£20 to 30

A 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

Made only from a selection of the best grapes from organic vineyards. A rich and complex Rioja with a true sense of place; a serious and sophisticated wine that ages fantastically.

Country: Spain 

Region: Rioja Alavesa

Grapes: Tempranillo, Garnacha, Maturana, Graciano andMerlot

ABV: 14%

Exceptional! Elegant aromas and flavours of pineapple, apricot and fresh green apple. Zippy, honeyed, lingering 

Country: South Africa

Region:Franschhoek

Grapes: Semillon

ABV: 9.5%

On the nose there are notes of apricot with florals and clove spice. Yellow fruit on the palate and a savoury spice. The wine has an aging potential thanks to its fruity freshness and acidity.

Country: South Africa

Region: Stellenbosch

Grapes: 100% Chenin Blanc

ABV: 13%

Food pairing: gently spiced chickpeas stew with coconut milk, ginger and garlic.

Medium-bodied Bordeaux that you can consume now or leave it to age till 2030. Hints of vanilla, dark and fruit-driven with herbaceous notes, smooth tannins and a long finish.

Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot

Country: France

Region: Bordeaux

ABV: 13.5%

Food pairing: Beef Wellington, cheddar, roast beef, roast lamb, roast pork, roast veal.

A bold inky Graciano, with burst of black current cherry and raspberry with delicious savoury notes of herbs and added depth of cocoa.

Country: USA

Region: Paso Robles California

Grapes: Graciano

ABV: 13%

Food Match: barbecue meats and mature cheese

Crafted with 30% whole-cluster fermentation and aged for nine months in neutral barrels, this wine retains its natural vibrancy. Bottled unfined and unfiltered with minimal sulfur, it offers a pure and textured expression of this rare Spanish varietal.

Penny's new obsession is the rare, native grape variety of Nascetta. This beautiful ageworthy white has lemon zest, green pear and white pepper on the nose, with hints of wild fennel and saltiness. A precise and balanced, mouthfilling mid-palate with a long, saline finish. 

Country: Italy

Region: Piemonte

Grapes: Nascetta

ABV: 13 %

Food Match: Seafood linguine or grilled white fish with creamy sauce.

100% Nascetta - from vineyards located in Novello (a wild plot planted in 1963 in Ravera cru is included).

From a warm vintage, this wine displace beautiful aromatics with notes of guava and passion fruit paired with a wonderful freshness, which combined with its inherit intensity and complexity makes this a finely balanced, terroir focused, dry white.

Country: Italy

Region: Soave

Grapes: Garganega 70% and Chardonnay 30%

ABV: 12.5%

Food Match: Blue Cheese like Gonganzola or Dolcelatte

Packed with rich, fresh stone fruit, white spice, green pepper/capsicum and minerality and keeps on giving with a core of stony acidity and a relentless finish.

Country: South Africa

Region: Helshoogte Pass, Stellenbosch

Grapes: Viognier, Chardonnay

ABV: 13.5%

Corpinnat is a Spanish wine designation for traditional method sparkling wines aged for a minimum of 18 months and made from manually harvested, organic or biodynamically farmed grapes in the Penedès. This is a very sophisticated, dry rosé that has fresh notes of strawberries and raspberries and a long elegant finish.

Country: Spain

Region: Penedès

Grapes: Macabeo, Xarel-lo, Parellada

ABV: 12.5%

Food Match: Juicy large green Gordal Olives, salted almonds and pistachios

A full-bodied with medium tannins red wine, medium to high acidity. The notes of red (cherry, strawberry) and dark (plum, blackberry) fruit. The secondary notes of vanilla, oak, tobacco,

Country: Spain

Region: Ribera del Duero

Grapes: Tempranillo

ABV: 14.5%

Food pairing: lamb, beef, game (deer, venison)

A classic example of red Burgundy with ripe red fruit and cherries on the nose and palate.

Country: France

Region: Burgundy

Grapes: Pinot Noir

ABV: 13%

Bright ruby red in colour. The nose is brimming with cranberry and raspberry fruit character, along with hints of game meat and smokiness. On the palate it is balanced, elegant and savoury with a mineral finish. 

Country: Australia

Region: Tarrawarra, Yarra Valley

Grapes: Pinot Noir

ABV: 13.5%

Food Match: Perfect with roast duck

20% of the wine is aged in barrels for 5 months to give extra complexity. Straw yellow, with an intense nose of pink grapefruit and lemon, with hints of spice and bread crust. The mouthfeel is round, full of ripe fruit and a slight smokiness which gives a long and fresh finish.

Country: Italy

Region: South Sardegna, Murvonis vineyard

ABV: 13.5%

Grapes: Vermentino

Food match: Seafood Linguini

Bright ruby red in colour. Intensely, fragrant, and floral, with notes of white pepper and wild strawberries on the nose. The palate is fresh and delicate, with great structure and balance. Perfect to chill in the summer if the outside temperature is high.

Country: Italy

Region: Piemonte

Grapes: Pelaverga

ABV: 14 %

Food Match: Beef Carpaccio or rocket salad and balsamic vinegar

Pelaverga is not a very widely grown grape variety, native to the Verduno commune in Piemonte. The soil in this area of the North West of Italy is rich in clay and gypsum crystals. ArnaldoRivera have hand harvest the rare Pelaverga grapes.

