An authentic blend of Portuguese indigenous varieties, predominantly Baga, which is a classic grape of the Bairrada region.

Tasting Notes

Attractive mixed berry aromas with spice notes. Vibrant plum and black cherry on the palate with liquorice hints, elegant tannins, and finely poised acidity. A medium-bodied, vibrant and characterful glass of red.

Production

The grapes are vinified without being totally destemmed, and macerated for 5 days in cold temperatures. The fermentation lasts around 6 days. Produced from a blend of traditional local grapes. Fermentation in stainless steel. The careful selection and blending of varieties ensures an approachable but complex style and the relatively short time on skins in fermentation creates gentle tannins leading to this wonderfully drinkable profile.

Producer

One of Portugal's largest and most progressive producers with 600 hectares spread across estates in five regions from Douro in the north to Alentejo in the south. Winemaker Francisco Antunes oversees what must be one of the most diverse ranges in Europe, from the 3rd largest Portuguese rose brand (Casal Mendes) to some of the country's most impressive premium reds from estates in Douro, Dao, Bairrada and Alentejo. Arguably, Francisco's greatest achievements lie between these extremes, a range of mid-priced wines from native varieties, full of character, quite distinctly Portuguese, but at the same time approachable and with fresh, modern fruit.

Aliança has been part of Bacalhôa Vinhos de Portugal since 2007 and all wines are now being brought under the Bacalhôa name.

Sustainability

Since 2015 the Bacalhôa group is regularly audited for the scope of its ethical, social and environmental work, always with a green result. The are members of the Wines of Alentejo Sustainability Programme (WASP). This certification is the guarantee that an independent evaluation, by a third party credited to the Portuguese Quality System, confirms that good sustainability practices have been implemented across the vineyard, cellar and wine production

Specifications

Tasting Notes

Deep ruby red with violet tinges; pronounced aromas of ripe red fruit, currant jam and raspberries with hints of plum and black pepper; full-bodied, well balanced and fresh. Medium long finish, with a fruity and spicy after taste.

Vinification

Specifications

Tasting Notes

Deep ruby red with violet tinges; pronounced aromas of ripe red fruit, currant jam and raspberries with hints of plum and black pepper; full-bodied, well balanced and fresh. Medium long fnish, with a fruity and spicy aftertaste.

Vinification

Specifications

From the winery responsible for the invention of Amarone! 

Tasting Notes

Nose

This has a highly perfumed nose - intense and persistent, ethereal, fruity with hints of cherries and dried prunes, dried flowers, sweetly spiced. This is full bodied with a deliciously smooth mouth-feel and velvety tannins.

History

Consisting of 230 growers and 700 hectares, Cantina Valpolicella Negrar is a co operative located just a few kilometres from Verona, in the heart of Valpolicella. They are one of the major producers in Valpolicella Classico owning a quarter of all Classico Vineyards, and are the only winery to have vineyards in all 5 communes of the region. They have a long and distinctive history of winemaking going back to 1933 and were the first to produce Amarone in 1939, a%er a serendipitous mistake producing Recioto.

Production

Personal Tasting Notes

"Lovely - full bodied and rich with an alluring blend of juicy red and black fruits, a touch of spice and a super smooth finish. Extremely well made and well balanced. A great £15’s worth. Not cloying or offering overly ripe, sweet fruit - very fresh and clean on the palate meaning each glass is a fresh mouthfeel." Tasted April 2024

Specifications

Specifications

a

Tasting Notes

It starts with cassis, a nose full of promise. Clove and black pepper spice. The palate is dark and sultry with a dried fruit appeal. It finishes with a gentle lick of oak from the time the wine spends in oak.

Expressive Cabernet crammed full of varietal character and finesse.

Tasting Notes

Bursting with red and blackcurrant fruits, this is a really soft and pure Cabernet with gentle tannins and a hint of green pepper on the finish. Cool herby flavours mingle with red fruits and a nice touch of acidity.

