Wente Southern Hills Cabernet Sauvignon 2021
Regular price £21.95Aromatics of dark fruits such as plum and cherry. The dark fruit characteristics carry onto the palate, delivering flavours of boysenberry and fig with a hint of warm baking spices. This wine finishes with round, smooth tannins.
Country: USA
Region: San Francisco Bay, California
Grapes: 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Petit Verdot, 9% Petite Sirah, 4% Barbara
ABV: 13.5%
Food Match: Beef short rib, Portobello mushrooms and lamb Bolognese.
Fermented in stainless steel tanks and pumped over twice daily. Aged for 18 months in 40% new and 60% second and third use French oak barrels.
Estate Grown Wetmore Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is named after one of the Livermore Valley’s most prominent pioneers, California’s first agricultural commissioner renowned for planting vine cuttings from many of Bordeaux’s top Châteaux in the temperate Livermore Valley in the 1880s. The descendants of vines Wetmore brought from France thrive today in the gravelly loam soils of our certified sustainable estate vineyards between the Arroyo del Valle and the Arroyo Mocho, streams flowing from the southern hills of the Livermore Valley. From their origins in Margaux in the 19th century to the present, only the best of these Cabernet Sauvignon vines have been selected for each new generation planted. And they are prized for making wines with intensity, depth of flavour, and rich, lush body.
Celler de Capçanes Pansal del Calàs 50cl 2017
Regular price £25.95This dark, almost black wine has enormous concentration, resulting in very ripe seductive fruits like roasted aromas of plums, cassis and dark cherries and currant, toast, coffee and mocha. Perfectly aligned alcohol and lively acidity with an elegant smooth finesse. The sugar level is attractive and well integrated and the wine shows serious soft and ripe red wine tannin structure.
Food Match: The relatively low sugar level (compared to other Sweet Reds like Banyuls or Port) allows this wine to pair with main courses like roast beef, game, roasted duck, stews, Steak or smoked fois gras... and any kind of bitter flavours like coffee, nuts, bitter chocolate, smoky, toasty aromas...and fresh and mature cheeses...and simply by itself.
Fermentation is halted with the addition of grape alcohol retaining a natural sweetness of 70 g/l. Fermentation is controlled at 27-29ºC with indigenous yeasts used. Maceration for 30 days, both varieties are vinified together in stainless steel tanks. Not cold stabilised but undergoes a light filtration.15 months in French Oak.
Country: Spain
Region: Montsant
Grapes: Grenache 70% Carignan 30%
ABV: 16.5%
Food Match: Black Forest Cake or 70% fine dark chocolate
Nestled in the rugged hills of the Catalan countryside, in the tiny village bearing its name, is the well-respected Celler de Capçanes. It was this wild Montsant landscape which first captivated Jürgen Wagner back in the early 90s, but the huge potential he recognised in this unique village co-operative that determined what followed. Pouring all his efforts into working with the growers to nurture the best from their vineyards and the most honest expressions of their terroir, Celler de Capçanes has established itself as one of the most engaging wineries in the area.
Kosher
Vergelegen Reserve Semillon 2020
Regular price £21.00The superb Sémillon grapes for this wine have been sourced from the Korhaan Vineyard, block number 11, planted in 1988. The nose shows intense citrus, white flowers, honey and spice. Stunningly focused, complex and well balanced with a crisp acidity.
Country: South Africa
Region: Stellenbosch
Grapes: Semillon
ABV: 14.5%
Bercher Jechtinger Grauburgunder (Pinot Gris) 2022
Regular price £24.95One of the most delicious wines in the shop! Bold aromas of white peach and lemon zest with subtle spice and honeycomb notes. Absolutely wonderful.
Country: Germany
Region: Baden
Grapes: Pinot Gris
ABV: 13%
The perfect match with Turkish chicken shish, taboulet and warm crushed potatoes with spring onions.
Located between the Rhine River and the Black Forest, Burkheim produces lush and mineralic wines that are ideal companions to a wide range of modern cuisine. Bercher
produces Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir), Weißburgunder (Pinot Blanc) and Grauburgunder (Pinot Gris). All the wines go through extended lees-aging and have a wonderful aging potential.
Fernando de Castilla Vermut
Regular price £23.95Fernando de Castilla's Vermut is made with a combination of Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez sherries, with 27 botanicals. Sweet and full-bodied yet silky smooth with an excellent balance of bitterness – great with ice and soda.
Vietti Barbera d' Alba Tre Vigne 2021
Regular price £29.95A deliciously rich, fruity red that's the perfect match to go with classic antipasti or tomato based pasta dishes.
Aromas of red cherry and hints of raspberry with subtle notes of exotic spice gained from the oak barrel ageing that the wine received. A soft and luxurious mouthfeel with flavours of cherry and autumn red berry fruits.
Country: Italy
Region: Alba, Piemonte
ABV: 13.5%
Grape: Barbera
Food match: The Barbera grape is characterised by its juicy freshness which makes very versatile and perfect to with just about any food.
The history of the Vietti winery traces its roots back to the 19th Century. Only at the beginning of the 20th century, however, did the Vietti name become a winery offering its own wines in bottle. Patriarch Mario Vietti, starting from 1919 made the first Vietti wines, selling most of the production in Italy. His most significant achievement was to transform the family farm, engaged in many fields, into a grape-growing and wine-producing business.
Then, in 1952, Alfredo Currado (Vietti) continued to produce high quality wines from their own vineyards and purchased grapes. The Vietti winery grew to one of the top-level producers in Piemonte and was one of the first wineries to export its products to the USA market.
Don Rosendo Reserve Malbec 2022
Regular price £21.95Inky, dark purple in colour. The nose is pure and concentrated with aromas ripe dark fruit, violets and blackberry. Very well balanced palate with fresh acidity, ripe and supple tannin, dark stone fruits, juicy yet concentrated with a very long finish. This wine will age well for 5-10 years if you can keep it that long!
Country: Argentina
Region: Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza
Vegan/Vegetarian
Grapes: Malbec
ABV: 13.5%
Patricio Pereyra Pato is the owner and visionary of Bodegas Don Rosendo, Lujan de Cuyo A small estate with organic vineyards in some of the best sub-regions of Mendoza (including La Consulta and Agrelo) and with the superb Gabriela Zavala leading the winemaking, the quality is astonishingly high.
Pouilly Blanc Fumé La Rambarde Domaine Landrat 2022
Regular price £26.95This bone dry excellent example of Pouilly Fumé is elegant and well balanced with a light smoky aroma and a hint of gunflint and elderberry. It is wonderfully rich with aromas of nettles, gooseberry and minerals on the palate but balanced by good weight of lemony acidity and a full flinty finish. A wonderful Loire Valley white with layers of clean Sauvignon blanc fruit combined with added complexity due to the minerality derived from the soils.
Country: France
Region: Pouilly Fume
ABV: 13.5%
Grapes: Sauvignon
Food matches: Ideal with fish (salmon, grilled trout, cod), crab salad, clam
chowder, sushi, goat cheese... and even a panna cotta with passion fruit sauce.
Wente Sandstone Merlot 2021
Regular price £21.95Sandstone Merlot is supple with beautiful balance, aromas of ripe red cherry and plum that are complimented by creamy oak notes of sweet caramel and vanilla pod. Additional notes of white pepper, cardamom, and graphite provide more complexity and continue to develop as the wine opens up in the glass.
Region: San Francisco Bay, California
Grapes: Merlot
ABV: 13.5%
Vegan
Grangehurst Cabernet Sauvignon 2012
Regular price £29.95Full-bodied with intense cassis, red berry and fynbos notes. Cedar and spice from the oak maturation. Beautifully rounded, well integrated, tannins as a result of the extended ageing before release.
Country: South Africa
Region: Stellenbosch
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon
ABV: 14.5%
Handcrafted. Traditional. Unhurried. These three words epitomise Jeremy Walker’s
winemaking, with one notable omission - Delicious. By ‘Unhurried’, Jeremy is alluding to
the fact that he doesn’t release a wine until he believes it is ready to be enjoyed, which is
evident in the current vintages being 2008, 2009 and 2011!
Jeremy Walker founded Grangehurst in 1992, when he converted his fathers’ squash
court into a makeshift wine production cellar. He used the ‘squash court cellar’ to make
his first 6 vintages, only moving out after the 1998 vintage.
