Showing all 12 results

• Red Wine

  2020 Gigondas ‘Classique’ Vieilles Vignes, Domaine Saint Damien

  £3200

  Joel and Romain Saurel produce amazing Gigondas wines from very old vines around the small hamlet of La Beaumette.  A powerful wine showing sweet fruit, prunes and hints of pepper, joined by hints of garrigue and liquorice.    It’s full-bodied, silky and easy to drink with a smooth texture; fine fruit and structure with a lovely length.

  The belief in the natural expression of terroir led the owners to introduce “la lutte raisonnée” in 1996. The vines are cultivated using sustainable methods and a reduced amount of chemicals, in order to respect the land and its environment. The soils are made up of limestone and clay with glacial deposits.

  Purchase & earn 32 points!Add to Basket
• Red Wine

  2015 Cornas ‘Champelrose’, Domaine Courbis

  £3300

  This is an exceptional Syrah from Domaine Courbis, the masters of Cornas and allegedly there entry-level wine!   Intense and dark, the nose on this gorgeous Syrah immediately strikes you with notes of plum, of dark cherry and violets. The palate is silky, with ripe tannins that build giving the wine volume and a plush mouthfeel.

  Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate – 94 points

  ‘Sexy, rounded and voluptuous, the roughly 1,500-case 2015 Cornas Champelrose is the entry-level cuvée that’s all destemmed and aged in 25% new barrels. It’s easily the most approachable in this lineup and has gorgeous notes of cured meats, toasted spice, black raspberries, black cherries and licorice. Full-bodied, layered and rounded, it should drink beautifully on release, but evolve gracefully.’

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• Red Wine

  2021 Châteauneuf-du-Pape ‘Les Vallons de la Solitude’, Domaine de la Solitude

  £3595

  Rich, smooth and flavoursome with complex layers of black-berried fruit, brambly notes, a touch of the local wild garrigue and gentle spice. Elegant yet sumptuous.

  This Domaine stretches from the high terraces of the ‘La Crau’ and descends into the Solitude Valley. The estate covers a patchwork of soils, from sandy soil known as ‘Safres’, which offer good drainage, to clay and pebble. The vineyard has an abundance of rounded quartzite stones, known as “Galet Roulés”, which derive from the Villafranchian period. These stones absorb heat during the day then radiate it at night, promoting full grape maturity.

  Purchase & earn 36 points!Add to Basket
• Red Wine

  2017 The Ironstone Pressings GSM, d’Arenberg

  £3750

  The Ironstone Pressings is named because most of McLaren Vale’s acclaimed and historic vineyards are impregnated with ancient, decomposed laterite granite known as ironstone. Its extraordinary rusty red-brown colour is derived from the iron oxides present in the stone. The larger pieces were cleared from the vineyards in the late 1880s and utilised in many of the buildings at d’Arenberg, most notably the old stables.

  The 2017 vintage is an aromatic wonder, initially, the nose is dominated by fragrant red fruits over spices and liquorice/earthy notes. As it breathes more obvious notes of loganberries, cranberry and mulberry fruits with maraschino cherry, dark chocolate and intense plum notes. There is an impressive background of fine-grain, cedary oak notes.  The palate is immense and beautifully structured with complex layers of exotic fruit flavours mixed with silky fine acidity. The mineral edged tannins are superb, almost elegant. Ripe red-fleshed cherries and dark ripe plums, spice and bell peppers are mixed with summer flowers. Dried herbs such as jasmine & lavender linger on and on; the finish has excellent intensity. Let it sit in a decanter and a continuous stream of characters will evolve.

  While enjoyable in youth, this wine will reach its full potential with bottle age up to at least 20 years. The considerable structure and depth will ensure that the fruit characters will develop over time revealing more complexity and providing immense interest.

  Purchase & earn 38 points!Add to Basket
• Rose Wine

  2019 Las Fincas Rosado, Chivite Family Estates – Magnum

  £3850

  Created by Julián Chivite as a homage to his great friend and top Spanish chef José María Arzak. This food-friendly rose wine is made up of a blend of 54% Garnacha and 46% Tempranillo. Intense on the nose with strawberry, pomegranate, raspberry, blackberry and rose petals at the end. Balanced and satisfying mouthfeel. Long persistence on the finish with notes of cherry in the aftertaste. Delicious!

  Purchase & earn 39 points!Add to Basket
• Red Wine

  2019 Saint Joesph Les Royes, Domaine Courbis

  £4200

  Opaque and opulent, this wine shows the characteristics of Syrah from the Northern Rhône, with ripe cassis and rich chocolate undertones. Smooth, silky and concentrated with fine tannins and harmonious balance through to a long finish.

  Saint Joseph is situated at the confluence of the Rhône and Isère rivers on the right bank of the Rhône. Domaine Courbis owns the most southern parcels of the Saint Joseph appellation, on very steep and terraced slopes, with a southern and eastern orientation.

  Located in a picturesque valley and surrounded by Mediterranean vegetation, the Royes vineyard forms an amphitheatre and covers six hectares. This is a spectacular Saint Joseph site, on south-facing steep slopes, situated on the edge of Cornas. The soil is made up of clay and limestone, which imparts elegance to the resulting wine.