Production

Sourced from selected areas of the Central Valley. Relatively cool short fermentation to preserve fruit aroma with maceration on the skins for only a few days to extract a nice colour but minimal tannins. Early bottling to keep the wine's youthful style.

Producer

Our winemaking team have been building relationships across Chile over the past two decades, sourcing fruit and wine from across the Central Valleys. We work with a number of small family growers who pay particular attention to quality and ensure that our winemaking team has the best possible fruit to work with . Freshness and purity are the preferred hallmarks of Boutinot's Chilean wines.

Each vintage Boutinot winemaker Guillaume Letang travels the vineyards of our grower partners, blending that year's truest expression's of Chile's unique terroirs.

Specifications

Winery

The grapes all originate for the Elgin region, a high-lying basin surrounded by mountain ranges. Naturally the Malbec hails from Paul and Nicky’s farm, Wallovale Vineyards, whilst the other three grape varieties were bought in from Elgin grape producers with whom Paul has a direct involvement. A Cabernet Franc vineyard has been planted on Paul and Nicky’s farm but the first commercial harvest is only expected in 2020.

Each parcel of grapes was harvested at its own optimum ripeness and vinified separately at Eikendal Winery, Somerset West. Each wine was inoculated with Zymalore Xpure, a yeast recommended for wines with high aromatic purity, enhanced expression of black fruit notes and a great smoothness of mouthfeel. Post fermentation the wine was left for 14 days on the skins. Thereafter each wine was transferred to barrel where they completed Malolactic fermentation. The wines spent a minimum of 24 months in 225 lit French oak barriques prior to blending. The wine received a light filtration before bottling on 8th July 2021.

Specifications

Tasting Notes

Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah are blended to create this complex and balanced wine of a deep violet color. In the nose, it has floral aromas – such as violet and rosehip – typical of the Malbec variety.  The Syrah contributes spicy notes, good volume in the mouth and silky tannins, whereas the Cabernet Sauvignon complements the blend with a great structure.

Vineyards

Doña Paula 1100 comes from 3 blocks in our Los Indios Vineyard, which is located in El Cepillo, San Carlos, Uco Valley, at 1,100 meters (3,610 feet) above sea level. The sandy loam soil here has great drainage; in some sectors, there are gravel and stone deposits of colluvial origin, always bound by a thick, 70 cm (27.5 in) deep layer of black caliche. Days are warm and nights cold; the average temperature variation is 16 °C (60.8°F), and the average annual rainfall reaches 300 mm (11.8 in).      The vines yield 7 to 9 tons per hectare. At Doña Paula, our vineyards have always been managed using sustainable agricultural practices.

Vinification

The harvest starts with Syrah in the first week of April, it continues with Malbec by mid-April, and it finishes with Cabernet Sauvignon at the end of the same month. The grapes are hand-picked and then they are destemmed gently, without breaking the berries. Each variety undergoes cold maceration separately, in stainless steel tanks, to extract the primary aromas. Once the alcoholic fermentation is complete, the blend is made, and the aging process is carried out in 20% new French oak barrels, for 16 months.

Awards

• 92 points in the Tim Atkin Argentina Report
• 92 points James Suckling

Specifications

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

No Tricks, Just Wine

Organically produced 

Tasting Notes

Buddy Talk Red is a unique blend of organically grown Blaufränkisch, Zweigelt and Roesler grapes. It exhibits aromas of black and red fruits like blackberry and cherries, and plums along with light spice notes on the palate.

Producer

Modest Michael Opitz feels passionately about sustainability and quality and so decided to take the small family winery into being organic and as natural as possible on every level. All the wines are defined by their environment. The Neusiedlersee or Seewinkel, is a saltwater lake that, in this flat, warm part of Austria, brings tempering breezes, freshness and protection from disease. The wines as a result are tremendously pure, fresh, fragrant and yet salty.

Specifications

Where Mountain Meets Vine – A Bold Balkan Beauty!

Tasting Notes

The wine has an attractive, dark garnet colour. Intense aromas reveal a magnificent bouquet consist of plum, red cherry, forest fruits, milk chocolate and vanilla. The palate is dense, round with a distinctive silkiness indicating the perfect balance between ripe fruit and oak tannins. Superb softness and long-lasting end completed this remarkable wine.

