Superstars

Ripe 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%

A complex bouquet of crushed rose petals, wild jasmine and fresh French herbs. The palate shows beautiful purity with layered red fruits, cranberry, raspberry, silky tannins and a long, savoury finish.

Country: South Africa

Region: Walker Bay and Elgin, Western Cape

Grapes: Pinot Noir

ABV: 13.5%

70% of the grapes came from Stanford, Walker Bay and 30% from Elgin, both in the cool climate region Cape South Coast. The vines are all Burgundian, clone 115. The Stanford vineyard is close to the southernmost tip of Africa and is located in one of South Africa’s coolest wine producing regions. The maritime vineyard enjoys a long ripening season, because of the strong cooling winds that are prevalent in the summer. This microclimate is ideal for creating a long hang time, concentrating the flavours in the berries, while retaining natural acidity levels. Elgin is situated at 400
metres above sea level and ripens even later then the coastal vineyard. The vines
here, planted in shale and clay soils, produce fleshier fruit, adding weight to the final
blend.

Single 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 Slovenian 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: Piemonte

Grapes: Nebbiolo

ABV: 13.5%

The remarkable stony and sunny soils of the vineyards are captured in this powerful and complex wine. It flourishes with age and expresses mineral aromas reminiscent of gunflint. The wine is full and flavoursome but with a firm backbone of acidity. The Côte de Lechet is one of the Premiers Crus of the Chablisian vineyard with the most exceptional ageing potential.

Country: France

Region: Burgundy, Côte de Léchet

Grapes: Chardonnay

ABV: 13%

Food match: A beautiful wine which will enhance any dish, try it with fish dishes even in rich sauces, poultry, risotto…

An elegant Pouilly Fuissé showing aromas of fresh mint, peach and citrus that carry through to a fresh and mineral palate. A rich, complex and well balanced wine with remarkable vivacity on the finish.

Country: France

Region: Burgundy

Grapes:  100% Chardonnay

ABV: 13.5%

Domaine Ferrand is situated in the village of Solutre ­Pouilly, in the heart of the Pouilly Fuisse appelation of Southern Burgundy. The domaine now comprises of just over 11 hectares of vineyards that have been passed down from Father to Son over 3 generations. Today the domaine is run by Madame Nadine Ferrand whose wines have been well reviewed by the Guide Hachette.

An all time staff favourite! This is the wine that will spark a lifelong interest in Nebbiolo and lead you to discover the beautiful wines of Piedmont.

Country: Italy

Region: Piedmont

Grapes: Nebbiolo

ABV: 13.5%

Food Match: A classic Piedmontese starter: vitello tonnato, which is thinly sliced, cold veal with a rich tuna sauce.

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

Fresh and floral with red currant and raspberry hints. A very elegant and minerally example of this native Sicilian variety. Delicate, soft red fruits and a subtle garrigue-ness.

Country: Italy

Region: Etna, Sicily

Grapes: 100% Nerelo Mascalese

ABV: 14%

It boasts an intense, dark ruby colour. The wine is made with wild yeast, undergoing spontaneous fermentation and aged for 12 months in barrels. A flagship blend of red varieties with an unexpectedly complex aroma of dried plum, blackcurrant, blackberry, and strawberry. This medium-bodied wine features a rich berry flavour and a lingering, warm aftertaste.

Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir

Country: Ukraine

Region: Kyiv, Odesa

ABV: 14%

Food pairing: red meat dishes such as steaks, ribs, various types of ham, and smoked meats

"BIOLOGIST craft winery” from the Kyiv region creates unique and unmatched wines. They have rented vineyards in the Odesa region (the majority of nowadays wines are made from these grapes) and a 1.5-hectare vineyard in the Kyiv region, which is experimental and biodynamic.

Deep purple/red colour with an opaque core. On the nose it is rich with sweet red and black berry notes, some vanilla and sweet spice. On the palate it is much weightier than the nose suggests.  Very opulent, but elegant and balanced at the same time.

