Silky Reds
Silky Reds
Laborie Merlot 2021
Regular price £10.95Heady aromas of red cherries, mulberries, cranberries and crushed herbs, with hints of earthiness. The palate is vibrant, bright and juicy with ripe tannins and a sweet, elegant finish.
Country: South Africa
Region: Paarl
Grapes: merlot
ABV: 13%
Cartlidge & Browne Pinot Noir 2022
Regular price £21.95Without a doubt, one of the very best Pinot Noirs we have found (and we kiss a lot of frogs!)
Cherry, strawberry and rhubarb notes define the aromatics of this wine and are backed by hints of cinnamon and oregano. Bright flavours of cherry, raspberry and ripe tomato are balanced by a layer of earthy mushroom. Smooth and silky!
Country: USA
Region: California
Grapes: 89% Pinot Noir, 11% Zinfandel
Vegan/Vegetarian
Food Match: Veal, Venison, Salmon
The Cartlidge & Browne slogan; “Please stick your nose in our business”, has become an offbeat way of expressing the winery's attitude that wine should not be taken so seriously! Everyone at C&B has chosen winemaking as a profession for many reasons, but above all else, they want the wines they produce to ignite stories of good friends, good food, lots of laughter and lasting memories.
Chateau La Tour de By Medoc 2014
Regular price £26.95Classic, smooth, dry claret with a bit of bottle age. Notes of cassis at the front leading onto subtle hints of leather and tobacco.
Country: France
Region: Bordeaux, Medoc
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot
ABV: 13.5%
Pegasus Bay Pinot Noir 2019/2020
Regular price £39.95Rich, ripe, but savoury Pinot from Canterbury. We love this wine!
Country: New Zealand
Region: North Canterbury
ABV: 13.5%
Grapes: Pinot Noir
Domaine Bessa Valley Enira 2018
Regular price £18.95Excellent Bordeaux Blend from Bulgaria. Big and bold in flavour with richness and spice in equal measure but a lovely fine-grained tannic structure with good acidy, keeping it moreish and balanced.
Country: Bulgaria
Region: Bessa Valley
Grapes: 52% Merlot, 14% Petit Verdot plus 8% Cab Sauv
ABV: 14.5%
Food Match: Roast lamb with all the trimmings
Boschendal Nicholas Red 2021
Regular price £19.95Bold, ripe, concentrated and structured red and full of dark berry fruit and plums. Very full bodies, very easy drinking SA red from one of the most beautiful places in the world.
Country: South Africa
Region: Stellenbosch Western Cape
Grapes: Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Red, Shiraz,
ABV: 13%
Cirò Rosso Superiore Tenuta Del Conte 2018
Regular price £26.95Gaglioppo...no, we didn't know that grape variety either. Now its one we'll never forget.
Tawny-brick red colour, powerful and persistent fragrance. Well-balanced, leathery palate with a back bone of black fruit and grippy, but supple tannins, making this a very versatile wine with meat dishes ranging from game birds to pork and lamb.
Country: Italy
Region:Cirò, Calabria
ABV: 13.5%
Grapes: Gaglioppo
Food match: rich roast pork dishes, pheasant or slow roast lamb.
The wine has a garnet colour that is the typical color of Gaglioppo. The nose shows dark fruit aromas, dried herbs and dried flowers, and intense earthy notes. The tertiary aromas of mushrooms and leather are also evident and well interwoven with the dark fruit notes. On the palate the dark fruit flavours follow through; blueberries, black cherries, and blackcurrants. Smooth and silky in texture. The wine is juicy, and it shows elegance and good integration of all the elements. This wine is the quintessential example of a true Gaglioppo grape!
The wines are made in Calabria in the toe of Italy’s boot, where native varieties reign supreme – Magliocco, Nerello, Mantonico, Greco and the region’s star grape, Gaglioppo.
The Cirò DOC is a picturesque corner of the Mediterranean, along the Ionian coast, in the eastern foothills of the Calabria region, a large peninsula that forms the toe to Italy’s boot. The Parrilla family, who own and run Tenuta del Conte, have been making wine here for four generations, the latest of which to take over the estate are Mariangela, Giuseppe, and Caterina.
In 2011 Mariangela Parrilla took over as winemaker. Mariangela takes a philosophical approach to winemaking, with the aim to let these traditional indigenous grape varieties speak for themselves and their terroir. Her wines are all organic, no herbicides or chemicals are used at any stage of the production process, she opts for spontaneous fermentations using indigenous yeasts, no filtration, and solely stainless-steel and bottle aging. Taking each wine vintage by vintage she lets them evolve and age “according to their own natural rhythm”, making each wine unique. This could be just one year in bottle before release or over 10 years. Not only does she capture the unique character of the grape variety but that of the vintage it's from too.
