Christmas Tasting 2024

Golden yellow colour. Precise and delicately honeyed nose, underlined by toasted notes. Unctuous foam leads into to a sophisticated palate, with a distinctive Chenin character of quince, acacia and beeswax. The finish is elegant, upheld by bitterness and structure.

Country: France

Region: Loire

Grapes: Chenin Blanc

ABV: 12.5%

Food Matches: Aperitif, foie gras, vanilla desserts or gingerbread!

Fresh and slightly spicy with fleshy, white peach characters and a lovely perfume of jasmine from the Muscat. On the palate this wine is bursting with peach and apricot flavours.  Wonderfully balanced with an impressive backbone of elegant minerality.

Country: Lebanon

Region: Bekaa Valley

Grapes: Viognier 65% , Chardonnay 20% , Obeidi 10%

ABV: 13.5%

Vegan.  Fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel tanks for 10 days. No Malolactic fermentation takes place.

Food match: Mediterranean chicken or fish dishes with grilled vegetables

Very fresh, precise and tidy this is a great example of a wine on the natural spectrum. Fruit, minerality and subtle oak and nutty character, all in perfect harmony.

Country: France

Region: Arbois, Jura

Grapes: Chardonnay

ABV: 12.5%

Vegan, organic. The wine is fermented and aged in new oak foudres but with minimal toast, with no filtering, no added sulphites and no racking this is essentially left alone for its formative years.

A fresh, crisp and fruity Chenin with a dash of Sauvignon Blanc. Complex beyond its style with flavours of pear, white peach and lychee.

Country: South Africa

Region: Voor Paardeberg

Grapes: Chenin, Sauvignon Blanc

ABV: 13%

Deep, dark purple in colour and gorgeously full bodied and unctuous wine. Raspberries, mulberries and aromatic sweet spice jump out of the glass on the nose. Fine grained, grippy, tannins are in perfect balance with lots of concentrated, ripe black fruit character on the finish.

Country: South Africa

Region: Stellenbosch

Grapes: Tinta Barocca

ABV: 14.5%

Dornier is a family owned winery that is situated in the Golden Triangle area of the famous Upper Blaauwklippen Valley in Stellenbosch - their prestigious neighbours are
De Trafford, Keermont and Waterford, so they are in fine company. The property was home to one of the first wineries in Stellenbosch, having been completed in the late 1600s, as well as an historic Sir Herbert Baker home. 

The winemaking philosophy at Dornier is to produce premium quality wines, with minimal intervention in the winery, that are expressive of the unique terroir of the Golden Triangle and showcase the complexity and finesse of the noble grape varietals planted on the farm..

Vinified and aged on the skins in traditional qvevri clay pots for 6 months

Amber with orange hues. Stone fruits, peach and white flowers notes on the nose. Intense with pronounced but soft tannins coming from the skin contact balanced with refreshing acidity. Medium bodied and moreish, with very good length.

Country: Georgia

Region: Kakheti

Grapes: Rkatsiteli

ABV: 12.5%

Food Pairing:  Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine, aromatic rice, smoked aubergine. Serve cool, not cold.

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

A rich amber colour. Fascinatingly complex with a light Christmas pudding nose of dried fruits, nuts, and a well flambéed crust. The rich concentrated flavours and tangy acidity are softened by a sweetness on the palate which brings it all together in a wonderfully balanced way.

Country: Spain

Region: Jerez

ABV: 15%

Grapes: Palomino Fino 80% and Pedro Ximenez 20%

Food match: Christmas Pud!

Vegan

The classic Cream is produced from an Oloroso that has been aged for 6 years, and then a portion of young PX is blended into the wine. After further ageing in the traditional solera and criadera system the sherry is bottled - with an average of 8 years barrel ageing in total. Serve slightly below room temperature.

Fermentation was in oak barrels using the wild yeasts from the juice. The wine is creamy and textured; full of ripe stone fruit flavours and notes of acacia, nougat and citrus. Mineral finish.

Country: New Zealand

Region: Central Otago

Grapes:  Chardonnay (100%)

Food: serve with scallops and lobster in a beurre blanc sauce or grilled chicken.

ABV: 13.5%

Dark almost black in colour, with an intense dark berry fruit aroma of blackberries. Powerful, concentrated and full bodied. Structured, but smooth and velvety on the palate, combining well the matured fruit and the oak from 3 months ageing in wood. Moreish, elegant and complex, a long finish.