This wine is full of dark, sweet spice; with a distinct clove note. Bright, fresh, textured. Soft, fruity, moreish and foody.

Country: Australia

Region: Barossa

Grapes: Grenache 

ABV: 13%

Food Match: Slow cooked lamb shanks

Raspberry red in colour, this grape variety, Otskhanuri Sapere, gives enticing aromas of plums, ripe berries with herbal and floral notes and a hint of balsamic. Full bodied, with balancing fresh juiciness and a long, dry and slightly smoky, earthy finish.

Country: Georgia

Region: Imereti

Grapes: Otskhanuri Sapere

ABV: 12.5%

The grapes were carefully sorted in the vineyard and then again upon arrival at the
winery, berry by berry to ensure only the healthy, undamaged and best quality fruit was
vinified. Skin-contact fermentation took place using the traditional Georgian method of
clay jars known as Qvevri. These vessels have been recognised by UNESCO as a
process of important cultural heritage. The Qvevri in the Vachnadziani winery have a
950-litre capacity. The alcoholic fermentation lasted for one week, followed by a
maturation period of five months without skin contact.

Food Match: red meat dishes, stews and casseroles or mature cheeses

Georgia is considered to be the ‘cradle of wine', as 8,000 year-old indigenous Rkatsiteli grape seeds have been found in clay vessels. Vachnadziani was established in 1953 and is one of the oldest wineries in Georgia. During the Soviet years the vineyard fell into disrepair, but now the vineyards and cellars have received considerable investment. The aim is to preserve their ancient wine culture while combining it with cutting edge technology. With over 1,000 hectares of vineyard, covering the Kakheti region in eastern Georgia and the Imereti, Racha and Lechkhumi regions in western Georgia, Vachnadziani cultivates 25 vine varieties - the majority of which are indigenous. Their exciting and dynamic range reveals all the charm of this historic winemaking land.

Read all about Penny's recent trip to the cradle of wine, Georgia in her blog here.

Earthy, meaty nose with hints of black berry and forest berries. Morello Cherry, juicy, structured, but soft tannins, very long, elegant finish.

Country: Portugal

Region: Lisboa

Grapes: Castelao

ABV: 13.5%

COZs is a partnership between two Portuguese wine grape growers, Tiago Teles (Gilda, RAIZ) and António Marques-da-Cruz (Quinta da Serradinha), that started in 2015, in a 60-year-old vineyard of the Baga variety. In 2017, acquired the historic Vinha da Pena in Serra de Montejunto – a limestone formation from the Jurassic period, located 15 km from the Atlantic Ocean, in the Lisbon region. Pioneers in the introduction of organic agriculture as well as new concepts of pruning and soil fertilization in the Serra de Montejunto, we initiated an important transformation of practices and mentalities in mountain viticulture.

if you love orange wine, you'll love this very concentrated, rich, aromatic and complex one from Serra Oca in the Lisboa region.

Country: Portugal

Region: Lisbon

Grapes:  Moscatel Graúdo

ABV:12%

Notes of plums, dark chocolate and raspberries. Yum!

Country: South Africa

Region: Paarl

Grapes: Merlot

ABV: 14.5%

 https://backsberg.co.za/

Tastes like blended alcoholic sweet-raisins - one of the most amazing sweet dessert wines. Pair with strong hard cheese or pour over vanilla ice cream for a decadent dessert.

Country: Spain

Region: Jerez

ABV: 15%

Grapes: Pedro Ximenez

Complex with notes of kirsch and raspberry, a touch of smoke and sweet spice. The mouth is soft, with melted tannins and a pleasant sensation of roundness.

Country: France

Region: Beaujolais

Grapes: Gamay

ABV: 13%

Country: Australia

Region: Polish Hill River, Clare Valley

Grapes: Riesling

Liatiko is an indigenous Cretan grape variety , light ruby/garent in colour. The nose has a rich, ripe red fruit and sweet spice character. The palate is full, but has very soft tannins. 

Under organic conversion, this is a pale, shimmering ruby, hedonistic, unoaked light -coloured red with gorgeous perfumed, strawberry and raspberry liqueur notes, hints of game and fennel. Plump vibrant fruits, a refreshing thread of fine-pitched acidity, poised slightly grippy yet elegant tannins - hard to resist.

Country: Greece

Region: Crete, Heraklion

Grapes: Liatiko

ABV: 14.5%

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Zero Dosage represents Methode Cap Classique in its purest form, allowing the grape, site and vintage to truly shine. The grapes were sourced from a single vineyard and hand harvested before whole bunch pressing using the champagne method. Post fermentation, the wine is matured on its primary lees for 3 months prior to racking when the wine is then allowed to slowly ferment and mature in the cellar for 12 years prior to disgorgement. The nose invites a vibrant bouquet of peach, almonds and exotic spice, complementing a palate of stone fruit, brioche and a lingering, pleasant mousse.

Country: South Africa

Region: Western Cape

Grapes: Chardonnay

ABV: 11.5%

Food match: Due to its lengthy bottle maturation, the wine is complex and layered. The vibrant acidity and linear minerality means this wine can be seamlessly paired with almost any food.