£57.80
£120.30
£20.70
A man of conviction but by no means a zealot, Eric Texier likes to push the boundaries. Despite having no experience or contacts in wine, Eric decided to give up his career as a nuclear engineer and study winemaking in 1992, interning with Jean-Marie Guffens at Verget in Mâcon. Lacking the network to buy his own vineyard, