Showing all 14 results

• White Wine

  2020 The Broken Fishplate Sauvignon Blanc, d’Arenberg

  £1595

  A flashy sauvignon blanc offering lashings of tropicals such as passionfruit and gooseberry on the highly aromatic nose, boosted by an undercurrent of fresh cut grass and asparagus. The palate is refreshingly crisp and mineral. Vibrant citrus-like acid is a real feature. But this is accompanied by the generosity in flavour and a hint of added texture through some very light-handed oak treatment and a small dose of wild ferment. Balanced and long, served chilled this wine will hit the spot on a warm, sunny day.

  Despite being a good match for fish, the name has nothing to do with them! A fishplate is a term for the nylon plates that collect grape bunches on a harvester and often break when navigating around the steep, windy vineyards.

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• Red Wine

  2017 The Laughing Magpie, d’Arenberg

  £1995

  This 2016 Shiraz/Viognier has a rather dark appearance with a vivid purple hue suggesting a complex dry red.  The nose is particularly intense, with peppery spice, hints of fragrant flower and perfume aromas, plus nectarines, apricots, ginger and herbs from the small parcel of viognier that the Shiraz is co-fermented with.  On the palate, the Shiraz is more dominant with sweeter fruit characters like blackberry, blueberry and boysenberry. The palate is rich and generous and soft silky tannins.

  The Kookaburra is a native Australian bird famous for its distinctive laughing call, Chester’s young daughters named them “Laughing Magpies”. The Magpie plumage is black with a stripe of white feathers, representing McLaren Vale’s first ever blend combining the (black) Shiraz and its white partner, Viognier.

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• White Wine

  2011 The Hermit Crab Viognier/Marsanne, d’Arenberg

  £1995

  The 2011 Hermit  has an Incredibly fragrant nose full of sweet apricot and gingery spice. The palate is luscious and generous but has great acid which tightens the wine, adding freshness and a clean crisp finish. Slight pithy feel which builds on the spice notes. Lovely as a fresh stand-alone drink that still exhibits some mouthfeel, or equally well adapted to enjoy with a range of foods from freshly shucked oysters through to spicy Thai style dishes.

  Many of McLaren Vale’s vineyards are on free-draining soils underlain with limestone, formed by the calcareous remains of the local marine fauna. One such creature was the Hermit Crab, a reclusive little crustacean that inhabits the cast-off shells of others. The Osborn family thought the name appropriate for this, McLaren Vale’s first-ever blend of Viognier and Marsanne. “Hermit” is also an abbreviation for the French appellation of Hermitage, where the Marsanne grape variety dominates.

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• White Wine

  2022Viognier, Ktima Gerovassiliou

  £2695

  This is one of the best Viogniers made outside the Northern Rhone. Barrel fermented in new French oak and aged on its lees, this is a fresh, concentrated, aromatic wine, bursting with complex flavours of peach, orange, lemon jasmine, herbs and pepper.

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• 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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• White Wine

  2013 Central Coast Viognier, Alban Vineyards

  £3850

  John Alban is more than a wine producer: Robert Parker has described him as the “spiritual and qualitative leader of the Rhône Ranger movement”: his impact on wine production in California is not to be understated.  Established in 1989, Alban Vineyards represents California’s first winery and vineyard dedicated exclusively to the varietals of the Rhône 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.

  The Central Coast Viognier from Alban has always been fantastic value and rarely overshadowed by its big brother, the Estate Viognier.  This 2013 vintage has aromas of ripe peach, flowers and exotic honey.  It’s rich, unctuous and concentrated on the palate, offering the classic Alban richness and texture. The finish is a heady rich blockbuster.  Brilliant when young but exceptional when it has a few years of age, like this now 7-year-old beauty.

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• White Wine

  2012 Central Coast Viognier, Alban Vineyards

  £3950

  John Alban is more than a wine producer: Robert Parker has described him as the “spiritual and qualitative leader of the Rhône Ranger movement”: his impact on wine production in California is not to be understated.  Established in 1989, Alban Vineyards represents California’s first winery and vineyard dedicated exclusively to the varietals of the Rhône 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.

  Aromatic and floral. Forward and fruity with notes of lychee, pear and stone fruit. North County fruit brings rich texture and body while estate fruit adds floral notes, minerals and balancing acidity. It is 25% barrel fermented in a mixture of new and used French oak. This is an intense, full-bodied style with considerable weight, luscious and delicious.

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• White Wine

  2008 The Virgilius Viognier, Yalumba

  £4250

  Yalumba, the pioneer of Viognier in Australia, has devoted 20 years to the growing and making of this rare and exotic Rhone variety.   The Virgilius is Yalumba’s most distinguished Viognier – a wine that shows power with restraint. As Yalumba’s most premium and enchanting white wine, it is loved by wine lovers looking for something beyond the more conventional offering.

  The nose on this 2009 Virgilius delivers a lifted and exotic aromatic profile of honeysuckle, dried apricot and tropical fruit on the turn followed by a hint of citrus and spice as endnotes. Rich mouth filling flavours of ripe apricot, honeysuckle, tropical fruits and spice. Aftertaste of ripe apricot, honeysuckle and spice – the acidity is incredibly fine, almost taking it into top chardonnay territory; amazing!

  At its best with food, The Virgilius complements a wide range of flavors, particularly dishes with spice and richness.

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• Red Wine

  2015 Côte-Rôtie, Blonde du Seigneur, Georges Vernay

  £6800

  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.

  This Côte blonde-style Côte-Rôtie with 5% Viognier, is the perfect blend of intensity and delicacy. Dark in colour with a mineral smoky nose with dark fruits, black olive and pepper all enhanced by a floral component brought by the Viognier. This is a highly aromatic and elegant wine. With well-constructed but perfectly smooth tannins, this Côte-Rôtie is well-rounded on the palate with a beautiful long finish. Smooth and sensual, it expresses an immediate pleasure

  Côte Rôtie is a prestigious red wine appellation at the northern tip of the Rhône Valley wine region, where the vineyards are situated on steep slopes – the Côtes. The three hectares of vineyard is located in the parish of Semons in the plot ‘Coteau de Bassenon’; and in the parish of Ampuis, in the plots of ‘Lancement’ and ‘Tupin’. The vineyards are situated on South facing granite terraces. Due to the steep slopes in the vineyards, these 30 year old vines are maintained manually, without the use of weed killers and all treatments use organic products.

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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