Showing all 7 results

• White Wine

  2021 Viognier ‘Age of Grace’, Lismore

  £2800

  Lismore Estate is based in Greyton within the Overberg region of the Western Cape of South Africa.  It’s here with the Sonderend mountains as a backdrop that winemaker & proprietor Samantha O’Keefe makes her fabulous wines.

  This Viognier is a reflection of Samantha’s obsession with how the special soil, climate and a mysterious sense of place come together to produce an extraordinary wine that tells you its story. The vines are grown on rose-quartz soils in Elgin, which is a cool, high altitude plateau. The region offers a lengthened ripening period which brings the grapes late into the season, often three to four weeks later than traditional wine-growing areas in South Africa. This provides the opportunity to develop deep complexity and concentration.

  In the glass, the 2021 Age of Grace Viognier is an expressive wine that seduces you with beautiful perfumes of honeysuckle and orange blossom and a textured palate of apricot, kiwi and pineapple. A sensual and exotic experience. Barrel fermented and aged. Enjoy it now or allow it to gain complexity with further cellaring.

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• 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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• Red Wine

  2016 Côte-Rôtie, Blonde du Seigneur, Georges Vernay

  £7250

  Although Domaine Georges Vernay has built its reputation around its excellent Condrieu white wines, its reds should not be neglected, especially ones from the Côte-Rôtie. From a 5 ha plot of vines, Vernay’s Côte-Rôtie is amongst the most exceptional wines from the same appellation. Thanks to a perfectly mastered elegant wine style, Christine Vernay successfully expresses the elegance and depth of syrah; never over maturing or over ageing.

  2016 has been hailed as one of the great vintages and only 1200 cases were made in 2016 of the Blonde du Seigneur, so demand is high.   In the glass this 2016 vintage is a dark deep wine offering a mineral nose with notes of smoke, black fruit, black olive, and pepper – always enhanced by a floral component. It is aromatic on the palate, with firm but smooth tannins, and a beautiful lingering finish. Its aromatic mouth, with well-built but smoothed tannins, continues in a beautiful final length. An immediate pleasure that slowly, over the years, grows to be the most typical expression of the Syrah from Cote-Rotie.

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• White Wine

  2018 Condrieu ‘Les Terrasses de l’Empire’, Georges Vernay

  £7295

  A benchmark Condrieu – pure peach and apricot aromas are lifted with hints of acacia flowers. Full and creamy with a distinctive mineral expression and a subtle Condrieu saline complexity supporting the ripe stone fruit flavours. This is a pure expression of a very fine Viognier.

  The grapes from this wine come from a patchwork of small plots covering four hectares in the lieu-dits of Sainte Agathe and La Caille located in the heart of Condrieu. The vines are planted on steep south-facing granite, biotite terraces where the use of machines is impossible; therefore the vineyard is maintained manually and sustainably, without the use of weed killers or insecticides. The average age of vines is 35 years.

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• White Wine

  2017 Condrieu, Chaillées de l’Enfer, Georges Vernay

  £10500

  “I liked the wines that came from the slopes, I found those from the plains very average”. These words of Georges Vernay sum up his contribution to Condrieu. Thanks to Georges, the abandoned, steep slopes here were given new life in the 1960s. In fact, this determined man had the genius intuition to cultivate vines on the “chaillées”, or terraces, aptly known as the “chaillées de l’Enfer” (terraces from hell)!

  On the nose, the 2017 reveals exquisite floral notes, like old rose and peony, as well as a fruity side. The palate shows finesse and elegance, with the floral character of the nose accompanied by hints of spice. This is a balanced Condrieu with beautiful length, complexity and pureness.  Drink now to 2030

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• Red Wine

  2014 Côte-Rôtie, Maison Rouge, Georges Vernay

  £11000

  Although Domaine Georges Vernay has built its reputation around its excellent Condrieu white wines, its reds should not be neglected, especially ones from the Côte-Rôtie. From a 5 ha plot of vines, Vernay’s Côte-Rôtie is amongst the most exceptional wines from the same appellation. Thanks to a perfectly mastered elegant wine style, Christine Vernay successfully expresses the elegance and depth of syrah; never over maturing or over ageing.

  The name of the wine refers to a small red house situated at the foot of this impressively steep “lieu dit” or registered plot of ‘Maison Rouge’. The vineyards are made up of two hectares of sandy, granite terraces located in the southern part of the appellation. Trained according to the Guyot simple method, the vines have an average age of 50 years and they have been planted to a density of 10,000 vines per hectare.

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• Red Wine

  2015 Côte-Rôtie, Maison Rouge, Georges Vernay

  £12500

  This Côte Rôtie is characterised by its combination of power with elegance. Pure, deep red fruits from old vines are supported by spicy aromas. Beautifully structured on the palate with silky, smooth tannins and toasted notes on the long, persistent finish.

  The name of the wine refers to a small red house situated at the foot of this impressively steep “lieu dit” or registered plot of ‘Maison Rouge’. The vineyards are made up of two hectares of sandy, granite terraces located in the southern part of the appellation. Trained according to the Guyot simple method, the vines have an average age of 50 years and they have been planted to a density of 10,000 vines per hectare.

  Purchase & earn 125 points!Add to Basket