The Ad Hoc range of wines from Larry Cherubino is designed to be your ‘go-to’ wines – dependable, high quality and fit for any occasion. This 2021 Chardonnay is an inviting and creamy wine with green apple, melon and citrus aromas enhanced by buttered brioche and a lovely freshness on the finish. The fruit was handpicked, whole bunch pressed, fermented with natural yeasts and aged in new two year old French oak prior to bottling.
Wine Heroes
This page is dedicated to our wine heroes – the wines, winery, winemakers that have shaped our vinous journey over the past 20 years.
We followed, bought and collected all the wines that feature on this page for many years and their quality vintage upon vintage is without question.
In short, these are the wines we drink, and we hope you will love them as much as we do.
Showing 1–15 of 20 results
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2022 Chardonnay, Xanadu
£2495Add to BasketThis highly awarded, modern, sophisticated and striking Chardonnay displays all classic Margaret River hallmarks.
This intense, pure and aromatic Chardonnay displays aromas of fresh nashi pear, white stone fruits, citrus zest with underlying hints of oyster shell and a subtle saline minerality. Intertwined and balanced oak sits in the background bringing complexing nougat and nutty notes.
The palate is medium-full-bodied with white fleshed stone fruits and pears flowing through. A bright natural acidity from the Gingin clone is ever-present displaying fresh citrus juice and kaffir lime, giving a beautiful mouthwatering freshness. The powerful fruit is balanced by a backbone of ripe phenolics which gives the wine generosity, poise and persistence.
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2021 Chardonnay, Ktima Gerovassiliou
£2595Add to Basket2021 was an excellent vintage, being cited as perhaps one of the best of the past 20 years in Epanomi. Perfumed aromas of melon, ripe pineapple and lemon combine with toasty butterscotch notes. Opulent, with a richly oaked texture, beautiful balance and spicy minerality on the finish.
The wine spent 7 months in French oak, which enhanced the creaminess and rich texture of this wine.
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2020 Chardonnay, Lismore
£3200Add to BasketLismore 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. ‘ I had a farm in Africa….’ The opening line of Karen Blixen’s classic memoir Out Of Africa comes to mind when you hear Samantha’s amazing story. A native Californian, Berkeley educated, Sam realised her dream and bought a mountain in Africa.
In December 2019 Samantha’s farm, home, cellar and just-opened wine cellar was all lost in a bush-fire. Samantha has proven herself to be one of the winemaking stars of South Africa and gaining respect from all around the world. The day this tragedy took place Samantha was receiving calls from winemakers all around the Cape, giving her some of their top grapes and asking her to make the wine in their cellars in order for her to continue making wine and not miss a harvest. A remarkable woman making remarkable wines.
The 2020 Lismore Chardonnay is delicious in the glass. The nose is a complex, expressive bouquet of citrus and tropical fruits layered with brioche, honey and walnut. The palate is carried through by a distinct minerality and crisp acidity through to a lingering citrus finish.
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2021 Estate Chardonnay Sleepy Hollow Vineyard, Talbott
£3750Add to BasketTalbott Vineyards is defined by its iconic Sleepy Hollow Vineyard, where the conditions are ideal for exceptional, cool-climate Chardonnay. Located in the northern area of the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA in Monterey County, it has been designated one of California’s Grand Cru vineyards by Wine Enthusiast in 2016, for its ability to produce exceptional wines year after year. The vines were first planted in 1972 at an elevation of 168 metres and cover 228 hectares. Due to the proximity of the Pacific Ocean and the east-to-northeasterly exposure, cooling fog and frequent ocean breezes temper the warm sunshine, giving Sleepy Hollow one of the longest growing seasons in California and allowing each grape to develop concentrated flavours.
A bright, elegant Chardonnay, with aromas of Pink Lady apple, juicy pineapple, pear and caramelised brown sugar. Unctuous and opulent on the palate, with refreshing acidity offering beautiful balance to the ripe tropical fruit.
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2011 Chardonnay, Dog Point Vineyard
£4100Add to BasketThis 12-year-old Chardonnay was recently released by Dog Point as a part of their museum release program. It’s simply stunning, liquid gold in a glass. Aromas of limestone, lemon and white flowers waft from the glass. The palate is full of flavour, layered and intense. Spicy with a buttery feel. The finish is long and intense. This will continue to age gracefully for another 10 years. Simply magnificent.
