Showing 301–315 of 394 results

• White Wine

  2012 Faultline Chardonnay, Kooyong

  £4200

  This is handpicked, single-site chardonnay at its very best — a whole bunch of pressed grapes, fermented with natural yeasts and left on its lees for 12 months. It’s a pretty hands-off process, really, but that’s the secret to letting the character of the site show its true colours. The result is a wine layered with complex savoury notes matched with crystalline, fresh, zesty fruit that fills the palate. Flinty mineral characters lead to grapefruit and lemon zest fruit while the barrel influence brings softer nougat, cashew and toast.

  This wine can be drunk now or cellared for another 5-8 years for something very special!

  The Faultline Vineyard 

  Faultline, the largest block at Kooyong, is planted predominantly to Chardonnay in an area where the soils are characterised by a friable dark brown loamy clay.    Adjacent to the Farrago block to the West, the Faultline block is more gently sloping. The block is bounded by a geological fault that runs along the south-western end, beyond which the soil becomes quite poorly drained. Before this fault, however, the soils are well-drained and high in organic matter.   The Chardonnay from the Faultline block is rich and full, defined by generosity of texture while still supported by Kooyong’s inherent minerality.

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• White Wine

  2012 Farrago Chardonnay, Kooyong

  £4200

  This 2012 Farrago is supremely elegant, complex and balanced, seamless and so aromatic.  Reminiscent of Puligny Montrachet – peach, melon and nectarine knit with fresh vanilla oak and underpinned by nuances of grapefruit, ginger and cloves.

  Thre palate just feels beautiful on the tongue. Smooth and creamy, with delightful roundness and fatness, it’s long, pristine and tightly focussed, with intense stonefruit, melon and citrus flavours deftly knit with vanilla oak and wrapped in a racy acidity.  The finish lingers for a ridiculously long time.   White Burgundy of this quality would cost you triple.

  The Farrago Vineyard

  Exclusively planted to Chardonnay, this small block is gently north-sloping with sediments ranging from those higher in sand to those higher in clay.  The best fruit within the block comes from the zone higher in clay where the soil has a mottled appearance due to high sandstone pebble content, hence the block’s name Farrago.   The Chardonnay from the Farrago block is defined by a precise linear character with strong silicaceous minerality. At its best, this is the premier white wine with the greatest ageing potential.

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• White Wine

  2011 Verve Chardonnay, Ocean Eight

  £4200

  Ocean Eight is a family-owned and run by the Aylward family. Chris and Gail Aylward first made wine on the Mornington Peninsula in 1997 when they established the iconic Kooyong Estate.   Having sold Kooyong in 2004 they setup Ocean Eight on the southern and more cooler side of the Mornington Peninsula.   Ocean Eight is now run by their son Mike Aylward and his wife Hollie.   The 2011 Chardonnay lives up to their reputation – macadamia-nut aromas with some clove spices resulting from the barrel fermentation. The fruit is very much in the lime and grapefruit spectrum. The finish is the highlight with a racy acid and mineral mouth-feel up the centre of the palate.

  Awarded 97 points – James Halliday 

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• 

  TenMinutes

  White Wine

  2019 Estate Chardonnay, Ten Minutes By Tractor

  £4200

  Ten Minutes by Tractor needs little introduction, nor does the man in charge – Martin Spedding. A gently-spoken man with a background in finance and IT, in 2002, he finally acknowledged the fact that his true passion lay in wine. Despite his origins in New South Wales, he simply couldn’t get enough of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and would travel down to Victoria to immerse himself in Australia’s heartland of these noble varieties. In 2003 he visited one of his favourite small wineries on Mornington Peninsula and was delighted to discover that it was for sale. Without a moment’s hesitation, he snapped it up, and so began Martin’s journey with Ten Minutes by Tractor.

  Aged in a mixture of new and old French oak barrels for 11 months.  An exotic nose of curry leaf and spice with hints of honeydew and flint form the backbone of this multiple site Chardonnay. While the acid is tight, it creates a strong drive through the palate that is met by bursts of citrus peel with a fine finish.

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• White Wine

  2020 Estate Chardonnay, Paringa Estate

  £4200

  The Estate series from Paringa is a step up from the Peninsula wines and represent the unique Paringa “style” upon which their reputation has been built.   Expressive aromas of lemon sherbet, white peach, and hints of struck match, lead onto a racy palate. Vibrant fruit flavours are framed with crisp acidity which gives the wine a long, linear finish.

