish is smooth and lingering, and alcohol is 12.5 percent.
Carranco 2022 Villa dei Baroni Etna Bianco
Italian White
Green apple and citrus fruit accompany a complex, saline and intense profile. The palate shows freshness and softness. Carricante accounts for the entire blend and comes from Contrada Carranco in Castiglione di Sicilia. Vinification takes place in stainless steel, and the wine spends six to seven months in cement on the fine lees. Alcohol is thirteen percent and the designation is Etna Bianco DOC.
La Rivolta 2022 Le Mongolfiere a San Bruno Aglianico del Taburno Rosato
Italian Rosé
Cerasuolo pink colour accompanies floral notes and a light fruit character led by strawberry. The palate is lively and flowing, with clear salinity. Aglianico accounts for the entire blend. Fermentation and maturation take place in stainless steel, and the wine records 14.5 percent alcohol. The grapes are organically grown in Campania under the Aglianico del Taburno designation.
Domaine Delaporte 2022 Sancerre Chavignol Blanc
French White
Light gold colour with green highlights accompanies boxwood, rhubarb, blackcurrant, kiwi, white flowers, white fruit and citrus. The palate is soft and rounded, with bright freshness and mineral notes. Balance and a long finish are also present. Sauvignon Blanc accounts for the entire wine. The grapes were harvested by hand, and the wine records thirteen percent alcohol under the Sancerre appellation.
Naboso 2023 Opera Brut
Slovak Sparkling
Flowers, spice, pear, apricot, quince, lemon and mineral notes accompany delicate bubbles and a creamy texture. The sparkling palate is fresh and lively. Müller-Thurgau, Pinot Gris and Moravian Muscat form the white sparkling blend. Refermentation takes place in bottle, and the wine records eleven percent alcohol. Total sulphites are reported below ten milligrams per litre.
Fort Berens 2022 Blanc de Blanc Brut
Canadian Sparkling
Toasted almond, baked bread and citrus blossom shape a dry, crisp profile. The palate is delicate and the finish shows citrus. Chardonnay from Dry Creek Vineyard in Lillooet is whole-cluster pressed and tank-fermented with selected yeast. Secondary fermentation takes place in bottle, followed by twenty-four months on the lees before riddling and disgorging. Residual sugar is 5.8 grams per litre, and alcohol is 11.5 percent.
Familia Oliván-Ruiz 2021 Custero Rioja
Spanish Red
Garnacha forms sixty percent, joined by Tempranillo, Garnacha Roya and white varieties. The profile is fresh and long, with many aromatic nuances and a slightly rugged tannic texture. Grapes are hand-harvested from selection-massale vines around 600 metres, then co-fermented as whole clusters with native yeast in open-top fermenters. Ageing uses second-use barriques and concrete; sulphur is added only at bottling.
Autour de l’Anne 2023 Los Annegeles
French White
Vermentino and Colombard are grown on limestone and red-clay soils in a one-hectare vineyard, whose vines average twenty years of age. The grapes are harvested by hand and ferment spontaneously in concrete tanks with indigenous yeasts. Ageing continues in tank, without fining, filtration or added sulphur. Cantaloupe, citrus, soft texture and energy define this biodynamically farmed white blend.
Domaine Rolet Crémant du Jura Blanc Brut NV
French Sparkling
Chardonnay makes up half the blend, with Savagnin and a combined portion of Pinot Noir, Trousseau and Poulsard. The grapes are harvested exclusively by hand and pressed as whole bunches. A second fermentation takes place in bottle, followed by at least twelve months on laths. Fine bubbles accompany white fruit, citrus and floral notes, with a lightly saline character and a taut finish.
Thibaud Capellaro 2021 Pierre Taillée
French Red
Syrah comes from two massale-selected vineyards just south of Condrieu, one in Saint-Joseph and one across the river. Half the grapes are destemmed and half retained as whole clusters for fermentation. The wine is pressed into 650-litre demi-muids for an eleven-month élevage. It is classified as Vin de France and records 12.5 percent alcohol.
Salvajes de Gredos 2023 Marino Tinto Garnacha
Spanish Red
Wild forest berries and black cherry meet spicy black fruit and Mediterranean garrigue. The texture is smooth, with fine-grained tannins and a mineral finish. Garnacha comes from two sites whose vines are sixty to eighty-five years old on poor sand and granite soils. After spontaneous stainless-steel fermentation and a ten-day maceration without stems, the wine spends eight months in used 500-litre French oak barrels.
Ursa Major 2022 Chapter 8: Last Days in the Desert Syrah Rosé
Canadian Rosé
Wild strawberry, dried rosemary, raspberries and cream, and hazelnut define the aroma, while salted Marcona almond, white peach, pink grapefruit and fresh feta appear on the palate. Syrah from Sagebrush Vineyard in Oliver is direct pressed and naturally fermented in neutral oak and stainless-steel barrels. The wine rests untopped on gross lees under flor for twenty-one months, then is bottled by hand without fining or filtration.
Escala Humana 2024 Livverá Malvasía
Argentinian White
Malvasía de Sitges comes from El Zampal in Tupungato at about 1,100 metres. The low-trained vineyard was planted in nineteen twenty-three on clay-loam soils. After destemming, the wine remains on skins for ninety to 120 days. Ageing is split evenly between used French barrels and concrete eggs. The profile is aromatic, floral, lightly spicy, broad and long, with a subtly saline finish.