Country: Portugal

Region: Lisbon

Grapes: Alicante Bouschet

ABV: 14.5%

Food: as an aperitif, with tapas, red meat, risotto, paella, spicy food and dry cheeses.

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 Gorgonzola or Dolcelatte

Biscuity brioche on the nose with delicate white flower and full fruit. Citrus, red apple and 'Leesy' characters add complexity to the palate. 10% of the wine is fermented in aged oak barrels and the wine is then aged for 36 months on it's lees. Gorgeous, toasty and rich.

Country: England

Region: Sussex

Grapes: 40% Chardonnay, 35% Pinot Noir, 25% Pinot Meunier, 

ABV: 12%

Owned and run by Lawrence Warr, Henners is the result of a long term dream to produce the finest English Sparkling Wine. Lawrence started his career as an automotive engineer in the exciting world of Formula One. Having left Formula One, to set up an engineering consultancy, the search for the perfect vineyard site began. The search  was a lengthy and dedicated one - as the ideal combination of soils, aspect, slope, altitude and microclimate was difficult to find. After two years he found the site at Herstmonceux, East Sussex. The vineyard was planted in May 2007, with the winery following in 2009.

Kaalvoet Meisie (‘barefoot girl’)  is a richer style of Sauvignon Blanc because it ferments and ages in both new and old oak for 12 months. Elegant aromas of exotic fruit like dragon fruit, passion fruit and pineapple as well as ripe yellow peach and apricot. The concentrated fruit profile is complimented by aromas and flavours of wild herbs. Vibrant acidity and a lingering, minerally finish gives this beauty of a wine at least 7 years of ageing potential.

Country: South Africa

Region: Sondagskloof, Walker Bay

Grapes: Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon

ABV: 12.5%

Food Matching: Asparagus and and goat's cheese salad

You’ve probably heard of the quaint beach town of Hermanus, situated on South Africa’s famous Whale Coast. Between 1855 and 1902, it was called Hermanuspietersfontein. In 1902, the local postmaster decided to shorten the name of the town to make addressing letters to the locals easier.

150 years later, the wine farm Hermanuspietersfontein, or HPF for short, craft outstanding wines with a serious sense of place. Their grapes come from Sondagskloof (they produce 90% of WO Sondagskloof wine), which competes with Elgin and the Ceres Plateau for South Africa’s coolest wine growing region. This area is perfectly suited to Bordeaux varietals and, with the exception of Shiraz, is exclusively planted with them.

The Afrikaans wine names might look like a bit of a mouthful, but they are good fun; Bloos (‘blush’), Kaalvoet Meisie (‘barefoot girl’), Kat Met Die Houtbeen (‘cat with the wooden leg’), Posmeester (‘postmaster’), Kleinboet (‘little brother’) and Swartskaap (‘black sheep’).

Kleinboet (‘little brother’) is a Cellar Door all time favourite.  Bright red and purple fruit such as raspberries and blueberries on the nose, savoury notes of dried herbs too. A delicious, rich, bold, earthy, but fruity Bordeaux blend.

Country: South Africa

Region: Sondagskloof, Hemel en Aarde

Grapes: Bordeaux Blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec

ABV: 12.5%

You might have heard of the quaint beach town of Hermanus, situated on South Africa’s
famous Whale Coast. Between 1855 and 1902, it was called Hermanuspietersfontein. In
1902, the local postmaster decided to shorten the name of the town to make addressing
letters to the locals easier.

150 years later, the wine farm Hermanuspietersfontein, or HPF for short, craft outstanding wines with a serious sense of place. Their grapes come from Sondagskloof (they produce 90% of WO Sondagskloof wine), which competes with Elgin and the Ceres Plateau for South Africa’s coolest wine growing region. This area is perfectly suited to Bordeaux varietals and, with the exception of Shiraz, is exclusively planted with them.
The Afrikaans wine names might look like a bit of a mouthful, but they are good fun;
Bloos (‘blush’), Kaalvoet Meisie (‘barefoot girl’), Kat Met Die Houtbeen (‘cat with the
wooden leg’), Posmeester (‘postmaster’), Kleinboet (‘little brother’) and Swartskaap
(‘black sheep’).

Ruby coloured with soft crimson nuances. Intense nose with ripe blackcurrants, plums and cherries. The palate is smooth and harmonious with soft long finish.

Country: Bulgaria

Region: Thracian Valley

Grapes: 40% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Rubin

ABV: 13%

Food Match: Red meat dishes, charcuterie and hard cheeses.

From the Yamantiev's Winery