Production

The grapes are hand-picked, then carefully selected on sorting tables. Cold maceration of whole berries is performed from 5 to 8 days at 16C. Alcohol fermentation with addition of selected yeast strains is controlled at 26-28C during 8-10 days, in order to reach 3-4 g/l residual sugar, followed by maceration from 5 to 8 days in concrete thermoregulated tanks. Malolactic fermentation continues in tanks, then ageing for about 12 months in oak barrels.

Producer

Count Stephan von Neipperg, owner of several famous Bordeaux properties including Châteaux Canon La Gaffelière and La Mondotte, deliberately sought out Bulgaria’s Bessa Valley, where the wonderful clay-limestone soils displayed the potential to make great wines.

In the shadow of the dramatic Rhodope Mountains, these soils provide the structure, strength and minerality that enable Stephan to create wonderful wines, full of power and elegance.

Bessa Valley is located on the hills between the Rhodope Mountains and Maritsa River. The climate is continental – hot summer and cold winter. The terroir is influenced by the river and the mountain. Rainfalls are at usual level. The soil in the Valley is loamy and clay-stony, mixed with limestone. The limestone rock is half a meter under the soil layer. 140 Hectares of vines are planted with Merlot, Syrah, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Specifications

Alta No. 10 is an elegant, luscious, complex Tawny Port,

Tasting Notes

Colour

Tawny

Nose

Very complex aroma, showing lots of dried fruits, toffee, caramel and cask notes 
 
Palate

Luscious, complex tawny with a velvety texture and a refreshing finish 

Production

he grapes are handpicked, hand sorted and destemmed into granite lagars, where 
they are foot-stomped for up to four hours. The must is then fermented by wild yeasts 
at temperatures ranging from 20-25°C, and spirit is then added at the appropriate time 
to stop fermentation. At the end of the maceration the ferments are drained, 
pressed, and transferred to old port  casks to undergo maturation, before eventual blending and bottling. As with all ports, blending is the key and we use a variety of aged parcels, with different levels of sweetness and acidity including a small proportion of some really old barrels (at least 40 years old). The aim is to deliver an elegant, complex Ten-Year-Old Tawny style where the sweetness takes a back seat and the Pedra Alta acidity provides the focus. This is the first Ten-Year-Old produced on the estate and is a fitting tribute to the positive impact João has had on the estate since he started in 2009.  

A traditional sweet style produced from the Grasparossa grape - widely considered to be the highest quality of the Lambrusco varieties, with thicker skin and ripe tannins. It has lashings of vibrant cherry and berry fruit.

Tasting Notes

Dark ruby red in colour with intense aromas of plum and ripe black cherry. The palate is fresh and vibrant with pure crushed black fruits balanced by fresh acidity and a touch of sweetness. The finish is clean and bright with a nip of tannin.

Production

The Lambrusco Grasparossa grapes are sourced from sandy-clay vineyards in the Castelvetro region south of Modena. Made using the Charmat method, with its second fermentation in tank.

Producer

This new range of high quality Lambrusco is a partnership between the Soliera cooperative and Medici Ermete, one of the most influential producers in the renaissance of ‘proper’ Lambrusco. Cantina di Soliera, with 422 member growers and a 40 year tradition of Lambrusco production, is situated in the heart of the Lambrusco di Sorbara zone north of Modena and is the DOC’s largest producer. The alluvial soils here are ideal for the cultivation of the low yielding Sorbara variety, the mixture of sand and clay produces wines which balance elegance and structure and are regarded by many as the finest Lambrusco. Grapes for the Cantina di Soliera range come from 20 ha of selected ‘cru’ vineyards here and in the neighbouring Grasparossa di Castelvetro DOC.