Together with a handful of other wineries in the area, Mariangela is part of “The Cirò Revolution”, a group formed to promote and protect their territory’s identity. They are dedicated to organic viticulture and minimal intervention winemaking, they make traditional wines, in homage to their ancestors, from native grape varieties.
Caizergues 'Les Amoriers' Rouge 2019
Regular price £18.95Wonderfully balanced and rich concentrated notes of red cherry and cocoa. Silky tannins and a hint of liquorice on the finish. Named after the mulberry trees 'Les Amoriers' on the estate, historically cultivated to feed the silk worms.
Country: France
Region: Languedoc, Terrasses du Larzac
Grapes: 30% Mourvèdre, 30% Grenache Noir, 20% Carignan, 20% Syrah
ABV: 14%
Food match: slow roast leg of lamb.
Bodegas Luis Cañas Selección de la Familia Rioja Reserva 2018
Regular price £31.95Elegant and complex nose with a good concentration of black fruit, thyme and rosemary with secondary aromas of leather and tobacco leaves. Hints of black fruit jam and liquorice warm, with a long, delicious and persistent finish.
Country: Spain
Region: Rioja
Grapes: Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon
ABV: 14.5%
Iona Elgin Pinot Noir 2020/2021
Regular price £29.00Succulent black cherry aroma, bright but delicate and hints of forest floor, with underlying floral and spicy notes. On the palate, the wine is powerful, with silk-textured length.
Country: South Africa
Region: Elgin
ABV: 13%
Grapes: Pinot Noir
Food match
Beef Bourginon with mushroom or braised lamb shanks.
In early 1997, Andrew Gunn, an engineer by training was contemplating his next career move. Having always loved the outdoors, the prospect of farming appealed to him and feeling young and energetic enough to start a new career, left the hustle and bustle of Johannesburg to begin the search for the ‘perfect’ farm.
After months of searching and 40 farm visits later, Andrew and a very tired estate agent stumbled upon a solitary run down apple farm on a mountain top overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The prospect of a suitable farm in Elgin intrigued Andrew and on driving through the valley, he became excited by the beauty of the area. Surrounded by the Kogelberg Biosphere and Forestry the property had no agricultural neighbours. The rolling hills and the drive up the mountain to where the farm was situated, 420 meters above sea level, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, was unlike anything he had ever seen. It was love at first sight.
As he drove in and stopped in front of a rather run down Herbert Baker homestead, he felt, “this is where I would like to live”, and the view from the front of the house overlooking the Elgin Valley below, made up his mind.
Chateau Belvue Cuvée l’Emotion 2020
Regular price £13.95Concentrated, dense and full of ripe dark fruit characters. Wonderful claret from a family owned Chateau.
Country: France
Region: Haut Medoc
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot
ABV: 13%
Quinta da Pedra Alta Tinto Reserva 2019
Regular price £27.95Concentrated, complex and rich, oak matured Douro red, made from a blend of selected parcels from the best vineyards on the estate.
Country: Portugal
Region: Douro Valley
Grapes: 74% Touriga Nacional, 13% Sousão, 12% Touriga Franca, 1% Fernão Pires
ABV: 13.5%
Tabalí Pedregoso Gran Reserva Carmenère
Regular price £13.95Juicy and moreish Carmenère from a unique vineyard site.
Deep dark red in colour with an elegant complex nose, plenty of spice, black fruit and violets. With smooth tannins on the palate there is perfect integration between oak and fruit, followed by a long and elegant finish.
Country: Chile
Region: Cachapoal
ABV: 14%
Grapes: Carmenère
Domäne Wachau Blauer Zweigelt 2019
Regular price £18.95Generous, ripe and medium bodied red cherry and raspberry fruit with a hint of liquorice. Cool climate red from the beautiful terraced slopes of Wachau, Austria.
Country: Austria
Region: Wachau
Grapes: Blauer Zwielgt
ABV: 13%
Château Les Serres Bordeaux Rouge 2020
Regular price £14.95Super, easy drinking, modern everyday Claret. A lovely fruit expression on very soft and delicate tannins.
Country: France
Region: Bordeaux
Grapes: Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon
ABV: 13%
Half Bottle Laibach The Ladybird Organic Red 2018
Regular price £11.95Complex nose with hints of spice, chocolate and mocha. Good structure with plum and mineral complexity and a lingering finish.