Country: South Africa

Region: Stellenbosch

ABV: 14%

Grape: Shiraz

Concentrated cassis and plum with a hint of liquorice. Some evolved secondary and tertiary characteristics of forest floor leaves and tobacco.  A classic, elegant Bordeaux red drinking very well now.

Country: France

Region: Bordeaux, Haut Medoc

Grapes: 50% Merlot and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon

ABV: 13.5%

Food match: fillet steak and frites or boeuf bourguignon

Supple, soft and juicy Pinotage that's just sooo easy drinking,,. Packed full of bright notes of red cherry, strawberry and ripe plums, with a subtle hint of spice and cedar on the finish.

Country: South Africa

Region: Stellenbosch

Grapes: Pinotage

ABV: 14%

From the true masters of Cape Cabernet - the benchmark Stellenbosch Cab. 

Red rocks and warm sand. The palate is initially firm but relents to a wine of great purity and subtlety with notes of tomato, cocoa powder, hazelnut chocolate and star anise. Overall, a heady concoction somehow assembled into a seamless red of phenomenal quality.

Country: South Africa

Region: Stellenbosch

ABV: 14.5%

Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon

Le Riche Wine

The backbone of the range, it’s a phenomenal expression of Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon when it’s allowed a maritime influence, and it is this that sets it apart and marks it as truly Bordelaise. With carefully selected fruit from the cool gravelly slopes facing False Bay to the rich red granitic soils around Stellenbosch, the wine gains its complexity by expertly blending fruit from 4 specifically diverse terroirs. 

Remarkably great value for money Bordeaux. The majority of it is Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend yielding a wine with ripe and concentrated blackcurrant fruit, balanced oak and good structure. A typical St-Estèphe full of power and attitude.

Rich, dark purple in the glass with an intense perfume of cassis, plum and violets. On the palate, it is full and rich, with blackcurrant and raspberry fruit characters balancing well with soft tannins, and hint of classic St-Estèphe minerality.

Country: France

Region: St-Estèphe, Bordeaux

Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon 60%, Merlot 30%, Cabernet Franc 7%, Petit Verdot 3%

ABV:13%

A very convincing, fresh, expressive bouquet with pure brambly, briary black fruit and freshly tilled earth. The palate is medium- bodied to full with crisp black cherry and blueberry fruit. The tannins are fine and edgy, while the finish is beautifully composed and contains Margaux- like femininity. This is extremely well-crafted Cabernet Franc, with a surfeit of personality.

 Country: Chile

Region: Maipo Valley

Grapes: Cabernet Franc

ABV: 14.5%

Canadian ex-ski coach, Derek Mossmann Knapp, is the enfant terrible of the Chilean wine scene. He set up Garage Wine Co. with his wife Pilar Miranda and Dr. Alvaro Pena in 2001 with the intention of being the polar opposite to the big, established companies that dominate the Chilean market.

Bright, appealing deep cherry red colour  - youthful looking. Fresh and intense, with vanilla oak notes coming through- vanilla and pastry- that mix in with varietal aromas including black fruit and liquorice. Full bodied, elegant and well- balanced, with a long finish.

Pairs well with  roast meat and strong, mature cheese.

Country: Spain

Region: Ribera Del Duero

Grapes: Tinta del Pais (Tempranillo)

ABV: 14.5%

A wonderfully complex and textured barrel fermented white Douro with a long, fresh and minerally finish. Made from four different indigenous grape varieties from very high altitude vineyards.

Country: Portugal

Region: Douro Valley

Grapes: 46% Rabigato, 29% Viosinho, 24% Gouveio,1% Fernão Pires

ABV: 12.5%

Food Matches: Great with seafood or fleshy pan fried white fish dishes.