Jeremy was invited to join the prestigious Cape Winemakers Guild in 1996 and was one
of the longest standing members when, in order to let a young winemaker take his
place in the sun, he elected to step down in 2021.
Tiko Estate Rkatsiteli 2022
Regular price £21.95Intense aromas of white peach, nectarine and grapefruit, which follow through on the palate and are joined by a crème bruleé like creaminess from the extended lees ageing.
Country: Georgia
Region: Kakheti
Grapes: Rkatsiteli
ABV: 13%
Food Match: Grilled vegetables, light pasta dishes such as Spaghetti al Limone, shellfish dishes, and soft cheese.
Georgia is considered to be the ‘cradle of wine', as 8,000 year-old indigenous Rkatsiteli grape seeds have been found in clay vessels.
Read all about Penny's recent trip to the cradle of wine, Georgia in her blog here.
Ne de l`Eden, Cotes de Bordeaux 2017
Regular price £21.25Style: Full Bodied and Bold Red
Country: France
Region: Bordeaux
Grapes: 100% Merlot
Other: Organic, Vegan
Aged in barrel for 23 months
ABV: 14,5%
RAAR Grenache Blanc 2023
Regular price £24.95Stunning, concentrated barrel fermented white Grenache, from very old vines in the Swartland. Aromatic on the nose with stone fruit and hints of floral notes with a touch of minerality on the palate, long finish. Very limited production of only 9 barrels.
Country: South Africa
Region: Swartland, Riebeek Valley
Grapes: Grenache Blanc
ABV: 14.5%
Allendorf Riesling Sekt Brut NV
Regular price £25.95Refreshing and zesty fizz from Germany, with a delicate creamy note and elegant long finish.
Country: Germany
Region: Rheingau
Grapes: Riesling
ABV:12%
Food MatchPerfect as an aperitif or with the fish/salad course.
The Allendorf family has lived and worked in the Rheingau for 700 years. Based in Oestrich Winkel in the heart of the Rheingau, the estate has grown dramatically over the last 60 years from 1.5 ha to 70 ha, making it one of the biggest family-owned wineries in the Rheingau.
Read all about Victoria's recent trip to Germany in her blog here.
Château De Cruzeau Pessac Léognan Blanc 2021
Regular price £24.95Don Rosendo Select Malbec / Carmenere 2019
Regular price £28.95Rich, concentrated, dark and brooding red.
Country: Argentina
Region: Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza
Vegan/Vegetarian
Grapes: Malbec and Carmenere
ABV: 13.5%
Patricio Pereyra Pato is the owner and visionary of Bodegas Don Rosendo, Lujan de Cuyo A small estate with organic vineyards in some of the best sub-regions of Mendoza (including La Consulta and Agrelo) and with the superb Gabriela Zavala leading the winemaking, the quality is astonishingly high.
Adami Valdobbiadene DOCG Prosecco Superiore Rive di Farra di Soligo 'Col Credas' 2023
Regular price £27.95Straw yellow in colour. Concentrated, persistent mousse. Generous on the nose, intense and well balanced with delicate white flower notes, such as wisteria and acacia blossom, with notes of green apple and pear. Very dry 'brut' in style with only 4g/l residual sugar, with crisp acidity on the palate, very dry yet richly-flavoured, with a long stoney finish.
Region: Veneto, Italy
Grapes: 100% Glera
ABV: 11.5%
Food Match: This would work throughout a meal, but goes best with fleshy white fish dishes.
Sotovelo Blanco 2022
Regular price £21.95A complex wine that blends freshness with an umami/savoury/saline profile and a dry finish thanks to its low sugar content; ideal with all Mediterranean cuisine, olives, matured cheeses, cured ham and seafood, or on its own.
Country: Spain
Region: Jerez
Grapes: Palomino
ABV: 12%
Utterly unique. Using the process traditionally used to create fino, this wine is kept for 8 months beneath a veil of flor (a light covering of yeast) in wooden barrels. Fresh, saline and minerality combined with citrus, green apple and toasted bread. Really, bloody
good.
Giuaani Winery Khvanchkara Red Semi-Sweet 2020
Regular price £24.95Aromas of red fruits and berries with a hint of vanilla and sweet spice. Velvety and soft on the palate with a natural sweetness on the finish.
