A rich, savoury satisfying mouthful!

Since the elevation of Cairanne to a southern Rhône cru, 'La Côte Sauvage' continues to be characterised by its finesse and finely-grained texture, due in part to the famous ‘argilo-calcaire’ of our hilltop vineyards such as La Pauline and Les Six Terrasses, slow winemaking methods and gentle maturation in different sized barrels of old French oak.

Tasting Notes

A serious, restrained and complex example of cru Cairanne. This is rich, intense and drenched in dark red fruits. With morello cherry and a touch of cinnamon spice on the nose, soft dark plummy fruit, liquorice, chocolate, a hint of black tea on the palate, this wine is full-flavoured and smooth with supple tannins. 

Method of Production

The cru of Cairanne lies in the heart of the Southern Rhône valley, northeast of Orange. For this La Côte Sauvage, fully ripe Grenache and Syrah grapes are hand-picked from old bush vines on selected hillside slopes within Cairanne. The vineyards have the classic argilo-calcaire soil of limestone pebbles over clay and the vines are harvested by hand. Vinified traditionally with only the natural yeasts present on the grapes, followed by a long cuvaison period with gentle remontage and manual pigeage. A blend of four varieties (Grenache, Syrah, Carignan and Mourvèdre) matured for 22 months in French old oak barrels and demi-muids to develop great concentration, complexity and finesse in the wine.

Specifications

A perfect pale pink that screams Provence!

Tasting Notes

This is a perfect, pale, raspberry-pink wine that is very drinkable. Delicate aromas are followed by lovely sweet fruit from Grenache grapes. Clean and well balanced with good depth.

Production Method

The Domaine's vineyards are situated in the best area of the AC Côtes de Provence with a very particular micro-climate and sandstone clay soils. A classic blend of Grenache, Syrah and Cinsault, the grapes are picked by hand. This is a rosé de presse produced in an ultra-modern gravity-fed winery.

Producer

Domaine de la Vieille Tour is a 22-hectare estate in the Côtes de Provence, situated between Pierrefeu and Cuers and not far from Château Gairoird. The Domaine's vineyards benefit from lying in a slight geographical depression which has a particular microclimate, encouraging the long and even ripening of the grapes. Grapes for the rosé, Grenache, Syrah and Cinsault, are cultivated on sandstone clay soils and harvested by hand, before being transported to a very modern, gravity-fed winery.

A Note on Sustainability

As a négociant, Gilardi is very keen to minimize its own environmental impact and to work with sustainably-minded growers. For example, on its bottling line, Gilardi has switched from a traditional sediment filtration system to a more efficient cross-flow filtration system and chooses eco-friendly dry goods such as Normacorc’s carbon neutral "Select Green" corks which are made from plant-based polymers from renewable resources and which are recyclable. Gilardi is expanding its collaboration with HVE Level 3 certified winemakers and currently, two of the wines it offers are organic.

Specifications

Specifications

Tasting Notes 

Colour

Excellent colour and mid-density.

Nose

Being 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 29% Shiraz it is more of the classic Aussie blend Cabernet/Shiraz. Lifted dark fruit and cedar notes on the nose. Riper dark fruit aromas than previously vintages, due to a warm year in McLaren Vale.

Palate

The vanillin oak background adds extra lift to the dark cherry/plum aromas, and finishes with a ripe tannin mouthfeel. Turkish delight and dark chocolate from the Shiraz component, makes this a very enjoyable Cricket Pitch blend.

About Brokenwood Wines

Founded in 1970 as a hobby venture by three Sydney-based solicitors - Tony Albert, John Beeston and Australian wine critic James Halliday - Brokenwood is perhaps best known for their Cricket Pitch label, which was first sourced from a 4-hectare block at the foothills of the Hunter Valley’s Brokenback Ranges. The block was originally earmarked as the local cricket ground before they decided to plant a vineyard instead.

Similarly, Brokenwood purchased their neighbouring block, which was intended to be the local cemetery, and instead planted Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon, becoming their critically acclaimed flagship wine, the Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz. Chief Winemaker and Managing Director Iain Riggs joined Brokenwood in 1982 and introduced new winery equipment and facilities specifically for premium white wine production.

Since 1983, white wine makes up a significant part of total production and their Semillon is widely recognized as one of the finest in the world. Iain has also been the driving force behind Brokenwood’s expansion into the McLaren Vale in South Australia, Beechworth in Victoria, Margaret River in Western Australia, and Orange in New South Wales. Despite their expansion, they have managed to remain fiercely committed to producing unique and highquality expressions of Australian terroir.

Specifications

"Home of the Worlds Best Shiraz"

The most sold wine in the Hartenberg portfolio, now celebrating 26 vintages. At a previous Classic Wine Trophy competition ten Gold medals were awarded by the French judges to the 385 red wines. Most estates entered their flagship wines. Due to Hartenbergs' uncompromising approach to standards they felt comfortable entering the pocket-friendly Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz. The wine won Gold.