Country: South Africa
Region: Stellenbosch
Grapes: Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet, Petit Verdot & Malbec
ABV: 14.5%
Alpha Box & Dice ‘Enigma’ Barbera, McLaren Vale 2022
Regular price £24.75With the colour of arterial blood, the nose reveals wild berries, rhubarb and custard. The palate is dense, concentrated and brooding opening to a rich mid-palate with cherry-stone fruit and bitter plum and a long finish with a gentle brick-like texture.
Country: Australia
Region: Adelaide Hills
Grape: Barbera
ABV: 14.5%
Food Match: Gamey meats or delicious on its own.
Domaine Caizergues 'Les Magnarelles' Rouge 2019
Regular price £15.95In addition to the black and red fruits also found on the nose there is a complex flavour of sweet spice and minerality followed by a fresh finish.
Country: France
Region: Languedoc, Terrasses du Larzac
Grapes: Carignan, Mourvèdre, Grenache Noir, Syrah
ABV: 13.5%
Food match: Great with grilled meats and tomato based pasta dishes
Chateau Tournefeuille La Cure Lalande de Pomerol 2018
Regular price £44.95Dark in colour, with a powerful nose of ripe black fruits and violet notes. An elegant and complex palate. A dense bouquet with a beautiful tannic base, fruity and fresh on the finish, well balanced.
Country: France
Region: Bordeaux
ABV: 13.5%
Grapes: 70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc
Wine has been in the blood of the Petit family since the eighteenth century but they did not buy this particular Château until 1998. Situated in the commune of Néac, what makes this property so special is the south-west facing, clay/gravel slope on which it sits, just across the Barbanne valley from its near neighbour Pétrus. These conditions are perfect for the ripening of Merlot and Cabernet Franc
Monte Antico Toscana Rosso IGT 2019
Regular price £14.95This accessible Super Tuscan has an elegant bouquet of leather, black cherries, liquorice and plums leading to a medium to full-bodied palate where ripe red fruit show off the goût de terroir in addition to subtle notes of vanilla and violets, which harmonise and linger, interlacing with the soft tannins and gorgeous silky texture. A firm backbone with perfect integration of acidity and fruit.
Country: Italy
Region: Tuscany
Grapes: Sangiovese 85%
Cabernet Sauvignon 10%
Merlot 5%
ABV: 13%
Food matches: An extremely versatile and food- friendly wine, serve with classic Italian dishes of pasta, risotto, flame-grilled meat, and hard cheeses.
Monte Antico was established in the early 1970s and takes their name from the medieval town of the same name located in Maremma, just a short distance from Montalcino towards the sea.
The Listening Station Malbec, Victoria 2021
Regular price £10.95Inspired by the Australian night, this is darkly appealing, chocolatey Malbec with an abundance of crisp, minerally fruit.
Region: Victoria
Grape: Malbec 100%
ABV: 14%
Food Match: Great with rich and hearty food. Try me with a rich casserole or roasted Mediterranean vegetables.
Poderi Colla Bussia Barolo 2018
Regular price £50.95Single vineyard 'Dardi le Rose' is on the hill of Bussia, one of the great Barolo crus. The vines are grown at 300-350 metres above sea level, with a south westerly exposure. A small percentage of the wine is aged in Slovinian and French oak. Tino Colla describes the 2016 as the most perfect vintage of his 50 year experience. This wine is just superb. Don't miss out on getting hold of some and drinking it this festive season.
Country: Italy
Region: Piedmonte
Grapes: Nebbiolo
ABV: 13.5%
Truchard Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
Regular price £34.95Complex and rich red, full of dark berry fruit, black pepper and well integrated French oak flavours.
Country: USA
Region: Carneros, Napa Valley
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon
ABV: 14.2%
Zorgvliet Petit Verdot 2019
Regular price £18.95This tight, dark-skinned variety loves the exposed mountain soils of the Simonsberg – this is fully ripe but defined by the winds that howl down the slope’s poor soils. Elegant and well-balanced it has a wonderfully spiced fruit nose with dark plum and prune fruit on the palate and a full but fine tannic structure. Can be enjoyed now but will mature well for at least 5 years.
Country: South Africa
Region: Bankhoek, Stellenbosch
Grapes: Petit Verdot
ABV: 14.5%
Food Match: rich and fatty meat dishes
Chateau La Tour de By Medoc 2016
Regular price £26.95Ripe red cherries, blue berries, bramble, pencil shavings, tobacco, spice and cedar on the nose and palate. Complex and rich, will age nicely for at least another 5 years. If drinking now, do decant.
Country: France
Region: Bordeaux, Medoc
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot
ABV: 13.5%