A fresh and appealing style of Pinot Grigio rosé from the Pavia zone of north-west Italy. The addition of early-harvested Pinot Noir grapes and gentle pressing give a delicate salmon pink colour and subtle red berry fruit.

Tasting Notes

Pale coral pink - strawberry and bramble aromas lead onto a delicate, yet juicy palate with red berry characters. Slight creaminess leads to a crisp dry finish.

Production Method

Produced from grapes grown in the Pavia region of northwest Italy. The ripest grapes were selected from mature hillside vineyards and hand-harvested in early September. The extra ripeness allows the dark-skinned Pinot Grigio grapes to develop a pink tinge which is further enhanced by the addition of a small proportion of Barbera and Pinot Noir grapes from the same vineyards. The grapes were harvested at optimum ripeness together, and the skins left in contact with the juice for 12 hours at low temperature before gentle pressing. After a slow, cool fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks the wine was bottled young to preserve freshness and aromas.

Producer

Established in 2003, Adria Vini is a winemaking venture jointly owned by Boutinot and Araldica Castelvero, the leading co-operative in the Monferrato hills of Piemonte. The aim is to produce authentic, well-priced still and sparkling wines from local grape varieties. All aspects of production, from grape selection through to vinification, maturation, blending and bottling are meticulously overseen by Araldica's winemaking team of Claudio Manera and Lella Burdese - assisted by Boutinot's Tony Brown MW. They source from a range of private growers and cooperatives, with whom they have long-term relationships, principally in Veneto, Friuli, Lombardy, Sicily, Puglia, Abruzzo and Sardinia.

Alan's Tasting Notes

"An enticing summer red with lots of upfront strawberry fruit together with more serious red berry notes from the Barbera and Pinot Nero components. Appealing freshness and acidity initially are tempered by a balancing creaminess in the mid and back palate. An altogether well-composed glass of summer rose with perfect balance and poise - enjoy with friends in the garden - perfectly at ease in its own company but will also stand up well with all garden foods." Tasted September 2021

Specifications

Tasting Notes

Nose

Aromas of vanilla, cracked black pepper, and dark damson fruit.

Palate

On the palate, this wine is round and fleshy, beautifully balanced and packed full with robust red fruit flavours and a lick of oak.

Production

The grapes are selected from old vine Zinfandel vineyards in the Lodi region of central California. Vinified in stainless steel tanks and sees a little oak ageing.

Awards

• 2017 Catavinum Silver Medal (2015 Vintage)

Specifications

Tasting Notes

Colour 

Light yellow, clean and bright.

Nose

The nose offers floral aromas of jasmine, lychee, and honey notes. 

Palate

The floral notes reappear on the palate, along with apricot, and mandarin orange. Medium-bodied with good concentration and a refreshing ripe fruit finish. A Thai fighting delight!

Producers

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.

Awards

• 2017 Bronze at the Sommelier Wine Awards (2016 Vintage)

Production

The Rapel Valley lies with the Pacific Ocean to the West, to the east the Andes Mountains, and to the south the province of Colchagua. The climatic characteristics of this valley include frost-free springs and warm summers that allow the grapes to ripen well. The Rapel Valley viticultural zone is located in Chile’s 6th Region, approximately 160 km (100 mi) south of Santiago and includes the sub-valleys of Cachapoal and Colchagua. The entire zone presents good drainage, high fertility, and tremendous agricultural aptitude. Its climate is sub-humid Mediterranean because the low, even hills of the Coastal Mountain Range to the west allow the cooling influence of the Pacific Ocean to penetrate the valley and moderate temperatures. It is highly influenced by the Pacific anticyclone, which results in a concentration of rainfall during the winter months. Precipitation averages 710 mm (28 in) per year. During the summer, the southern and south-western winds result in an ample temperature variation between daytime highs and night time lows. The maximum temperature in January reaches 32ºC (90ºF) and the annual average is 14ºC (57ºF). The grapes that went into this wine were handpicked in April, when the fruit had reached the desired level of ripeness. The fruit came from vineyards that are more than 22 years old the Totihue estate in Alto Cachapoal and the Los Pretiles estate in Alto Colchagua. The vines at both estates are vertically positioned and yield an average yield of 9 tons per hectare. Fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks with selected yeasts in our Maipo Valley winery. The process was carefully managed to maintain temperatures at 15º–17ºC (59º–63º), with gentle aeration and delicate lees stirring to reach the desired results. The wine was fined with bentonite and cold-stabilized before bottling to prevent tartaric precipitations in the bottle.

Sustainability

Emiliana began its conversion to organic production in 1998, and today 100% of its properties are organically managed. It is the world’s largest organic winery. It holds organic certifications in accordance with the standards of the United States, Canada (NOP), Brazil, Chile, Japan, South Korea, China, and Europe. In 2006, Emiliana was the first winery in Latin America to produce a wine with biodynamic certification. Since then, the use of biodynamic practices at its farms and cellars has been accredited and today 100% of its properties are certified. Emiliana received its Fairtrade and Fair For Life certifications in 2011 and 2017, and has been selling fair trade wines since 2012.

Emiliana was a pioneer in the implementation of the Wine of Chile Sustainability Code certification in 2012. This standard was developed for the Chilean wine sector to support the implementation of sustainable practices at a national level, as well as social and environmental responsibility at Emiliana.

Emiliana is certified to use the Vegan Society trademark, which attests that its wines are produced without any animal-derived products.

Emiliana also produces an annual sustainability report.

Specifications

Supple and moreish, this is a delightfully pale pink French rosé.

Tasting Notes

Pale raspberry pink with appealing, soft, berry aromas. Smooth, round and juicy this is an easy-drinking, vivaciously fruity rosé with a refreshing dry finish.

Production Method

Bellefontaine Grenache Rosé possesses fine aromatics, pure fruit expression, fresh acidity, varietal character and above all, a persistent finish. Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel with minimal intervention during winemaking. Bottled young to capture the freshness and vibrant fruit character. The free-run juice of Grenache grapes produces a wine full of sweetly ripe yet crunchy fruit with soft and juicy 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.

Today, Boutinot’s French office has recently relocated to Macon, and has over 20 employees who take care of production across the whole of France, covering fresh whites and rosés from Gascony, mineral wines from Burgundy, and joyful varietal wines from Languedoc among others. We don’t use any single model to source our wines; instead, a combination of sources are used, from large-scale, high-quality co-ops to small, family growers and single domaines, as well as our own vineyards in Cairanne and Saint-Vérand. Drawing on the expertise of our four winemakers and a network of partner growers, we seek to deliver the highest quality-to-price ratio possible for every wine. 

Alan's Personal Notes

"This is DELISH! And definitely one of our best value roses at £8.95. Lots of ripe, crunchy Grenache fruit which delivers lots of berry aromas and juicy flavours with good acidity, balance and a dry refreshing finish. Very moreish and perfect for a long, lazy summer lunch. Absolutely delightful and retains its freshness to the end of the bottle easily. A top pick for summer!" tasted July 2024

Specifications