Jamie Goode in Wine Anorak: 12.5% alcohol. A blend of local white varieties from Pedra Alta’s highest plots. Complex and nicely restrained with taut lemony fruit and some notes of pear and white peach. Lively and precise with good acidity and nice purity, this has the potential to develop with time, and it’s almost Burgundian in style. 94/100 

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.

Iconic South African wine by South African Winemaker of the year 2020 Gottfried Mocke, one of the most innovative winemakers in South Africa.

The nose is dark, intense and brooding with aromas of black cherries, cardamom, sweet tobacco, espresso and subtle whiffs of perfume. The dark fruit character of the nose follows through onto an exceptionally complex, juicy palate with gentle nuances of ripe plums, violets, black olives, cloves, and liquorice. The mid-palate is focused, lithe and elegant with very fine, cocoa powdery tannins. The wine is medium to full bodied, very balanced with an earthy, layered character, covering the entire spectrum of berry fruit - from tart red plums to rich blue and black berries. The finish is svelte, clean and dry, peppery and lingering, with hints of dried cranberry, tar, graphite and smoke.

Country: South Africa

Region: Swartland

ABV: 14.5%

Grapes: Syrah 71%; Grenache 11%; Cinsault 9%; Cabernet Sauvignon 8%; Viognier 1%

Seductive, rich and enthralling - a brilliant northern Italian take on cool-climate Merlot.

Aromatic, spicy, mature forest fruits, notes of ripe plum and damson on the nose. Velvety and sumptuous on the palate - plum, rich vanilla and sour cherry give way to a fine, long, structured finish with ripe tannins. A full-bodied wine which exudes elegance.

Country: Italy

Region: Piemonte

ABV: 14%

Grapes: Merlot

Bright ruby colour. Vibrant red fruit with spicy peppery aromas which flows on to the palate. The palate has a lovely freshness, great length and fine grippy tannins. The wine is ever evolving in the glass.

Country: South Africa

Region: Piekenierskloof

Grapes: Grenache

ABV: 14%

This limited release wine demonstrate the distinctiveness of specific vineyard sites
and represents Neil Ellis's finest quality. The mountain vineyards of Piekenierskloof are
known to produce outstanding Grenache.

Concentrated cassis with a hint of liquorice. Bright and elegant Bordeaux red.

Country: France

Region: Bordeaux, Haut Medoc

Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot

ABV: 12.5%

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.

Vigna Bufaleffj is a single vineyard in the area of Pachino, planted only with Nero d'Avola vine, trained in the Alberello system. A very special vintage release of this Sicilian native variety, from a very highly regarded producer. Warming and complex.

Country: Italy

Region: Sicily

Grapes: Nero D'avola

ABV: 14.5%

Food match: Slow roast leg of lamb with rosemary, game or mature hard cheese

A Rhône Valley style shows wonderful black fruit perfumes of super-ripe black-cherry with background hints of pretty white-flower jasmine. Fine French oak contributes with gentle vanilla and cinnamon spice. The palate is plush and velvety – the shiraz 95% shows as blackcurrant with dark berry richness and cassis adding a dense yet satiny gloss. Viognier 5% is about opulence with luxuriant polished softness with extra elements of flower and spice. Co-fermenting has gifted an extra degree of lift and length to the palate, combining the flavours for a great young drinking style.

Country: Australia

Region: Hunter Valley, NSW

Grapes: 95% Shiraz and 5% Viognier

ABV: 14.5%

Food Match: Chinese spare ribs, beef stir fry or barbecued fish.

These thoughtful, hand-crafted wines hail from the Hunter Valley with a nod in part to the great Rhône Valley wines of Hermitage and Cote Rôtie. For those who may have tasted any legendary Hunter Shiraz wines of the 40s, 50s and 60s, tasting many of the modern Hunter wines can be a depressing experience but Keith Tulloch is very different, adding to that great legacy with a series of wines that uniquely capture the exotic spice and hedonistic pleasure of dense and rich Shiraz fruit. These are sensuous, subtle wines with the velvety texture of fine burgundy.