The Lambrusco family of grapes (there are many varieties, once numbered at 56) is thought to be one of the oldest in Italy and is predominantly found in Emilia-Romagna. Today the focus is on a handful of varieties, and Cantina di Soliera specialise in Lambrusco di Sorbara and Lambrusco Grasparossa, the most important of the 5 Lambrusco DOC’s in terms of quality. The former produces light, elegant, floral wines, while Grasparossa typically gives deeply coloured, weightier and more structured wines. Both make fantastic food wines – the delicate Sorbara with cold meats and seafood, the richer Grasparossa a perfect match for fatty sausages, charcuterie, tomato-based pasta dishes and cheeses.

Sustainability

Specifications

Sourced from a 6 hectare plot on the Campogiovanni estate, where the vines naturally produce a brighter, more approachable and early ripening style of Sangiovese well suited to Rosso di Montalcino.

Tasting Notes

Nose

An inviting nose, warm and open, with ripe cherry and blackberry fruit combined with cedarwood and spice notes

Palate

The palate has rounded plum and red fruits balanced by fresh acidity. Spice and savoury characters and fine tannins lead to an elegant finish.

Producer

The Tenuta Campogiovanni is a sister estate to Agricola San Felice, and is located on the southern slope of the Montalcino hill, near San Angelo in Colle.

This 65ha estate comprises 19ha of vineyard across three separate parcels - amongst olive trees, woods and fields. Production here (and 14ha of vineyard) is strongly focused on Brunello, with the remainder largely used for Rosso di Montalcino. Campogiovanni Brunello is amongst the very best in the region.

1990 saw the first production of a Riserva, entitled Il Quercione, made from fruit rigorously selected from the vineyard of the same name and made only in exceptional year.

Production Method

These 6 hectares of Sangiovese vines were planted in the 1990s on the Campogiovanni estate. The vineyard is at a 250-300m altitude, south to southeast-facing. After a 12-day maceration, and malolactic fermentation in stainless steel, the wine was matured for 12 months in Slavonian oak botti, followed by a further 2 months in bottle.

Specifications

A lipsmacking house wine that is great with food.

Tasting Notes

A fresh, pretty and youthful red wine that will mellow as it develops in the bottle. Supple yet with underlying structure, it is quite lifted on the nose with raspberry and floral notes. Packed full of ripe, crunchy red berry fruit backed up with a hint of liquorice and touch of spice. Fresh, elegant and pleasingly simple. Lovely.

Production

Based in the southwest of the Languedoc, where the 40 year-old cordon-trained vines thrive on silt and sand. Grenache grapes are destemmed and macerated at cool temperatures prior to fermentation in order to gain the juicy fruit flavours.

Producer

Like all good stories, that of Boutinot France is both long and a little bit complicated! Boutinot began as a tiny importer in 1980, specialising in French wines. Paul Boutinot himself began by personally selecting the wines from France, back in the UK he would unload the trailer by hand. And deliver the crates of wines to customers himself. But good things grow and by the end of the decade we had become a bigger and better company. A company that not only sought out great wines but made them too. After 10 years later, Boutinot France started in January 1990. The first office was in the middle of the vines in Julienas; perfectly located to navigate the Beaujolais and Macon regions on the quest to make beautiful wines.

Samantha Bailey, who started as a wine enthusiast, was there at the beginning of this adventure. Since then, she has grown into our Master Blender and has key responsibilities: building long-standing relationships, tasting, understanding the terroir and appellations, and pushing the boundaries. She is at the heart of the whole process from blending to quality assessment, making sure there is always a Boutinot touch in every cuvée. We are proud to also count Guillaume Letang and Julien Dugas in our winemaking team. Guillaume oversees the South of France and Languedoc, whilst Julien looks after our property in Cairanne. Together they have the local knowledge to select and blend the very best wines from throughout. Eric Monnin oversees every aspect of production and makes sure everything our winemakers blend and source is top quality. 

Alan's Personal Notes

Specifications

Tasting Notes 

"Great wine makes one dream. Please take care of this wine as it is exceptional. A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into producing this stellar wine. 2012 is our best vintage since the infamous 2009 vintage."