Scarpa 2022 Monferrato Bianco Timorasso
Italian White
Timorasso grows at the I Bricchi estate, near Castel Rocchero and Acqui Terme, at about 380 metres. The soils are mainly clay with a small sandy component. The fruit receives roughly twenty hours of cool skin contact before stainless-steel fermentation and ageing, with regular bâtonnage. White flowers, citrus, ripe yellow fruit, saffron and flint accompany lively acidity and persistent minerality.
Domaine Naudin-Ferrand 2023 Bourgogne Aligoté
French White
Aligoté comes from parcels in Magny-lès-Villers and Villers-la-Faye, on shallow, gently sloping clay-limestone soils with good sun exposure. Grapes are harvested by hand and pressed directly. Fermentation takes place in enamelled or stainless-steel tanks with indigenous yeasts, followed by full malolactic conversion and several months on the lees. The wine is lightly filtered and bottled by gravity.
La Familia Mauvinon 2024 Bordeaux Blanc
French White
Sauvignon Blanc gives a lively citrus profile, white-flower notes and a mineral line. The palate is chiselled and direct. Grapes are harvested by hand, then fermented at low temperature in stainless-steel tanks. Stéphane Defraine makes the wine. It records 12.5 percent alcohol and 62 milligrams per litre of sulphites. Production takes place outside the château.
Birch Block Vineyard 2022 Blanc de Franc Pétillant Naturel
Canadian Sparkling
Cabernet Franc is made into a light-bodied sparkling wine with no skin contact. Strawberry, raspberry and citrus shape the fresh profile. Production includes hand riddling, disgorging and hand labelling. The fruit comes from Kaleden, on high benches above the western shore of Skaha Lake in British Columbia. The estate farms five acres and focuses on low-intervention, energetic wines.
Vazisubani Estate 2020 Kisi Qvevri
Georgian White
Apricot, dried fruit and roasted nuts define this dry amber wine. Estate-grown Kisi is hand-picked and partly destemmed, then fermented spontaneously with native yeast in qvevri. Skin contact lasts six months; the profile is full-bodied, supple and rich in fine tannins. The wine is unfiltered, with bentonite as the only fining material, and records 12.5 percent alcohol.
Carranco 2019 Villa dei Baroni Etna Rosso
Italian Red
Nerello Mascalese grows on the northern side of Etna in volcanic soils at about 500 metres. Vinification takes place in concrete, followed by maturation in large Slavonian-oak casks. Currant, rose, cherry, ripe peach, sulphur, liquorice, citrus, anise and mint shape the profile. The palate is juicy, with lively acidity, reactive savoury tannins and a long saline trail.
Argillae 2023 Orvieto Superiore
Italian White
Bright straw-yellow colour accompanies yellow flowers, citrus and tropical fruit. The palate is broad, complex, fruity and persistent, with mineral notes, refreshing acidity and a fresh finish. Grechetto, Procanico, Malvasia, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc form the blend. Fermentation and four to five months of ageing take place in stainless steel, followed by one month of bottle ageing.
Zuccardi 2019 Polígonos Paraje Altamira Malbec
Argentinian Red
Malbec comes from Paraje Altamira at about 1,100 metres. Fermentation and ageing take place in concrete, without cultured yeasts or oak. Red and blue fruit accompany a juicy, savoury and almost saline palate. Country herbs, violets and lavender are also present, while a chalky path extends through the wine. The profile is fresh and zesty, with lightness and tension.
Bodega Cueva 2018 Bobal & Marselan
Spanish Red
Bobal and Marselan grow on limestone and are vinified in stainless steel. The cool-year red is medium-bodied and sleek, with freshness carried through the profile. Fermentation is spontaneous; the wine is bottled without fining, filtration or added sulphur. Ripe fruit, compote, liquorice, violet, cherry and cereal notes accompany a soft, balanced and rounded texture. Alcohol is 13.5 percent.
Borgo Stajnbech 2016 Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso
Italian Red
Ruby colour carries purple and violet reflections. Blackberry, raspberry, blueberry and morello cherry lead the fruit, with red rose, black pepper and damp earth also present. Acidity and softness are balanced, while the tannins leave the palate dry and the finish recalls red fruit. The wine aged for ten months in stainless steel and another two months in bottle.
Brovia 2021 Roero Arneis
Italian White
Stone fruit and citrus meet a mineral spine in this dry white. Arneis comes from a 0.80-hectare, south-facing sandy vineyard in Vezza d’Alba at about 340 metres. Harvest is manual, followed by brief maceration and fermentation at controlled temperature for two to three weeks. The wine rests in stainless steel until early spring before several months of bottle ageing.
Rieslingfreak 2022 No. 3 Clare Valley Riesling
Australian White
Papaya, neroli and nectarine shape the aromas. Lemon, mandarin and grapefruit drive an intensely flavoured yet delicate palate, held by a tight line of acidity through a long, zesty finish. The Riesling comes from the family vineyard at White Hutt in Clare Valley, where heavy red clay contributes richness and generous palate weight. Alcohol is 10.9 percent.
Matteo Correggia 2022 Roero Rosso
Italian Red
Nebbiolo grows in the sandy hills of Roero. The grapes are harvested by hand, then macerated in stainless steel for six to eight days. The wine spends six months in second-use barriques. Violet, dried flowers, white pepper and balsamic herbs define the aromatic profile. The palate is intense and structured, with present tannins and a persistent finish.
Echo Bay 2016 Cabernet Franc–Malbec
Canadian Red
Cabernet Franc makes up sixty percent of the blend, joined by forty percent Malbec. The varieties were destemmed, crushed and fermented separately, then matured for eighteen months in barrel, with twenty percent new wood. After blending, the wine rested briefly before bottling and further bottle ageing. The finished red records thirteen percent alcohol, a pH of 3.77 and total acidity of 7.2.