Selection
Selection
Halos de Jupiter 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape
French Red
Game, leather and dried herbs accompany mulberry, plum and dried strawberry. The wine is opulent and full-bodied, with a rounded, voluminous texture, a warming finish and ripe, grippy tannins. The blend is 85 percent Grenache, 10 percent Syrah and 5 percent Mourvedre from sandy parcels in the appellation, with maturation in once- and twice-used demi-muids.
Giovanni Valentini 2019 Crebesco Toscana Rosso
Italian Red
Raspberry, blackcurrant, wild strawberry and guarana accompany a medium-to-full body, mature tannins and a warm, enveloping finish. Mineral and spice notes sit beside ripe red fruit, chocolate, leather and tobacco. The blend is 40 percent Sangiovese, 40 percent Merlot and 20 percent Syrah. Grapes are hand harvested, while Sangiovese and Syrah are partially dried before fermentation.
E. Guigal 2014 Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde
French Red
Kirsch, blackberry, toasted nuts and spice meet a medium-to-full body and a seamless, elegant texture. Black pepper, liquorice and game add further detail. The blend is 96 percent Syrah and 4 percent Viognier. Plots lie on steep slopes: Côte Blonde has siliceous limestone, while Côte Brune is rich in iron oxide. Oak ageing lasts 36 months.
Javi Revert 2023 Micalet Blanco
Spanish White
Light yellow colour accompanies mineral chalk, white stone fruit, delicate flowers and green herbs. The blend combines Tortosí, Trepadell, Malvasia, Merseguera and Verdil from a 2.5-hectare vineyard at 730 metres. Sandy soil is rich in chalk. The wine is fresh, with volume, length and acidity. Harvesting takes place in two passes, and production totals 2,000 bottles.
Champagne Gaston Révolte Tradition Brut Premier Cru NV
French Sparkling
Vivid gold colour and abundant mousse accompany active effervescence and a fine bead. Dried fruit and biscuit notes meet yellow fruit led by apricot, with sour lemon candy and sour cherry in brandy. The palate is supple and lively, balancing maturity with residual freshness. The non-vintage blend is equal parts Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and the wine is Brut.
Broadbent 10 Year Old Verdelho Madeira
Portuguese Fortified
Brilliant golden-amber colour shows an apple-green rim, with delicate, refreshing fruit and floral aromas. The wine is medium dry, full-bodied, concentrated and fresh, with apricot and mandarin. A tangy, salty and creamy finish carries exotic fruit. Verdelho grapes are hand harvested, fermented in stainless steel and fortified after six to seven days, then aged in French and American oak under the Canteiro system.
Broadbent 10 Year Old Sercial Madeira
Portuguese Fortified
Aromas bring dried fruit, orange peel, old wood, tangy minerality and roasted nuts. Candied orange, toffee and buttered pecans accompany lively acidity and a crisp finish. Sercial makes one of the driest styles of fortified wine. Grapes are hand harvested, fermented in stainless steel and fortified after eight to ten days, then aged in French and American oak under the Canteiro system.
Smith Woodhouse 2013 Madalena Vintage Port
Portuguese Fortified
Floral perfume, fresh cassis and berry aromas accompany dark spice, chocolate and mint. The palate is fresh and ripe, with crunchy, fine and elegant tannins and a very long finish. This single-estate Vintage Port comes from Portugal's Douro Valley. The blend includes Touriga Franca, Sousão, Tinta Amarela, Tinta Cão, Tinta Francisca, Tinta Roriz and Touriga Nacional. Alcohol is 20 percent, and the wine is vegan.
El Maestro Sierra 12 Year Old Amontillado
Spanish Fortified
Old-gold colour accompanies yeast, floral notes and dried almonds. The palate is very dry, gentle and silky, while the finish is balanced and savoury with smoky ageing notes. Palomino grows on albariza chalk around Jerez. Ageing begins under flor for six years, followed by fortification and an oxidative stage. The average age is twelve years.
I Vigneri 2018 Vinupetra Etna Rosso
Italian Red
Pale ruby colour accompanies Mediterranean herbs, peonies, rosehip, barberry, red and black cherries. The wine is concentrated, with fine-grained, slightly drying tannins, high complexity, refreshing acidity and bright fruit. Pine tar, resin and red tea add further detail. The finish is very long. The vineyard is farmed biodynamically by hand and planted mainly to Nerello Mascalese.