Tasting Notes 

Colour

Vibrant red in colour.

Nose

An alluring blend of wild herbs and spices on the nose with hints of freshly picked dark fruits and berries on the palate, ending in a savoury finish. 

Palate 

Ripe, soft tannins balance well with the lingering finish.

The Estate

On the slopes of Bottelary Hills bordering Stellenbosch, is a family estate where nature provides the perfect backdrop to grow, produce and share award-winning wines. Summer at Hartenberg brings picnics on the lawns followed by buoyant games of boule. Winter invites you to intimate fireside lunches and sumptuous reds, smoky charcuterie and olives, and sensorial cellar tours. Our Wetland Conservation Area, alongside the vineyards, makes for a beautiful setting for walks and shared family fun.

Accolades

Baleia is Portuguese for whale and the striking labels are inspired by St Sebastian Bay, the Whale Nursery of South Africa.

Discover a place of whales and wonder, where wines are born from rocky limestone soil in a remote and unspoilt corner of the Cape South Coast.

Here vines overcome fierce elements to create fruit with singular character and depth of flavour. Beyond evocative wine, Baleia is also about finding harmony between self, others and nature in pursuit of life's perfect equilibrium. 

Tasting Notes 

Wine from Rock – Made from Tempranillo and Syrah grapes grown in pure limestone soils, that are so hard and rocky that the vine struggles to grow and thus yields a small, concentrated crop. We respect the fruit by making use of amphorae and large wooden foudres in the cellar, which highlights the unique minerality and makes for a tantalizing wine bursting with character.

This rich and full-bodied wine has aromas of blackberry and plum, with a hint of spice. The palate is well-balanced with soft tannins and a long, lingering finish.

Winemaking Philosophy

Wines are made in the vineyard and it is our responsibility in the cellar to trust the work that has been done all year and the terroir in which the wines are grown. We respect the fruit and play our hand very lightly in the cellar so has to ensure that the wines reflect a true sense of place. 

Vineyard Philosophy

Baleia believes that living soils = strong roots = healthy vines = perfectly ripened fruit. We believe that through science and meticulous farming with attention to detail, we can produce grapes that truly reflect the terroir in which they are grown. 

Vintage Notes

2021 was characterised as a temperate vintage with a dry growing season, resulting in lovely dark fruit flavours. The cool 2019 winter and a year of relatively low stress produced a softer fruit profile which elevates the mineral character in the wines.   

What strikes us is the beautiful lifted floral notes and a lovely punchy mouthful of fruit and earth on the palate. Bright and vibrant in colour, with aromas of raspberries , violets and nutmeg. The palate is silky with great balance and a fine structure. A wine styled for approachability.

Vinification

From a mix of French clones the Syrah was handled similarily to the Wildflower Organic Pinot Noir with a cold soak and hot ferment.

Viticulture

Our Maraekakaho Vineyard is planted on an ancient river terrace that was formed by the Ngaruroro River which now flows around 60 meters below the vineyard. With its headwaters in the Kaweka Ranges to the west of Hawkes Bay, the river has created the landscapes through glacial melts, floods and droughts over the last few hundred thousand years. The old terraces that remain are made up of greywacke (a compressed sandstone) boulders and gravels from the ranges, and a topsoil borne of windblown loess, volcanic ash and humus created by ancient forests and vegetation.

The arrival of the New Year brought with it the long, hot, sunny summer days with moderate-cool nights for perfect ripening conditions, whilst preserving fresh acidity. Superb harvest climatic conditions provided the luxury of optimal picking decisions not hurried by the threat of rain. The result is an outstanding year for our Hawke’s Bay wines. Yields are slightly down, but with exceptional quality across all varieties. Full flavour and tannin ripeness in reds, with moderate alcohol levels. Acid retention and exciting flavour spectrums in whites.

Specifications

Tasting Notes 

The Shiraz (Rhône Valley) lends a tight, fresh structure with aromatic and seasoned undertones. Petit Verdot (Bordeaux) contributes a rich berry character and the Sangiovese, in true Italian style, adds fruity flavours with flair on the palate. The result is a bold, charming, seductive and ultimately elegant wine.

Vineyards

Shiraz (Eikendal): 20 year old block planted at the top of the farm overlooking False Bay, planted in a north/south row direction, 3 333 Vines/ha, under irrigation. Petit Verdot (Eikendal): 12 year old block planted next to the Shiraz. Planted in a north/south row direction, 3 333 Vines/ha, under irrigation. Sangiovese: 19 year old block from a producer in Stellenbosch. Planted in a north/south row direction, 3 333 Vines/ha.