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• Red Wine

  2021 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Domaine de la Solitude

  £4250

  Domaine de la Solitude’s wines are renowned for their characteristic elegance whilst expressing the true origins of their terroir.    This 2021 is a rich and opulent wine with ripe blackcurrant aromas layered with notes of the garrigue and cistus (a hardy shrub) flowers. Full-bodied but with a soft texture on the palate; this wine retains the estate’s characteristic elegance whilst embracing a modern style of winemaking. Ripe fruits combine with notes of cocoa and cherry and a hint of liquorice on the finish.

  Domaine de la Solitude has one of the best terroirs in Châteauneuf-du-Pape with its abundance of rounded quartzite stones from the Villafranchian period. These stones absorb heat during the day then radiate it at night, promoting full grape maturity. Yielding just 30 hectolitres per hectare, the vines are carefully managed throughout the year. The grapes are hand-harvested, once each variety has reached full maturity, which is based on tastings undertaken by an expert panel. The vineyard is farmed sustainably; the domain promotes and develops biodiversity in the vineyard by maintaining a flourishing wine-growing ecosystem.

  Purchase & earn 43 points!Add to Basket
• Red Wine

  2020 Grenache, 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 an elegant and layered Grenache with opulent notes of strawberry, rhubarb and a hint of blood orange enveloped in autumnal spiced notes of cloves and sandalwood with an extremely persistent finish.

  The Grenache 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

  2013 Cornas ‘Les Eygats’, Domaine Courbis

  £4500

  The wines of the Courbis estate are some of the most compelling examples of St. Joseph and Cornas wines being made today. The Courbis brothers have combined their long family experience with a modern style and this has earned them international recognition.

  This 2012 Cornas Les Eygats is a stunning red wine. Made from 100% Syrah, the wine was part fermented in vats (50%) and French oak barrels (50%) of which 25% were new and bottled after 18 months ageing in oak.

  In the glass, it is dark purple with heady aromas of fresh dark berries, cherry liqueur, potpourri and incense, along with an overarching spicy note. Sweet and seamless in texture, offering energetic, palate-staining dark berry, violet and spice flavours enlivened by a spine of juicy acidity. Silky tannins build slowly on the strikingly long, penetrating finish, which leaves behind notes of candied fruit, cracked pepper and violet.

  Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate – 95 points

  ‘Starting out with the 2012s, which are some of the strongest in the vintage, the 2012 Cornas Les Eygats is a classic Cornas that exhibits knockout aromas and flavors of smoked meat, barbecue sauce, violets, sweet cassis and a hint of dusty pebble. A blend of 100% Syrah and aged 16-18 months in 50% new French oak, this medium to full-bodied, pure, fresh and focused effort will benefit from short-term cellaring and have 15 years or more of prime drinking. ‘

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• Red Wine

  2016 ‘GSM’ Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Benevolent Neglect

  £4500

  The nose is intoxicating and perfumed, with a heavy proportion of florals, specifically violets, with nuanced, understated berry fruits and an intriguing mineral/graphite component emerging with time in the glass. The palate is sumptuous, plump and satisfying while retaining restraint, the oak beautifully integrated and suggested as a slight lick of caramel on the lengthy finish, which is all framed by restrained tannins and a lingering, mouthwatering finish of red fruits and savoury game. The guys from Benevolent make delicious, unique wines with soul.

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• Red Wine

  2019 ‘Compartir’, Château de l’Ou

  £4500

  A full-bodied, rich and yet seamlessly elegant Roussillon expression with abundant notes of kirsch and blackberry layered with ground pepper, garrigue herbs and spice. Classic richness is perfectly balanced by considerable elegance.

  A blend of Syrah, Grenache and Carignan, the vines thrive at an elevation of 350 metres in the Maury terroir of the northern part of the Roussillon. The climate is Mediterranean, strongly influenced by cooling coastal breezes combined with mountain freshness from the foothills of the Pyrenees which balance the hot, arid summers. The terroir is made up of a mosaic of brown and black schist soils, which date back to the Cretaceous period. The schistous marl produces shallow soils, which force the vines to send their roots deep in search of water and nutrients. The vineyard is certified organic.

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• Red Wine

  2010 The Ironstone Pressings GSM, d’Arenberg

  £4900

  The Ironstone Pressings is named because most of McLaren Vale’s acclaimed and historic vineyards are impregnated with ancient, decomposed laterite granite known as ironstone. Its extraordinary rusty red-brown colour is derived from the iron oxides present in the stone. The larger pieces were cleared from the vineyards in the late 1880s and utilised in many of the buildings at d’Arenberg, most notably the old stables.

  Unctuous blackberry and plum notes lay at the heart of this classic d’Arenberg example of a Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvedre (GSM).  A spattering of exotic spices the likes of star anise, cardamom and nutmeg cling to the sweet, dark fruits and of course, it wouldn’t be a d’Arenberg wine without a rousing dose of earthy, gamey character.   The palate is fleshy and juicy with an almost velvet-like texture. Abundantly warm and generous but sufficiently structured to suggest this wine can go the long hall.

  While enjoyable in youth, this wine will reach its full potential with bottle age up to at least 20 years. The considerable structure and depth will ensure that the fruit characters will develop over time revealing more complexity and providing immense interest.

  Purchase & earn 49 points!Add to Basket