  The fruit for this wine came from the ‘Estate’ vineyard, and the Callanan’s Road vineyard. The fruit comes from low-yielding vines, some of which are over 30 years old. They are grown in the typical red volcanic, iron-rich soil known as Ferrasol. The vines are sustainably cultivated, respecting the balance of the soil and the biodiversity of the environment.

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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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• White Wine

  2015 Lune d’Or, Clos des Lunes

  £4250

  Located in Sauternes, on one of the greatest white wine terroirs in France, the Clos des Lunes is a magnificent rolling vineyard planted with old sémillon and sauvignon blanc vines. On very old vines, some perfectly golden clusters are chosen and delicately sorted grain by grain, by expert hands.

  The wine is pale gold in the glass – which is rather apt considering the name!  The nose is very expressive with fragrances of tangerine, lemon and grapefruit with wafts of fresh hay and chamomile.  Together these aromas give a mouthwatering sensation.  This leads into the racy palate that is complex, textural – preserved lemons, stone fruits and a delicious passion fruit taste.   The finish is long luscious and minerally.

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• White Wine

  2000 Grésy Chardonnay Langhe DOC, Marchesi di Grésy

  £4250

  Piemonte produces some of the finest, most Burgundian, examples of Chardonnay in Italy. This is one of the best – a complex barrel-aged style, and one of Italy’s finest examples of the grape. The Chardonnay grapes are sourced from two parcels of vines. One is in Barbaresco, just below Martinenga, facing south-west at an altitude of 230m. The second is on the north-east side of Monte Aribaldo in the commune of Treiso, 370 metres above sea level.

  This 2000 Grésy Chardonnay is a beautiful barrel-aged wine that is bursting with intense aromas of nougat, caramel and butter and hints of almond flakes.  In the mouth it has a textured honeyed feel with complex layers of exotic fruits with honeyed apricots buffered by the persistent minerality that gave the wine its very long finish.

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• White Wine

  2018 Chardonnay, Benevolent Neglect

  £4250

  The 2018 Benevolent Neglect Chardonnay was one of the most talked-about wines of 2019. They’re also one of the wineries that the eminent Jancis Robinson was referring to when she urged her readers to “ take advantage of the creativity of California’s new generation of wine producers.” So naturally, we are delighted to have finally secured a small allocation.

  Don’t expect a big, over-the-top bottling, though—like all of Benevolent Neglect’s wines, the 2018 Chardonnay showcases precision and purity. Winemaker Matt Nagy says of his wine, “The goal with this wine was to eschew traditional ‘California Chardonnay’ as a style and make something more akin to a Cru Chablis.”   As you might expect, the wine delivers on Matt’s vision. The nose leans towards fresh citrus flavours of yuzu and tangerine, with orange blossoms and hints of oyster shell. The palate is electric and direct, with white peaches joining the party alongside lemon marmalade, white pepper, and a mouth-watering finish.

  This Chardonnay comes from a vineyard site that was special enough to warrant “a rehab project,” according to Matt. Organically farmed since the 1970s, the Chardonnay was ungrafted—a rarity in California that trades the eventual death of the vines by phylloxera, a soil-based parasite, for an extra layer of precision and intensity of flavour in the finished wines. The vines had been not-so-benevolently neglected over the last decade, but the raw material was so promising that Matt and his team poured in the work to bring the site back to greatness—and this bottling is proof that their effort was worth it.

  As you might expect from the name, the winemaking style at Benevolent Neglect is to stay out of the way. The wines are fermented with native yeasts and this Chardonnay is aged in a minimal amount of new oak to allow the innate quality of the vineyard to shine through.    Drink now – 2028.

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• White Wine

  2019 Fixin Blanc, Jean-Claude Boisset

  £4250

  This 2019 Fixin Blanc is a beautiful pale yellow colour that displays intense aromas of white peach and stone fruit, with hints of almond and gentle spice from time in oak. The palate is vibrant and fresh yet full-bodied and complex, and the finish long. Just 1500 bottles were produced.  According to winemaker Grégory Patriat, the 2019 vintage will go down as a legendary one, just like 1969, 1979, 1999 and 2009. The summer months were very dry and the yields were much lower than normal due to the lack of water in the vineyards. However, this also resulted in smaller berries and highly concentrated aromas and flavours with the health of the grapes harvested exceptional. Harvest began in mid September.