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2018 Chardonnay ‘Clonal Selection’, Kershaw
£4750Add to BasketAn exceptional Chardonnay from the amazing cool-climate region of Elgin. Restrained, mineral style focussed on elegance with a white fruit character, some oatmeal and some complexity gained from percipient applied wood. Only 15982 bottles and 70 Magnums.
The grapes come from eight to 10 small parcels of vineyards in several locations in the Elgin Valley. Elgin is the coolest wine region in South Africa and is situated on an inland, hexagonal-shaped plateau, at an altitude of 300 metres. The region is surrounded by mountains and lies just over six miles from the Atlantic Ocean, which brings occasional sea-borne mists. February is the hottest month of the year, with daytime temperatures peaking at 23°C and night-time temperatures dipping to 14°C. The benefit of this cooler climate is that the grape cluster stays connected to its roots for longer, so it develops complex characteristics and achieves physiological ripeness more gradually, resulting in lower sugar levels and consequently lower alcohol levels.
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2018 Chardonnay ‘G.P.S Series’, Kershaw
£4750Add to BasketRestraint, minerality, freshness of fruit and a chiselled edge reflect limestone’s soil properties. This 2018 reveals clean, bright aromas of lemon blossom, wet chalk and powdered stones. Penetrating intensity, animated acidity with a rich mid-palate weight; this wine has purity of fruit – orange peel, yellow cling peaches and grapefruit peel – with complexing oatmeal and lemon cream biscuits to crème fraiche textures and a long finish. Only 2128 bottles were produced.
The G.P.S. (Grape Positioning System) series is made from exciting small parcels of fruit selected from carefully chosen vineyards outside the Elgin Valley. The Chardonnay grapes come from a small parcel of vines which are grown as a single vineyard block in Lower Duivenhoks River district, in the Western Cape. The pure limestone soil is something of a rarity in the Western Cape; it is a soil in which Chardonnay flourishes and produces elegant, fresh wines. The Dijon clone CY95 vines thrive in this warm Mediterranean climate, which is tempered by the Atlantic Ocean and the nearby Duivenhoks River. The wide diurnal temperature ranges create a long hang time during which the grape cluster stays connected to its roots for longer, developing complex characteristics and achieving physiological ripeness more gradually, balanced by natural acidity.
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2011 Piccadilly Chardonnay, Grosset
£4850Add to BasketSince the first release of Grosset Piccadilly in 1993, these wines have made a powerful statement about the potential of the Piccadilly Valley in the Adelaide Hills, a sub-region so cool that it is often considered marginal for table wine. ‘It’s a sub-region that takes time to understand’, says Grosset, ‘and the wines can be exquisite’.
There’s a delicacy about the 2011 Grosset Piccadilly Chardonnay that is rare with Australian chardonnay: it is delightfully fragrant with white flowers and fresh herbs. The palate is fresh, vibrant and tangy with intense white peach and nectarine flavours that show depth and purity. There’s succulence, a taut structure, and bright zesty acidity to finish. Although restrained, the wine builds in the glass.
Only 600 dozen produced
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2009 Piccadilly Chardonnay, Grosset
£5500Add to BasketSince the first release of Grosset Piccadilly in 1993, these wines have made a powerful statement about the potential of the Piccadilly Valley in the Adelaide Hills, a sub-region so cool that it is often considered marginal for table wine. ‘It’s a sub-region that takes time to understand’, says Grosset, ‘and the wines can be exquisite’.
Followers of the Grosset Chardonnay will notice a consistency of style especially between the most recent three vintages of the wine. Jeff sees these as a return to the clearly defined style that he made in the 1990s: finer, lean, tighter and slightly lower in alcohol. Often shy and restrained on release and needing patience and time to reveal themselves, the Piccadilly Chardonnays come into their own by being more age-worthy than most of their peers.
The 2009 Grosset Chardonnay is exuberant with tangy white peach and nectarine flavours, vibrant, juicy fleshy texture and zingy acidity that cleanses. There’s impressive integration of oak and fruit at a young age, the richness and concentration you’d expect, plenty of weight and a lively raciness that binds it all together.
The Grosset Piccadilly Chardonnay is handpicked, barrel fermented in French barriques and then left to mature in those barrels for nearly twelve months, followed by a further twelve months in bottle before release. After 11 years in bottle this wine is singing from the rooftops and just shows the magnificence of the Piccadilly Valley in the Adelaide Hills.
