Rare Fine Wine

The best vintage of Wimbushes so far... I know we said that last year, but this is even better! Very limited stock, so order while you can (but please don't be greedy). We are limiting purchases to one case of 6 per household.

This is as local as it get for wine folks! Wimbushes Solaris 2022 is ripe, tropical, clean, dry and crisp with green apple and ripe pear aromas and flavours. It has a lingering, minerally finish. We're very proud to be selling this very special wine.

Country: England

Region: St Albans, Hertfordshire

Grapes: Solaris

ABV: 12.5%

Estate grown by Wimbushes Vineyard, St Albans

Produced by the winery at Thurston Place, Suffolk

Wimbushes Vineyard St Albans

Andy and Karina Harrison decided to plant an acre of vines on their beautiful Chiswell Green property about 10 years ago, as a hobby. In 2018 they appointed Suffolk winemaker (and ex-surgeon) Michael Rhodes to turn their Solaris and Rondo grapes into wine.  In recent years, due to careful vineyard management by David Savage and the vines maturing healthily, the fruit and their talented winemaker, they have produced some seriously good English wine. These wines are produced in very small quantities, so we do tend to limit the amount of bottles purchased by any one household.

Astonishingly good Riesling from an outstanding New Zealand producer. Concentrated, explosive in the mouth! Dry, flavoursome Riesling with honeysuckle notes, aromatic nectarine, baked peach, apricot, lime and preserved lemon. One glass will not be enough!

Country: New Zealand

Region: North Canterbury

ABV: 15.5%

Grapes: Riesling

Read Wine Advocate Erin Larkin’s wonderful review of Pegasus from latest trip to the South Island

'From there, I went to Pegasus Bay, and it was here that I was so impacted. This is an iconic Riesling producer—Rieslings worth crossing the ocean for. They age slowly and gracefully, employ botrytis as a textural aid and are thundering examples of Riesling from New Zealand. I can’t overstate that. These are collectors’ wines. I have seen older examples in Australia over the years, served blind, that have taken the room by storm. My thanks to Winemaker Matt Donaldson for the afternoon; it took us in directions I think neither of us expected.'

Pegasus Bay Riesling Bel Canto 2022 – 94 points.

The 2022 Bel Canto Dry Riesling leads with loquat, kumquat and orange rind. In the mouth, the wine is floral, detailed and full—it is actually quite wide, spreading to all corners of the mouth, leaving a trail of fine chalky texture in its wake. Really good. Textural. 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. Erin Larkin Wine Advocate

Luciously rich and decadent red made from selected grapes from three top class vineyards. 

Aromatic with ripe dark berried fruit alongside sweet spice, a ripe, rich style. The texture is rich and round with abundant, ripe, dark berried fruit supported by fine oak.

Country: Italy

Region: Valpolicella

ABV: 15%

Grapes: 80% Corvina & Corvinone, 10% Rondinella and 10% Molinara

The grapes come from the 5 hectare, steep, rocky, terraced hillside vineyard of Calcarole as well as the gently sloping clay vineyards of Rovereti and Pojega in the heart of Negrar, the most celebrated of the communes in Valpolicella. 

Amarone is one of Italys most famous and respected of wines. This cracker shows why it is held in such high regard. 

Lifted and perfumed aromas and flavors of black cherries, chocolate, coffee, and raisins, along with a note of almonds. Despite a formidable structure, the palate is velvety, spicy and elegant, with an extremely long and lingering finish.

Country: Italy

Region: Amarone

ABV: 15%

Grapes: Corvina

You can't miss this bottle on the shelf with it's distinct tactile, voluptuos shape. Deep garnet ruby-red colour, it is a full and rich wine, the bouquet verges on dried fruit, violet, blackberry, raspberry with hints of spices coming form the barrels. Deep, dry and full bodied finish, long and lingering.