Vineyards

Planted in 2003 in rows running in an east-west direction. Clone 163 – fruit-driven and upfront and Clone 46 – structured and serious. Trellised in a VSP system with plantings 1.2 x 2.4m. Canopy height of approximately 1.4m with vines height of 40cm off the ground. Leaf removal on Clone 163 is done on both sides of the bunches, whilst leaf removal on Clone 46 is only done on the morning side to increase light intensity and fruit concentration. Picking dates are determined by sugar loading and berry aromatic sequence. Irrigation is done via Leaf Water Potential and determined by a pressure chamber. ‘Koffieklip’ soil of approximately 1m in depth at the bottom of the Helderberg Mountain, 8km from False Bay. All this adds to premium quality.

Vinification

Picked by hand. Berry sorting. Cold soaking of up to 14 days. Long slow natural fermentation with one punch down by hand per day. Fermentation took up to 40 days. Natural malolactic fermentation in barrels. Matured in custom-made barrels – by our suppliers: Bruno Lorenzon (Burgundy), Chassin (Burgundy) and Boutes (Bordeaux) – for for up to 16 months. The different blocks and clones were then blended and bottled with minimum filtration.

Winery

Situated in the “Golden Triangle” of wine growing, at the foot of the Helderberg mountains, Eikendal vineyards flourish in a mountain and maritime microclimate, ideal for the production of quality wine.

Accolades

• 92pts | Tim Atkin

• 90pts | Christian Eedes (Winemag) 2015

Dark fruit, violets and attractive oak on the nose. Massive fruit concentration – despite a relatively low alcohol by volume of 14.27%. Good freshness and optimally ripe tannins. Neither green nor sweet but curiously not that approachable at the moment. Almost too good to be true but will surely benefit from time in bottle.

• 4.5 Platter Stars | 2015 Platter's

2012 restrained yet compelling, as is whole range. As with previous, expressive yet refined in its silkily fresh texture, ripe, pure fruit. Crafted to last; should achieve a grand maturity.”

Alan's Personal Tasting Notes

"Now this is interesting. The current release will be '19 or '20 so this has a good bit of bottle age. Rich, concentrated blackcurrant fruit - which either comes from old vines or as in this case bottle maturity - with fine grain tannins, great length and tremendously smooth. Didn’t throw much sediment. A cracking premium quality wine at an amazing price - this back/museum vintage is exclusive to us because we’re a top customer of our supplier." Tasted 31 Dec 2023

Specifications

Good value satellite Saint-Émilion.

Tasting Notes

A very classy Claret nose leads on to a ripe, flavoursome Merlot palate, smooth with a pleasingly long finish for such a good value wine.

Producer

For over a decade Boutinot has been in partnership with leading Bordeaux négociant Ginestet, to offer high quality wines from a selection of châteaux in key appellations as well as consistently fine, benchmark Bordeaux wines.

Production

Lussac is a village to the North West of Saint-Émilion, granted appellation status in 1936. Predominately Merlot vines averaging 25 years of age grown on gravelly/clay soil. Grapes are carefully harvested before being destemmed and crushed and transfered to temperature controlled stainless steel tanks. Fermentation last around 10-15 days, with 7 days maceration.

Sustainability

As both a négociant and a producer of its own wines, Maison Ginestet has long been convinced of the need to work the land in a viable manner and it places substantial emphasis on partnerships with sustainable agriculture-accredited winegrowing estates. Some growers are fully organic, and Ginestet is certified to bottle wines made from organically grown grapes.

In 2006, Maison Ginestet set up an international wine school at its Carignan-de-Bordeaux site. Through the Ginestet Wine Academy, Maison Ginestet shares with its commercial partners the expertise it has gained over more than a century of producing and marketing Bordeaux wines.

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 fresh, approachable style of Chianti Classico with vibrant, juicy red fruit. Villa la Pagliaia lies in the south of the Chianti Classico zone, adjacent to sister property San Felice.

Tasting Notes

Aromas of ripe plum and cherry with spicy, savoury notes. This is a fruit-forward style of Chianti - the palate is bright and sappy, with redcurrant and bramble fruit providing fresh acidity, and supple tannins giving structure. A juicy finish with a touch of black pepper.