Vinification

All three cultivars are handpicked and cooled down. Only destemmed and not crushed. 10-15 day cold soaking before spontaneous fermentation. Shiraz: one pump over per day. Petit Verdot: two punch downs per day and Sangiovese: one walk through per day. After fermentation the wine is allowed to settle clean. Shiraz and Petit Verdot go into 500ℓ old Burgundian barrels and the Sangiovese will be blended into the previous vintage Charisma. All three cultivars are handpicked and cooled down.

Only destemmed and not crushed. 10-15 day cold soaking before spontaneous fermentation. Shiraz: one pump over per day. Petit Verdot: two punch downs per day and Sangiovese: one walk-through per day. After fermentation the wine is allowed to settle clean. Shiraz and Petit Verdot go into 500ℓ old Burgundian barrels and the Sangiovese will be blended into the previous vintage Charisma – meaning, for example, in Charisma 2018 the Shiraz and Petit Verdot are 2018 vintage but the Sangiovese is the 2019 vintage. The idea with this is to blend that beautiful freshness and Italian passion into the wine.

Accolades

92pts | Tim Atkin

"In its way, this is every bit as impressive as the Janina Chardonnay and could be viewed as its value-for-money twin. Made from the unusual trio of mostly Syrah with 17% Petit Verdot and 30% Sangiovese, it’s floral and refined with red cherry and raspberry fruit and filigree tannins. 2022-28"

Specifications

A fine, distinctive blend of 90% Syrah with 10% Cabernet Franc, each from a single vineyard parcel in the Franschhoek valley. A natural approach to winemaking gives a fresh, expressive style with attractively wild berry fruit characters.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Warm and spicy on the nose, aromas of fresh crushed raspberries and black cherry mingle with black pepper, allspice and woodsmoke. 

Palate

The palate has breadth and natural juiciness combining fresh cranberry and red berry fruit with spicy, peppercorn flavours. Best served at cool room temperature.

Production

Wildeberg is our small farm in Franschhoek. Only 10ha can be planted to vines, the rest is wild. The fruit for the Wildeberg wines comes from the Franschhoek Valley only, hand-harvested, naturally-fermented and gently matured in our mountain barrel hall on the farm. A blend of roughly 90% Syrah and 10% Cabernet Franc, both parcels of fruit were hand-harvested then allowed to macerate carbonically without press. These wild ferments were left to themselves with just one daily manual punchdown followed by 12 months ageing in 600 ltr French oak barrels.

Producer

The Earth’s mantle thrusts up above the gentle town of Franschhoek, a wild slice of untamed mountain on which sits a farm named Wildeberg. An established wine region for some 350 years, sensible generations never thought to plant a vine here until a happy band of idealists recently craned their necks up at this hillside and, dizzy with hope, decided to give it a go. Franschhoek is on the very edge of the south-eastern corner of the Cape’s venerable Coastal Region, indeed Wildeberg’s property border runs over the top of the mountain where the Coastal Region gives way to the baboon-strewn road to Grabouw and the wider Western Cape.

The Wildeberg wines express the most captivating Franschhoek Valley fruit. In our Wildeberg Terroirs bottlings we look beyond our home to a clutch of exceptional sites of other origin.

A mountain rich in metaphor with the visual heft to flatter any wine, releases of Wildeberg and Terroirs express our continued purpose – exceptional wines of place, however humble the origin. If the abiding memory of our wines remains a textural sense of place then we are portraying the Cape as hoped.

Sustainability

Wildeberg is a 144ha wine farm set against the backdrop of the dramatic Franschhoek mountains, on the very edge of viticultural possibilities. To farm here you have to be in tune with nature, respecting the earth and the elements, creating wines which truly express the terroir with minimal intervention.

This special area is home to 4 endangered Fynbos species, and a key mission of Wildeberg is to conserve this vegetation type as they are critical to the biodiversity of the Western Cape. This work entails clearing invasive alien trees which can overwhelm the Fynbos and contribute to the threat of forest fires. Fynbos covered mountains like those at Wildeberg are thought to be responsible for delivering one glass of water in five in South Africa, due to the plants allowing up to 80% of rainwater to run off into rivers and reservoirs rather than being absorbed into the soil.

Water is precious in South Africa, and waste water from the winery passes through a natural wetland with indigenous reeds and plants before being pumped into our irrigation dam. We then use this water to irrigate the vines.

All Wildeberg wines are certified as part of South Africa’s sustainability accreditation, the ‘Integrated Production of Wine’ (IPW) system. The IPW scheme, started in 1998, consists of a set of audited guidelines specifying agricultural practices, manufacturing practices and bottling activities.

Wildeberg is also a proud member of the Cape’s Old Vine Project (OVP), which preserves blocks of vines which are 35 years and older. The project encourages producers to farm as close to nature as possible whilst raising awareness of the inherent potential of old vines to produce outstanding and expressive wines.

Specifications