Country: Italy

Region: Piedmont

Grapes: Nebbiolo

ABV: 13.5%

Gattinara Riserva is a characterful red wine from Piedmont, a region in Northern Italy. With great ageing potential Gattinara rivals Barolo and Barbaresco. The Riserva Gattinara is made only in the best vintages. The wine spends at least three years in oak barrels and 1 year in the bottle.

Gattinara is often overlooked as a DOCG but is definitely worth a try if you are a Barolo, Barbaresco or general Nebbiolo lover.  Travaglini has put this area on the map in the last 20 years. Concentrated, rich and complex red fruit, blackberry, cherry, plum, liquorice, vanilla and  baking spice on the palate. Refined and elegant with a hint of rusticity.

Country: Italy

Region: Piedmont

Grapes: Nebbiolo

ABV: 13.5%

Made from very small quantities of selected grapes from a specific block on the Andreas estate. Intense, concentrated dark red colour with aromas of black ripe fruit and sweet spice. The palate is richly raisined with hints of charcoal and earthy minerality, softened with a hint of white pepper.

Country: South Africa

Region: Wellington

ABV: 13.5%

Grape: Shiraz

Andreas Wine

You can't miss this bottle on the shelf with it's distinct tactile, voluptuos shape.  This wine is produced only in the best vintages. A deep pomegranate red wine; delicate fruity fragrances, warm, remindes jam, plum and tamarind. Full bodied, soft, silky tannins, with a long smooth finish.

Country: Italy

Region: Piedmont

Grapes: Nebbiolo

ABV: 13.5%

Travaglini Tre Vigne is the result of extensive research of the best characteristics of soil, and marriage of three “historical” vineyards. The Nebbiolo grapes from these vineyards are harvested during the first half of October. The grapes are gently crushed and are macerated for around 15 days in stainless steel. Maturation takes place over a 40 month period; 30 months of which 80% in Slovenian Oak and 20% aged separately for 10 months in French Barrique. The rest of the aging process occurs in bottle before release.

A very special limited parcel wine from talented young South African winemaker Izele Van Blerk. Drinking window 2023 - 2028. Only 1300 bottles made!

The wine spent 36 months in 2nd and 3rd fill 500L French oak barrels and 24 months in bottle before release. The grapes are from 136 very old vines!

This full-bodied wine explodes with aromas of rose petals, red cherries and raspberries with hints of lavender. The palate is focused with an undertone of cloves, dried fruit and
leather. The grippy tannin structure and zippy acidity is well integrated and delivers an intense, lasting finish.

Country: South Africa

Region: Stellenbosch

Grapes: Nebbiolo

ABV: 14.5%

Food match: Beef Tenderloin,
braised duck, wild mushrooms and aged Gouda.

Black cherries, earthy tones and hints of tanned leather. Soft, supple in texture with a ripe berries and savoury notes, juicy acidity, silky tannins. Dry, minerally, structured and very long finish . Gorgeous. Drinking window: 2023-2033.

Country: Italy

Region: Tuscany

ABV: 13.5%

Grapes: Sangiovese

As seen in the movie 'Letters to Juliet' starring Amanda Seyfried, Gael García Bernal and Vanessa Redgrave. The Carpazo vineyard is the real deal!

One of the most unique and long-lived white wines in the world. A blend of indigenous grapes Obaideh and Merwah, with a deep golden colour and honeyed aromas, full of tropical fruits; pineapple, banana with warm, toasty creamy notes. Pale golden colour with aromas of pear, lemon zest and apple and vanilla on the nose. Hints  of lemon, orange with good body, concentration and mouthfeel , tangy acidity with ripe fruit. 

Country: Lebanon

Region: Bekaa Valley

Grapes: Obaideh and Merwah

ABV:12%

The very scarce 2015 vintage is clean and pure with a lovely vibrant energy. It is a stunning example of the indigenous Merwah grape with its origins in the mountains of Lebanon – it is a rare light skinned grape variety, closely related to Semillon in Bordeaux and gives wines of great ageing potential and elegance.