Production

The grapes come from the estate's own 350-400m altitude vineyards in the Chianti Classico zone, near Castelnuovo Berardenga. The vines are on average 25 years old (yielding about 1.5kg of fruit per vine) - 'guyot' trained and planted in rocky clay soil. Fermentation and maceration on the skins lasts for 8-10 days (at 28-30ºC) followed by malolactic fermentation in stainless steel. Matured in Slavonian oak casks for 10-12 months. 

Specifications

Specifications

a

A lush Pinot Noir!

Tasting Notes

 Fragrant scents of red cherry and plum lead into fresh, bright flavors of strawberry, raspberry and pomegranate, backed by hints of star anise and clove. The soft tannins and balanced acidity provide structure and a lush, velvety texture.

Background

Cycles Gladiator was founded in 2005 with the mission to create high quality, affordable wines that honour the iconic artwork on the label by empowering and inspiring women. Proudly sourced from some of California’s top wine growing regions , award-  winning winemaker Adam LaZarre crafts each wine with passion and care from grape to glass.

Specifications

Only 7 miles along the road from Châteauneuf-du-Pape but not as well known globally so represents much better value! Freshness and Harmony are two words that can sum up this wine.

Tasting Notes 

Only 7 miles along the road from Châteauneuf-du-Pape but not as well known globally so represents much better value!

Tasting Notes 

Deliciously juicy, forward style of Shiraz from cool Coastal vineyards.

Tasting Notes

Nose

A vibrant juicy style of Shiraz with ripe bramble and black cherry on the nose.

Palate

Fresh summer pudding fruits and gentle spice on the palate lead to a mellow and satisfyingly rich finish.

Production

The vineyards for this Shiraz clamber up the foothills of the Swartland mountains which are comprised of sandstone and alluvial soils. This region is hot and dry which forces these unirrigated vines to work hard to produce low yields and small berries. Produced from only free-run juice and fermented on skins in stainless steel tanks, a portion of the grapes are whole bunch fermented as the ripe stems add to the overall tannin quality of the wine. The remainder of the grapes are destemmed and pressed. After a third of the sugar has fermented, delestage is done once per day. The wine is drawn off at the bottom of the tank and transferred into a separate tank. Once complete, it is then transferred back into the fermentation tank onto the skins and stems. This method ensures more air is incorporated into the wine which helps to release the fresh, fruity, and spicy aromas known so well in this wine. When the final blend has been made, it is aged on fine lees for an extended period in French oak barrels along with around 15% from the previous vintage. This ensures a more complex wine with greater palate weight and mouthfeel.

Producer

Boutinot South Africa is driven by our passion for discovery and desire to capture the real essence of South Africa in every bottle. It was the simple love of Loire Chenin Blanc that first led us to South Africa in 1994, where we pioneered the wild ferment style that has now been adopted by many producers in this region.

Since then we have been exploring the country's amazing vineyards to make fabulous wines from specific sites and plots that scream location, location, and terroir. Our home-grown South African winemaking team of JD Rossouw and Ryno Booysen drive the energy and enthusiasm for expressing the loveliest wines from their country, along with Samantha Bailey's expertise in finesse. The key is knowing the characteristics of each plot, understanding the benefits each cultivar can bring, breaking rules, and pushing boundaries. We use a combination of knowledge, a love of nature, and science to create versatile, expressive, and food-friendly wines from a country that has been making wine for 360 years.

Specifications

Colour

Intensely and brightly coloured wine with a ruby-red hue

Nose

Ruby red in colour this wine has a bright cherry nose supported by complex red and dark fruits, spiced cherry, cedar, mushroom and floral characters on the nose

Palate 

The palate highlights bitter chocolate, cherry and cinnamon spice notes supported by fine acidity and a flowing finish. Nicely balanced and drinking beautifully.