Veuve Clicquot Brut Yellow Label NV
French Sparkling
Brilliant golden-yellow colour and fine, persistent bubbles are joined by pear, apple, peach, mandarin, grapefruit and brioche. Pastry and dried fruit add further detail. The blend contains 50 percent Pinot Noir, 30 percent Chardonnay and 20 percent Meunier, with up to 45 percent reserve wines. Dosage is nine grams per litre, and the wine is Brut.
Domaine du Comte Armand 2016 Auxey-Duresses Premier Cru
French Red
A clean, fresh bouquet brings black plum, red cherry and undergrowth. The medium-bodied palate shows cranberry and raspberry preserve with a light soy tang, while black pepper appears on the aftertaste. Earth, dark berry fruit, light mineral notes and a sappy mouthfeel add further detail. Fruit from Les Bréterins and Bas des Duresses was vinified with ten percent whole clusters, and one of eight barrels was new.
Contrada Santo Spirito di Passopisciaro 2014 Animardente Etna Rosso
Italian Red
Anise, red liquorice, red flowers, dried strawberry, leather, tobacco and walnut shell accompany raspberry, wild cherry and herbal tannins. The Nerello Mascalese comes from ungrafted vines more than sixty years old at 500 to 700 metres on Etna. Fermentation uses wood and stainless steel, followed by six months of maturation. Alcohol is 14.5 percent. The wine is lighter-bodied and textural.
Maison en Belles Lies 2019 Santenay Blanc
French White
Toasty fruit and autumn leaves shape the nose. Baked pear appears on the palate, joined by roasted nuts and a fresh citrus finish. Biodynamic farming, sustainable sourcing, sustainable production and very low sulphur levels frame the winemaking approach. Alcohol is 13 percent. Suggested pairings include chicken, daal and chicken satay. The wine comes from France's Burgundy region.
Domaine Duroché 2022 Bourgogne Passetoutgrain
French Red
Pinot Noir and Gamay form this red blend from Burgundy. The estate uses moderate extraction and no sulphur during fermentation. Maturation takes place in barrels, with little new oak, for twelve months without racking. Each cru is assembled in tank before bottling. No fining is used, while filtration is rare and kept light when required.
Bodegas LAN 2017 Rioja Gran Reserva
Spanish Red
Deep garnet-red colour with a ruby rim accompanies ripe black fruit, fig, balsamic notes, spice and smoke. The blend is harmonious and balanced, with approachable tannins and a long finish. Tempranillo and Mazuelo come from vineyards in Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa planted more than forty years ago. The wine spends twenty-five months in mixed barrels and thirty-six months in bottle.
Josmeyer 2022 Le Kottabe Riesling
French White
Light green-yellow colour accompanies apple, citrus, floral, flint and mineral notes. The dry Riesling has fresh, juicy character, 12 percent alcohol, less than three grams per litre sugar and six grams per litre acidity. Forty-five-year-old vines grow in a dozen gravelly alluvial parcels. Hand-picked grapes ferment spontaneously in century-old casks and mature on fine lees for several months.
Château Mauvinon 2021 La Familia Bordeaux
French Red
Fresh fruit and bright black fruit accompany subtle toast and an intense tannic structure. The red wine is made from Merlot grown with organic and biodynamic methods in Bordeaux. Grapes are harvested by hand, while vinification and ageing take place without added sulphites. The wine carries 13.5 percent alcohol, and its sulphite level is twenty-five milligrams per litre.
Coulter Wines 2022 C1 Adelaide Hills Chardonnay
Australian White
Straw-yellow colour with green tinges accompanies lemon curd, peach, toasted oatmeal and briny notes. Citrus, white peach, pithy lime, ginger spice and phenolic grip are also present. Hand-picked fruit comes from a thirty-year-old vineyard at 450 metres. Full-solids juice ferments in French oak, without malolactic conversion or lees stirring, and remains in oak for nine months.
Blue Mountain 2023 Blossom Slope Block 17 Chardonnay
Canadian White
Lemon curd, white flowers and wet stone accompany a focused, textural Chardonnay with a long mineral finish. Block 17 has westerly exposure, coarse loamy sand and thirty-three-year-old vines. The site is planted to clones 76, 95 and 96. Stone fruit and vanilla join apple in the glass. The wine spends eighteen months in French oak.
