Selection
Selection
Howling Bluff Estate Winery 2021 Three Mile Creek Pinot Noir
Canadian Red
Sour cherry and raspberry form a tart, cool red-fruit profile with savoury and earthy notes. The vines include Pinot Noir clones 115, 667 and 777 and were twenty-two years old when reviewed. Fruit receives a two-day cold soak. After three weeks, the wine is pressed into French oak barrels and aged there for eighteen months. Further acidic fruit appears on the finish.
Michele Reverdito 2023 Verduno Pelaverga
Italian Red
Pale ruby colour accompanies rose, violet, wild strawberry and spice. The wine is dry and fine, with persistence. Pelaverga grapes are destemmed and vinified in temperature-controlled stainless steel, with no barrel ageing. The vineyard covers 0.65 hectares and faces southwest at 290 metres. Stainless steel is also used for maturation. Red berries, dark cherry, mint, camphor and white pepper are present.
Mersel 2021 Lebnani Abyad Skin-Contact White 1 L
Lebanese White
Merwah forms seventy percent of the blend, with thirty percent Sauvignon Blanc. The wine is a still, skin-contact natural white with no residual sugar. Merwah comes from old vines in North Lebanon, while Sauvignon Blanc grows in the Bekaa Valley. Fermentation takes place on the skins in stainless steel. The lots undergo malolactic fermentation, are racked twice and are bottled without fining or filtration. Alcohol is eleven percent.
Tenuta di Biserno 2023 Occhione Toscana Bianco IGT
Italian White
Citron and grapefruit appear with floral, mineral and herbal notes recalling sage. The palate has lively freshness and an enveloping texture, with a savoury, citrus-led finish. The wine is made entirely from Vermentino. Medium-textured soils combine sand and pebbles, while the vines are trained by spurred cordon and Guyot at 6,500 plants per hectare. The colour is bright straw yellow with green reflections.
Ken Wright Cellars 2022 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
American Red
Red and blue fruits, cedar, violet, anise and turned earth form the profile. The palate is balanced, with natural acidity and velvety tannins. Pinot Noir comes from vineyards in the northern Willamette Valley sub-appellations. The vineyards include marine-sediment and volcanic-rock soils and are organically certified. Maturation takes place in stainless steel and neutral French oak. Alcohol is thirteen point two percent.
Denavolo 2020 Dinavolo
Italian White
Rose petal, Turkish delight and herbs accompany tannins and a honeyed finish. Malvasia di Candia Aromatica, Ortrugo, Marsanne and other local grapes make up the blend. Fruit comes from old vines in the upper part of a sloping limestone vineyard. Skin maceration lasts seven to eight months. The wine then spends six months in used barrels. The harvest yielded about two thousand bottles.
Ochota Barrels 2023 Texture Like Sun
Australian Red
Forest fruit, spice and liquorice are present. The profile is supple, with fine tannins and a fruity finish. The blend includes Pinot Noir, Grenache, Gamay, Mourvèdre, Pinot Meunier, Gewürztraminer, Fragola, Riesling and Chardonnay. Fruit from certified-organic vines grows on clay over limestone. The grapes are destemmed and undergo a five-day cold soak. Some varieties are co-fermented, while others ferment separately. After basket pressing, the wine rests in stainless steel before blending and bottling. It is vegan.
Domaine de la Tournelle Macvin du Jura Blanc NV
French Fortified
Chardonnay juice makes up two thirds of the blend, with one third Jura pomace. The pomace spends three years in cask. The juice settles statically for twelve hours before assembly. The finished blend remains in cask for twenty-four to thirty-six months. Bottling is unfiltered and without sulphur dioxide. Alcohol is seventeen percent, with residual sugar between 180 and 220 grams per litre.
Bunan 2020 Moulin des Costes Rouge Bandol
French Red
Blackberry, raspberry and red-fruit notes accompany delicate oak. The palate is rich and balanced, with smooth tannins. Mourvèdre makes up seventy percent of the blend, with twenty percent Cinsault and ten percent Syrah. The grapes are organically cultivated and harvested by hand. Maturation lasts eighteen months in traditional foudres and barrels. The colour is dense ruby red.
Mendall Alícia 2023 Cendra Rosa
Spanish Red
Red fruit, strawberry and cherry define a light, vibrant and juicy profile. Garnacha Tinta grows on clay-loam soils with limestone at 350 metres. The fruit is hand-harvested and destemmed, with fourteen days of maceration. Alcoholic fermentation uses native yeasts in stainless steel. Malolactic fermentation also takes place. The wine remains in stainless steel for four months and is bottled without filtration, clarification or added sulphites.