Vintage

The 2021 vintage in Waipara, North Canterbury was warm and dry - good growing conditions. Heat summation was well up on average while rainfall was 50% less than normal over the last three months before harvest. The lower rainfall meant that disease pressure was not present, allowing the winemaker to be patient and instruct the picking of the fruit in absolute pristine condition and when tasted at their premium. The effects of this were enhanced fruit flavours creating a wine of great balance.

Winemaking

The fruit was harvested in excellent condition and gently handled in the cellar using traditional burgundian methods and aged for 12 months in French oak barriques.

Awards & Accolades

• 5 Stars - 93pts | Wine Orbit

Specifications

The bouquet has hints of blueberries, cherries, violets, tobacco leaf and spicy cedar wood. The mouthfeel is opulent with a generous lingering aftertaste. 

Accolades

• 90pts | Platter’s

  Weighty & serious Bordeaux blend, 70% cab with merlot & petit verdot in 2018, showing quintessential black-fruit aromas/flavours of cherry, currant & berry. 15% alcohol & 80% new oak deftly handled, as in 2015 (93 pts), though shade less freshness because of intense fruit-sweet finish. Also in 1.5L, as Teano. No 2016, 2017 untasted.

  Platter’s 2022

Specifications

Considered the highest expression of biodynamic agriculture in Emiliana - its name comes from the Greek root meaning 'Earth'. Biodynamic agriculture considers the farm to be a living organism. This is a unique wine with great personality that faithfully expresses the characteristics and attributes of its terroir.

Tasting Notes

Nose

A complex but delightfully varied nose showing a mix of herbaceous, fruit and spice notes. Green pepper, eucalyptus and rosemary combine with juicy blackcurrant and ripe blackberry fruit.

Palate

The palate is bright and assured with great intensity of weight and flavour. Bold blackcurrant and blackberry fruits are plentiful along with pepper spice, vanilla and gentle clove notes. Dark chocolate character is also evident which adds to the complexity. The wine has serious structure with firm yet ripe tannins and a long more-ish finish with good acidity. Wondrous stuff from Emiliana’s biodynamic Los Robles paradise.

Production

This wine is made from a blend of 53% Syrah 36% Carmenère, 11% Cabernet Sauvignon.  The season in Colchagua presented average maximum temperatures that were higher than those of the previous season. Rainfall was lower than in other years, with a total of 395 mm, concentrated in the winter. The spring and summer were very dry, which benefitted fruit set. The harvest season arrived two weeks early, and despite being a hot and dry year, the decision to harvest early and a good selection of the bunches allowed us to make a Gê that is not overripe and remain faithful to its characteristic style.

The first stage of reception includes placing the fruit on a conveyor belt to select the fruit and eliminate any leaves or damaged bunches. The clean bunches are destemmed and placed on a second belt where the individual grapes are selected by size and then pass on to a vibrating table to achieve a perfect selection. The grapes then drop gently into the tanks by gravity and undergo an 8º pre-fermentation cold maceration for 5-7 days. Alcoholic fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks and begins spontaneously with native yeasts. Temperatures are maintained at 24º–26ºC and extraction is managed through pumpovers determined by enological criteria. The new wine then remains on its skins for a 10-day post-fermentation maceration at 22º–24ºC, for a total maceration time of 30–35 days. Malolactic fermentation takes place naturally in oak barrels, where the wine ages for 16 months, 80% in French oak barrels (50% new, 50% with one prior use), and the remaining 20% was gained in an egg-shaped concrete tank. The process concludes when the wine is fined and stabilized naturally without treatments and then prepared for bottling by lightly filtering.

Producer

Voted by Wines of Chile as "Winery of the Year 2016", Emiliana is one of Chile's most exciting producers and pioneers in organic and biodynamic winemaking. Since 1998, this Chilean winery has been producing award-winning wines from almost 1,000 hectares of vineyards in prime sites including Casablanca, Maipo, Cachapoal, Colchagua and Bio Bio.

Its spectacular biodynamic vineyard and winery at Los Robles is a model that attracts visiting viticulturalists and winemakers from across the world. Emiliana's innovative and natural-leaning wines are made with great care and attention and the results are inspiring.

Specifications