Domaine Séguinot-Bordet 2023 Chablis Vieilles Vignes
French White
The colour is pale gold with green reflections, bright and clear. Ample, expressive and fresh aromas include fruit, vanilla, fresh vegetal and subtle floral notes. The Chardonnay is powerful and rich, combining softness with vivacity. The finish is long and mineral, expressing rigour and charm. Old vines grow around Maligny in Chablis, where the vineyards have south-west exposure.
Garnet Valley Ranch 2016 Traditional Method Sparkling
Canadian Sparkling
Red berry aromatics accompany mouthwatering acidity, creamy texture and a savoury edge. Apple, almond, brioche, dried apple and sagebrush add further detail. The sparkling blend combines Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from Garnet Valley in the Okanagan. Traditional-method production includes seventy-two months on lees. Alcohol is 12 percent, with 2.93 pH and 9.1 grams per litre total acidity.
Ghost Rock 2024 Sauvignon Blanc
Australian White
Florals and tropical fruit accompany white peach, honeydew melon, passionfruit, slate and fresh-cut grass. The Sauvignon Blanc has lively acidity, chalky texture and a long, fresh finish. Eighty-five percent ferments in stainless steel with selected yeast, while fifteen percent ferments naturally in new French oak. Both portions receive lees stirring and extended time on lees. Alcohol is 13 percent.
Provenance Vineyards 2018 Deadeye Napa Valley Red Blend
American Red
Ripe blackcurrant, stewed blackberry, mint chocolate, charred bark and mocha accompany a full-bodied texture with round, sleek tannins. Bitter chocolate and dark berry appear on the finish. The blend combines Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec. It matures for eighteen months in French, American and Hungarian oak. Fruit is sourced from vineyards across Napa Valley.
Frog’s Leap 2021 Sauvignon Blanc
American White
Freshness and depth accompany bright fruit and crisp mineral detail. The Sauvignon Blanc received about three hours of skin contact before pressing, followed by roughly six months on the lees. Two percent of the blend fermented in a concrete egg. The wine is made entirely from Sauvignon Blanc grown in certified-organic, dry-farmed vineyards. Production totalled eleven thousand two hundred ten cases.
Stolpman Vineyards 2020 So Fresh GDG Gamay
American Red
Bright, clear red colour accompanies high-toned fruit, pine and hop notes. Rhubarb, salted plum, oregano and dried rose petals appear with a savoury side and crunchy texture. The Gamay comes from own-rooted vines planted in Ballard Canyon. Carbonic maceration is used, and no sulphur is added. Some fruit is sourced elsewhere in Santa Barbara County.
Michele Chiarlo 2022 Palás Barolo
Italian Red
Garnet-red colour with bright hues accompanies ethereal, balsamic notes, small fruit, liquorice and tobacco. The Nebbiolo is broad and harmonious, with silky tannins integrated into the structure. Fermentation takes place in steel with thirteen to fourteen days of skin contact and soft cap wetting. The wine completes malolactic conversion in steel and spends twenty-four months in large oak casks before bottle refinement.
Olivier Rivière 2022 La Bastid Rioja Blanco
Spanish White
Floral notes, white fruit, yeast and spice accompany a fresh, fine palate and soft mouthfeel. The white blend comes from Rioja in Spain and carries 13 percent alcohol. Fermentation uses amphorae, oak vats and concrete, followed by eight to ten months on the lees in French and used oak. Viura and Garnacha Blanca come from clay-limestone soils in Rioja Alta.
Marques de Riscal 2019 XR Reserva Rioja
Spanish Red
Deep cherry colour accompanies liquorice, cinnamon and black pepper. Mature fruit appears with freshness, polished tannins and structure. The finish is long, with light balsamic notes. Tempranillo and Graciano spend twenty-five months in American oak. The wine carries 15 percent alcohol. Small berries and clusters came from a harvest with low pH and high acidity.
Nikolaihof 2021 Zwickl Grüner Veltliner
Austrian White
Silver-golden colour is slightly cloudy yet bright. Asparagus, mineral detail, ginger and lime appear in the glass. The Grüner Veltliner is medium-bodied, with medium tannins, acidity and a creamy texture. Lime and mineral notes are joined by a long finish with green apple. This white wine is Biodynamic and comes from the Wachau in Austria.