Only 590 cases produced.
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White Wine
2021 Reserve Chardonnay, Xanadu
£6900Add to BasketThe Reserve range continues to be the best of the best of what Xanadu can produce in a given vintage. This is the 11th consecutive release of Reserve Chardonnay, 100% of the fruit for this wine is from the estate’s oldest iconic Chardonnay vineyard, the Lagan Estate.
The bouquet of this powerful, yet elegant Chardonnay displays fresh pear and lemon/lime characters with underlying hints of roasted cashews and frangipani adding complexity. The sophisticated palate is medium-bodied with a wonderful purity of fruit, offering pear puree, zesty grapefruit flavours and a quartz-like, almost crystalline, mineral edge to the structure. Pristine fruit and tangy acid focus the wine to a crisp, lingering finish
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2018 Chardonnay ‘Deconstructed Lake District Bokkeveld Shale CY95’, Kershaw
£7995Add to BasketThis outstanding Chardonnay from Richard Kershaw MW is sourced from a parcel in the western part of Elgin the CY95 in the wines name is in reference to a clone of the Chardonnay grape that is known for its excellent quality creating wines that are aromatic, fuller bodied and rich yet tightly structured, well–balanced with length of flavour, managing to show restraint and mouth-watering passivity with a great line through the palate and fruit veering towards white peach flesh and nectarine. The Bokkeveld Shale brings amplified perfume to the nose and persistence and elegance to the palate.
Only 710 bottles were produced.
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2018 Chardonnay ‘Deconstructed Lake District Cartref CY96’, Kershaw
£7995Add to BasketThis outstanding Chardonnay from Richard Kershaw MW is sourced from a parcel in the western part of Elgin, the CY96 in the wines name is in reference to a clone of the Chardonnay grape that is known for its excellent quality, creating wines that are nervous, aromatic, elegant and crisp with slightly lower alcohol and finely balanced, the fruit profile being subtle with hints of citrus/orange peel and peach blossom and with time, some nutty elements. The Cartref soils, a mixture of decomposed granite, pebbles and quartz, add delicacy and heighten the fruit intensity.
Only 780 bottles were produced.
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2020 Napa Valley Chardonnay, Chateau Montelena
£8650Add to BasketThis is an incredible vintage of Chateau Montelena’s flagship Chardonnay.
In the glass it has a bright gold in colour and is incredibly aromatic, the ripeness of the vintage is most pronounced initially; melon, perfume, and orange blossom slowly give way to fresh peach, honeysuckle and apricot. There is very little overt oak influence on the nose, although it comes across subtly in the background as pie crust and toast.
On the palate, it’s the suppleness and silky mouthfeel that strike first, although there’s abundant mango and citrus with Meyer lemon here as well. The minerality is chalky and distinct, a beautiful contrast that layers in with the acid adding both complexity and depth.
The finish is exceptional: There’s slightly more wood on the transition to the finish, surfacing as baking spice and crème brûlée. However, they’re handily overwhelmed by notes of Asian pear, mango and pineapple— absolutely delicious. In time, expect hazelnuts and almonds to appear.
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2013 Camp Meeting Ridge Chardonnay, Flowers
£9500Add to BasketFlowers are pioneers of the Sonoma Coast region and make extraordinary Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Perched on top of soaring coastal ridges that border the Pacific Ocean, Flowers’ estate vineyards were some of the first planted on the “extreme” Sonoma Coast in 1991. Flowers’ vineyards rise up just two miles from the rugged Pacific Ocean cliffs at elevations of 1,150 to 1,875 feet. The maritime breezes and coastal fog cool the vineyards during the heat of summer allowing fruit to fully mature with fresh, complex flavours and lively acidity resulting in wines with a distinct coastal minerality and bright natural acidity.
The 2013 Camp Meeting Ridge Chardonnay is sourced from the organically and biodynamically farmed Camp Meeting Ridge Estate Vineyard. Planted in 1991 these ‘older vines’ produce Flowers most interesting and exciting Chardonnays. In the glass, it has aromas of chamomile and lemongrass combined with flavours of ripe stone fruits, dried apricot and lemon. On the palate, it has subtle notes of custard and caramel along with the classic sea-salt minerality that is typical of the Camp Meeting Ridge vineyard. The finish is long and salivating with refreshing acidity.