  This is the first vintage of Grégory’s Fixin Blanc which comes from a tiny plot within the very small Fixin appellation. Fixin is a village at the northern end of the Côte de Nuits. Apart from its neighbour, Marsannay, Fixin is the most northerly appellation in the Côte de Nuits, covering roughly 90 hectares. It is known principally for Pinot Noir. There are just 5 hectares planted to Chardonnay. Boisset’s Fixin Blanc comes from a small plot of 40 year old vines which are located beneath the famous 1er Cru ‘Clos du Chapitre’ on clay and limestone soils.

   

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• White Wine

  2018 Auxey-Duresses, Jean-Claude Boisset

  £4250

  Pale yellow in colour with golden reflections. The seductive nose has aromas of green apple and white flowers that mingle with notes of toast and smoke. On the palate, the wine is supple with superb balanced and a bright, zesty acidity, which lifts the finish.

  Grégory is renowned for his ingenuity in sourcing the highest quality fruit from small parcels, or ‘lieu-dits’, across the region, producing the finest wine that the vintage can offer. Nestled between the two famed villages of Volnay and Meursault, Auxey-Duresses has only 150 hectares of vines. Today, it producers some of the Côte’s best value for money wines. The fruit for Auxey-Duresses comes from a 0.31-hectare plot located in the extension of the Meursault appellation, where the soils are mostly limestone and the vines face northeast. The balance between warm and cool influences results in a long, slow ripening period, allowing the grapes to retain their acidity and lending excellent balance to the finished wines.

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• White Wine

  2020 Sancerre Silex, J. de Villebois

  £4250

  In the glass Striking, aromatic notes of flint, blackcurrant and lemon lead to a mineral-rich palate. Beautifully balanced with a crisp, refreshing finish.

  The Sauvignon Blanc grapes for the Silex cuvée are grown in the famous ‘Silex’ soils of Sancerre, which are made up of clay-siliceous soils composed of flint (Silex), clay and siliceous conglomerates. The sought-after Silex soils make up just 20% of the Sancerre appellation and are considered as ‘early-ripening soil’ as the flinty stones capture the heat from the sun during the day and radiate it at night, which helps to accelerate the maturity of the grapes. This is beneficial is such a cool, continental climate, where the Sauvignon Blanc retains its hallmark acidity, as it offers balance to the wines. The grapes for this cuvée come from hillside plots, where the vines are over 35 years old.

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• White Wine

  2019 St Romain, Maison de Montille

  £4295

  This chardonnay from the standout vintage of 2019 exhibits a pretty bouquet of fresh pear, citrus oil and white flowers, the 2019 Saint-Romain is medium to full-bodied, supple but lively, with a bright spine of acidity and a gently chalky finish.

  Fruit for this Chardonnay is sourced from 2 lieu-dits in Saint-Romain, 80% from `Sous Roches` and the remaining 20% from `Jarrons`, located at the bottom of the village. The 30-year-old vines are planted on rocky soils with excellent drainage which allow the grapes to ripen at a steady pace and retain their vibrant flavours.

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• White Wine

  2005 The Virgilius Viognier, Yalumba

  £4500

  Yalumba, the pioneer of Viognier in Australia, has devoted 20 years to the growing and making of this rare and exotic Rhone variety.   On the nose the aroma is always intense with white peaches, apricots and ginger. The palate is lifted with ginger spice, layered mineral texture and complex apricots along with white stone fruit flavours. The trademark Viognier lusciousness of the palate is clearly evident in vintages of this wine which is unctuous and complex.   We are delighted to offer this aged example.

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

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• White Wine

  2005 Wigan Riesling, Peter Lehmann

  £4500

  From the shallow rocky soils of the Eden Valley, the Wigan Riesling has become one of Australia;s most celebrated wines.

  Named after its winemaker, Andrew Wigan who until his recent retirement had a hand in every Peter Lehman vintage from its first in 1980, it is only released after 5 years from vintage to capture the wines full potential.

  Andrew ‘Wigs’ Wigan revolutionised white winemaking and championed the Riesling grape and his eponymous wine has been named IWSC ‘Best Riesling in the World’ six times and accumulated more than 80 trophies since its inaugural vintage.

  This 2005 wigan is a masterpiece and is perfectly described up by the winemaker, Andrew Wigan: ‘They commence life as wines of great purity and end up as wines of great complexity’.  This 05 is exactly that! Lemon, lime and honey on the nose intermingled with that unique aged riesling character. The palate is still crisp and fresh but developed with gorgeous flavours of lemon, toast, lime and spice with toasted honey characters persisting onto the back palate. The finish reinforces these flavours and it is so so long.

  Simply magnificent aged Eden Valley Riesling from the Master.

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