Château de Cérons 2016 Cérons 375 mL
French Dessert
The colour is bright yellow. Restrained apricot, peach and lemon-zest notes appear with candied orange peel and vanilla. The wine is sweet and medium-bodied. Botrytis spice, mushroom powder, tension and length are also present. Botrytised berries are selected in successive passes, pressed slowly and fermented naturally in barrel. Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle form the blend, and maturation in barrel lasts two to three years.
Radio Boka Tempranillo 3 L Bag-in-Box
Spanish Red
The colour is clear and medium-intense ruby-red. Clean, medium-intense aromas recall red cherries, strawberries and mature plums, with cinnamon and vanilla. The palate is medium-dry and medium-bodied, with balance between acidity and soft tannins. The profile is rounded, juicy and fruit-led, with gentle spice and a smooth texture. The wine contains thirteen percent alcohol by volume.
Markham Vineyards 2021 Napa Valley Merlot
American Red
Ripe raspberry, plum jam and caramel from oak ageing are present. Red fruit, minerality and velvety chocolate-covered cherries accompany structure, mid-palate weight and a long, round finish. The blend is ninety-one percent Merlot, seven percent Cabernet Sauvignon and two percent Malbec. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel with fifteen days of skin contact. The wine spends sixteen months in oak barrels, thirty percent new.
Domaine des Marnes Blanches Coup de Jus 2021 White Rabbit Jacquère
French White
Jacquère is sourced from Savoie and pressed as whole clusters. Natural fermentation takes place in a concrete egg. Maturation lasts ten months in concrete egg, demi-muids and barrels. The wine is lively, taut and saline, with a light spritz. Fruit comes from organically farmed vines on yellow marl. Bottling is done without fining or filtration.
The Prisoner Wine Company 2021 Saldo California Zinfandel
American Red
Zinfandel forms eighty-five percent of the blend, with Petite Sirah and Syrah composing the remainder. The wine is deep ruby-black, with licorice, cherry, baking spice and black pepper. Dark cherry, blackberry, dark plum, raspberry, vanilla and chocolate are also present. The palate is dry, rich and smooth, with soft, velvety tannins. Maturation takes place in French and American oak, twenty-five percent new.
Harvey & Harriet 2020 Red Blend Paso Robles
American Red
The colour is medium ruby-purple. Aromas include Bing cherry, red raspberry, blueberry, roasted rhubarb, cardamom and brown sugar. Vanilla and spice sit with grilled meat, olive tapenade, cedar and molasses. Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec make up the blend. The wine is full-bodied, with firm, grainy tannins and juicy acidity.
Manoir de la Tête Rouge 2016 Pierre à Feu Saumur Puy-Notre-Dame
French Red
Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon come from thirty-year-old vines on Jurassic limestone with flint. The two varieties are co-fermented after hand harvesting from two parcels. Dark ruby colour accompanies elder-bark notes, firm acidity and fine, slightly angular tannins. Iron oxides in the soil are associated with sanguine, meaty and metallic notes. The vineyards have been farmed organically since nineteen ninety-eight and biodynamically since two thousand ten.
Pierre Amadieu 2021 Les Capelets Saint-Joseph
French Red
Syrah grows on steep granite and gneiss slopes and is harvested by hand. Fermentation takes place at controlled temperature in stainless steel, followed by maturation in oak. Blackcurrant and raspberry sit with leather and liquorice, while red fruit and violet accompany mineral, cocoa and animal notes. The profile has roundness and silky tannins, and alcohol is thirteen percent by volume.
Argento 2020 Finca Agrelo Single Vineyard Malbec
Argentinian Red
Intense ruby colour carries violet reflections. Sweet spices and violets accompany ripe red fruit. The wine is medium-full bodied, with softened tannins, medium acidity and a finish marked by red fruit. Malbec is hand harvested and destemmed; twenty percent ferments in French oak while the balance ferments in stainless steel. Malolactic fermentation is followed by ten months in oval concrete tanks.
Sage Hayward 2023 Estate Pinot Noir
Canadian Red
Fruit comes from Falcon Ridge and Raven Hill vineyards on Saturna Island. The site lies in the Southern Gulf Islands, where a cool maritime climate meets dense sand and mudstone over clay with ancient marine sediment. The wine is rich and medium-bodied, with a lingering spicy finish. Pinot Noir is hand-picked from estate vines, and the first plantings on the property date to nineteen ninety-five.
