Showing all 6 resultsSorted by price: low to high

• Red Wine

  2017 Zero Manipulation ‘Tollini Vineyard’, Peterson Winery

  £2150

  This blend of Carignan, Grenache, Syrah (73%,22% and 5%) has inviting aromas of wild red fruits, hints of spice and a rustic minerality which leads to luscious layers of raspberry, strawberry, floral notes and pomegranate, surrounded by a subtle structure and a touch of liquorice on the finish.  Zero Manipulation is the winemaking philosophy that is employed on all Peterson wines, using the gentlest winemaking techniques possible to maximise flavours, aromas and the original essence of the grapes from the given vineyard and vintage.

  The Tollini Vineyard is located in Mendocino County’s Redwood Valley and has been in the Tollini family for three generations; now in the hands of Alvin Tollini. The Zero Manipulation Blend is made up of predominantly Carignan, where the vines are traditionally head trained and dry farmed. The blocks were originally planted by Alvin Tollini’s father and grandfather and old-vine, low yielding Carignan remains from the original plantings and produces concentrated, flavoursome fruit. Alvin’s father added to the acreage after he returned from WWII. The Syrah and Grenache were planted by Alvin using the same time-honoured techniques and sustainable approach and they add layers of depth, complexity and balance to the blend. The vines are planted on southwest facing benches in the Redwood Valley and are cultivated with a meticulously sustainable approach.

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• Red Wine

  2018 Wonderwall Syrah, Field Recordings

  £2350

  Wonderwall wines are made with grapes grown in extreme, coastal locations and this stunning, approachable Syrah from winemaker Andrew Jones of Field Recordings is for all those lovers of the Rhone Valley classics, Crozes-Hermitage, Cornas or Saint-Joseph.

  In the glass, the wine has the prettiest deep purple you will ever see, almost worthy of its own Farrow and Ball colour! Victoria plums, coffee bean, grilled meats, and some thyme and tapenade to add to the lovely plush, rounded palate. The finish is lifted and lingering and blueberry dominant.  It’s a lovely, supple expression of the grape.

  As a vine nursery fieldman, Andrew Jones has spent many hours exploring vineyards, planning, planting, and chatting with farmers all over the Central Coast. He began spotting more and more interesting and overlooked vineyards – often rocky, wilder sites located closer to the Pacific, farmed mindfully by clients who have become friends over many years.  This Syrah is sourced from three such vineyards, Zabala in Arroyo Seco AVA, Hinterland in Paso Robles AVA, and Stolo in the tiny coastal community of Cambria.

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• Red Wine

  2012 Syrah Le Pousseur, Bonny Doon

  £3500

  Bonny Doon Vineyards’ 2012 Syrah, “Le Pousseur,” is made from Syrah grapes grown in some nice Central Coast spots – 48% Alamo Creek Vineyard, 18% Bien Nacido Vineyard, 18% Spanish  Springs Vineyard and 16% Ventana Vineyard. These are cool-climate sites and the website states that with “a fair amount of whole clusters included, this is a savory Syrah of great restraint.”

  Randall Grahm writes that he finds Le Posseur “enchanting and captivating rather than overpowering.” He labels it as a “feminine” Syrah. I don’t make it a habit to argue with a winemaker about his wines, but I was taken to task once for the use of the term “feminine” as a sexist way to describe a wine. PC or not PC, it does not strike me as feminine. Maybe it’s feminine in a masculine way. Or masculine in a feminine way. Maybe it’s just a wine having a crisis of sexuality. Or maybe it’s just a Syrah of great restraint. It retails for $26 and 2,126 cases were produced.

  Under the screw cap is a wine which is opaque indigo. Big blueberry fruit dominates the nose with a savory undercurrent. It is possibly the fruitiest nose I’ve experienced from a Bonny Doon red, which usually lean savory. The palate shows dark fruit too, with just a hint of that black olive note Grahm’s wines often exhibit. Very nice acidity and a good tannic grip top off an entirely enjoyable experience. The oak touch is nice, just right in fact.

  90 points from PlanetGrape.com: “Seductive notes of red rose, lilac, raspberry and cherry mingle with earthy notes of game, bacon and underbrush. Smooth and silky. Decant to let oxygen do its thing.” (02/2015) According to the winery: “We’ve been in a nice aromatic groove of late with Le Pousseur, largely in virtue of the string of very cool vintages, and sourcing our fruit exclusively from cool climate sites. The ’12 Pousseur (who is to say why) is still in a Marlon Brando-like bit of a sullen funk, but there is no question that underneath that brooding exterior, there beats the heart of a Wild One. The Alamo Creek component (possibly in virtue of its extremely gravelly soil) seems to add a strong mineral/earthy/bloody note, not utterly unreminiscent of Cornas. With more air, you begin to gradually discern the characteristic anise/licorice character that typifies Syrah. On the palate, the wine has a refreshing acidity, tannins well-resolved and is remarkably savory with an exceptionally long finish. This wine is still amazingly young and will benefit from several years of ageing (if you can wait). If you can’t wait, decanting is well advised.”

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• Red Wine

  2011 Columbia Valley Syrah, L’Ecole No.41

  £3750

  L’Ecole Nº 41 has been producing premium, handcrafted varietal wines in the Walla Walla Valley since 1983 in the historic Frenchtown School in Lowden, Washington.

  This luscious and balanced Syrah presents fruity aromas of ripe blackberry, earth and spice. The wine shows rich black currant, kalamata olive and black peppercorn through a finely textured mineral finish

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  Bin End Sale

  Red Wine

  2020 Syrah, The Language Of Yes, Randall Grahm

  £4350

  Randall Grahm is a legend of California winemaking, renowned for his trailblazing work with Rhône Varieties in the Central Coast. ‘The Language of Yes’ is his latest project, an attempt to capture the essence of Old World wines through the ‘uniqueness of the vineyards and the (mostly) sunny disposition of California’.

  This is a deliciously complex Syrah, marked by its lively acidity and layers of vivid pepperiness, black olive, violets, liquorice and white flowers. Smooth and textured with a long finish.

  The Syrah and Viognier grapes come from the single vineyard ‘Rancho Réal’, in the Santa Maria Valley which is one of the coolest sites where vines are successfully grown in California. Here, the vines enjoy a particularly long growing season, thus developing an impressive degree of complexity and articulation. For example, the formation of ‘Rotundone’, the molecule that imparts the peppery quality to wines, is favoured by cooler climates, lower light conditions and a long hang-time on the vine.

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• 

  Great Wines

  Red Wine

  2009 Reva Syrah, Alban Vineyards

  £12000

  Established in 1989, Alban Vineyards represents California’s first winery and vineyard dedicated exclusively to the varietals of the Rhône.  Pioneered by John Alban at a time when anything that was neither Cabernet nor Chardonnay was barely grown in California, Alban was a groundbreaking project and has gone on to be regarded as one of the U.S.A’s best and most influential producers.

  It is the Syrah releases from Alban which, justifiably, receive the most attention. Reva Syrah is Alban’s much-coveted, hard to come by top release; a 100% single vineyard Syrah which is aged in oak for 42 months before release. Upfront and highly varietal on the nose, this cult wine exudes aromas of cassis, wild herbs, violet, earth and smoke. The palate is incredibly full-bodied and decadent with immense depth and wonderful freshness. Flavours of dark fruit, coffee, toasty oak and perfumed spice build on an intense mid-palate before continuing on a long, momentous finish. We believe that this is California’s greatest example of this grape variety and will age gracefully over the next 20 years and beyond.

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