It pours an intense ruby red with hues of garnet, with an intense aromatic range: blackcurrant, tobacco, coffee and graphite. This wine has a lingering taste and is warm, powerful, spiced, with balanced and velvet-smooth tannins.

Country: Italy

Region: Umbria

Grapes: Sagrantino

ABV: 15%

Food Match: Game, roast, stewed and braised meat, aged cheese

Made from the best selection of grapes grown exclusively in a vineyard on the hills of Colcimino. The oldest vineyard in Bevagna (Pg) situated in Colcimino at 350 m heigt, exposure West on sandy clay-calcareous. Plant density: 4000 per hectare.

'Underbrush, black plum and balsamic notes lead the nose of this wine. The concentrated palate offers prune, blackberry jam, mocha and licorice flavors alongside assertive but refined tannins. Drink through 2025." 91 points, Kerin O'Keefe, Wine Enthusiast (January 2018)

Amaaaaaazing sweet wine from one of New Zealand's top producers. Rich, concentrated botrytis Sauvignon from heaven...

Country: New Zealand

Region: North Canterbury

ABV: 13%

Grapes: Sauvignon Blanc

Decanter 94/100

A deeply golden colour leads onto a wonderfully serene nose that shows its evolution in an expression of chamomile tincture with a lifted, ethereal scent that will thrill Riesling lovers. Around all this is an edge of candle wax. The palate is super-smooth, brimming with Mirabelle plum compote and a mouthwatering element of noble bitterness, expressed as candied orange peel. Wonderfully balanced, rich, yet not tooth-breakingly sweet at all. A lovely feat of rich, bold, yet elegant balance. The finish spells orange zest all over again.

Country: New Zealand

Region: North Canterbury

ABV: 13.5%

Grapes: Riesling

Produced from low yields of optimally ripened, high quality, flavourful grapes: fully expressive of the free draining, low-fertility, glacially formed soils.
Extended “hang time” and picking the grapes where possible with a small proportion of noble botrytis results in a bouquet packed full of citrus, particularly orange zest that so defines North Canterbury Rieslings. Hints of stone-fruit, lychees, pineapple and tropical spices makes for a satisfyingly concentrated wine, which is off-set by a core of minerality and tangy acidity.

A wine with a unique history and story. The small village of Tesselaarsdal in the Overberg, 24km north-east of the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley is named after East India Company settler Johannes Tesselar. On his death in 1810, he bestowed the land to his freed slaves and owner/winemaker Berene herself is a descendant on one of those very slaves. If you look closely at the label, you can make out two people walking across the mountain. This is Berene and her grandmother. Berene has in fact worked at Hamilton Russell for the last 16 years, having started as an au pair, before moving in to the admin office and then becoming fascinated by the winemaking process. Extreme care is taken to ensure this tiny-production, classically styled Chardonnay expresses the personality of the cool, maritime ridge and it’s stony, iron-rich soils.

Country: South Africa

Region: Hemel en Aarde

Grapes: Chardonnay

ABV: 13.5

'Like her Pinot Noir, Berene Sauls' new Chardonnay is made with fruit from La Vierge. Fermented in amphorae and older wood, it's bready, sappy and saline, with some wild yeast complexity and bright acidity. A promising début. 2020-25.' – Tim Atkin SA Special Report 2019, 92/100

Luuks - it keeps getting better and better! Now in its third release, this is at first smoky and tense, coupled with just the right level of opulence - clotted cream, crunchy biscuits and chiffon cake, white flowers and buttered toast too. Very broad and long. So well-balanced, and with a long future ahead of it. The name comes from the barrel it was aged in: the first ever new barrel that Pieter bought. Luuks roughly translates from Afrikaans to 'lux' or 'luxury' in English and it became a bit of a nickname for this wine aged in their fancy new barrel.  

Country: South Africa

Region: Swartland

Grapes: Chardonnay

ABV: 13.5%

Food Match: 

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!