Thibaud Capellaro 2021 Ombre & Lumière
French Red
Grenache, Syrah and Viognier are vinified separately, using a mix of carbonic fermentation, skin contact and direct pressing. The wine spends nine months in barrels and older demi-muids, with no fining, filtration or added sulphur. Fruit comes from vineyards on granite and clay-limestone soils in the Rhône and Ardèche. The vineyards are farmed organically and biodynamically without certification, and alcohol is thirteen percent by volume.
Domaine Rougeot 2022 La Piquette Bourgogne Passetoutgrains
French Red
Pinot Noir and Gamay ferment naturally in a large open cask. Maturation lasts about nine months, and the wine is bottled without fining or filtration. Ripe red and black fruit sit with thyme, tea, rose and wet earth. The palate is fresh and fruity, with body and fine tannins. The wine is red, carries the Bourgogne Passetoutgrain designation and contains twelve percent alcohol.
Bressia 2020 Piel Negra Pinot Noir
Argentinian Red
Red cherry, blackberry, ripe tomato, rose and violet are present. Cinnamon, rosemary and mint sit with coffee, vanilla and smoke. The wine has firm structure and a full texture. It is made entirely from Pinot Noir grown in Mendoza’s Uco Valley and spends twenty-four months in new French-oak barrels. Alcohol is 14.5 percent by volume.
Scarpa 2022 Bric du Nota Langhe Nebbiolo DOC
Italian Red
Strawberry, red cherry, sweet spice and violet define the profile. The wine is medium-bodied, with freshness, fine tannin and a firm finish. Nebbiolo comes from south-facing vineyards at 380 metres in the Roero municipalities, on predominantly sandy soils rich in mineral salts. Skin maceration lasts twenty-one days in steel, with two manual pump-overs daily, before twelve months in a 45-hectolitre Allier French-oak cask.
Domaine Perrault-Jadaud 2020 Et Si Vin de France Gamay
French Red
Gamay Noir grows on sandy loam at Francueil in Touraine and is farmed organically. The fruit is harvested by hand and begins carbonic fermentation as whole clusters with indigenous yeasts. Maturation lasts six to eight months in neutral 400-litre barrels, and sulphur use at bottling is minimal. The wine is red and carries the Vin de France designation.
La Frenz 2021 Aster Brut
Canadian Sparkling
Chardonnay makes up two thirds of the blend, with Pinot Noir accounting for one third. Toast and autolytic notes sit with singed citrus fruit. The wine has low dosage, balance and a long finish. It is made by the traditional method in the Okanagan Valley. This white sparkling wine is produced from estate-grown fruit in British Columbia.
Le Coste 2023 Litrozzo Rosso 1 L
Italian Red
The blend includes Sangiovese and Merlot. Fermentation is spontaneous with native yeasts after destemming, and the wine undergoes eight days in concrete before malolactic fermentation without skins. It is bottled without fining or stabilization. Cherry and orange accompany a fresh, fruity profile. The fruit comes from Bomarzo and Montefiascone, and the release is classified as natural, organic and vegan.
Domaine A.F. Gros 2011 Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits
French Red
Delicate red fruit and grilled wood accompany cherry, cocoa, rose and spice. The tannins are round. Earth and dark berries sit with detailed, energetic, middleweight flavours and mineral notes. The finish is balanced, and the structure is ripe. The wine matured in barrel, and production totalled 10,415 bottles. Pinot Noir comes from the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits.
Clonakilla 2017 Hilltops Shiraz
Australian Red
Fresh herbs, smoky cedar, earth and spice accompany lightly peppered aromas. Red plum, ripe dark cherry, liquorice, clove and peppered meat define the flavour profile. The wine is medium-bodied, with richness, fine length and a juicy character. It is made from Shiraz grown in the Hilltops region of New South Wales, contains fourteen percent alcohol and is closed under Stelvin.
Stina 2013 Pošip Brač
Croatian White
Green and white fruit sit with spice in a dry, yellow-green wine. The palate is rounded, with pronounced acidity, solid length and a warming finish. Floral and grapey fruit also appear alongside yeast-lees notes, juiciness, chalkiness, weight and crisp bite. The wine comes from limestone soils on Brač in Croatia and contains fourteen percent alcohol by volume.