Country: Georgia
Region: Racha, Khvanchkara
Grapes: Aleksandrouli and Mudjuretuli
ABV: 12.5%
Food Match: Cheese board
Giuaani Winery is located in the historic village of Manavi, the heartland of Georgian wine producing region, Kakheti. The Manavi village, cradled by the southern slopes of the minor Caucasus, is a home to one of the 29 PDOs (Protected Denomination of Origin) of Georgia. Its unique soil composition and microclimate provides perfect conditions for vine cultivation, especially for Kakhuri Mtsvane grape variety, and for the production of Manavi PDO white dry wines.
Cirò Bianco Tenuta Del Conte 2022
Regular price £24.95Yellow - orange in colour, elegant and bright with a nose of sourdough bread. Dry, cool and well-balanced with a complex, refined, umami aftertaste. Skin contact wine at it's very best.
Country: Italy
Region: Cirò, Calabria
ABV: 12.5%
Grapes: Greco
Food match: Monk fish wrapped in pancetta or pork belly.
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.
Niepoort Ruby Reserve Port 750ml
Regular price £28.00Dark red in colour, with a fresh vibrant aroma of dark fruits which follows through on the palate along with a mineral character, a youthful wine with good extract and great balance, offering superb "drinkability". Ready to drink now, after a meal, on its own or with soft cheeses.
Country: Portugal
Region: Douro Valley
Grapes: Field Blend of Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional,
Tinta Francisca and others.
ABV: 20%
Apostoles Palo Cortado 30yo 37.5cl
Regular price £29.95Palo cortado is a special type of sherry that starts its life and maturation under protective flor, destined to become a fino or amontillado.
Partway through the maturation it loses its veil of flor and begins oxidative ageing as an oloroso sherry would.
This combined maturation results in a wine with some of the richness of oloroso and some of the freshness of amontillado. It is a rare beverage though as just 1 to 2% of the grapes pressed for sherry naturally develop into palo cortado.
A very full-flavoured sherry with fruit intensity and concentration on the nose and palate. Lots of dried fruit with light toffee sweetness and oak caramel. Delicious!
Country: Spain
Region: Jerez
Grapes: Palomino and Pedro Ximenez
ABV: 20%
Food Match:
Blank Bottle Kortpad Kaaptoe 2021
Regular price £26.00One of two releases of Kortpad Kaaptoe in 2021! One of Pieter's most unusual cuvees, so-named for the Kortpad Kaaptoe, or cut through road close to the vineyard that Pieter took when having to rush back to Cape Town one day. With its bling ACDC style label, this wine is as stand out as its label. Ripe pineapple, tangerine, stem ginger and spice with a pithy, lightly grippy palate and slivers of bitter sweet orange peel, apricot and long stoney finish. Great acidity keeps it all in check. Great example of skin contact wine!
Country: South Africa
Region: Swartland
Grapes: Fernao-Pires
ABV: 13.5%
Food Match: Drink with coronation chicken (trust us), tandoori dishes or a Persian feast of spiced lamb, stuffed aubergine and jewelled tahdig.
Winemakers don't come much more creatively brilliant than the genius that is Pieter Walser. He's the sort of man that's had more fantastic ideas before breakfast than we manage in a whole week and that talent shines through in his wines. Each comes with a story often as captivating as they are mystifying so we've asked him to record a few to give you an insight into the magic behind the vino!
Torero The Suit of Lights Carignan 2022
Regular price £29.95A very lovely expression of Carignan showing hints of spice and smokiness. Notes of saline water, cassis and bitter cherry with layers of complex minerality. The palate is fresh, and elegant but intense with characters of black plum, dried cranberry notes and a long structured finish.
Country: South Africa
Region: Wellington
ABV: 14.5%
Grape: Carignan
Food Match: Rack of roast lamb with all the trimmings
Cradle of Wine Khashmis Saperavi 2018
Regular price £25.95Concentrated, warming aromas and flavours of blackberries, blueberries and bitter cherry on the nose with a secondary layer of meatiness and stewed fruit. Earthy and minerally on the finish. This is the perfect treat for Sunday roast lunch.
Country: Georgia
Region: Kakheti
Grapes: Saperavi
ABV: 13.5%
Food Match: Goes wonderfully with roast lamb or slow cooked pork dishes.
Read all about Penny's recent trip to the cradle of wine, Georgia in her blog here.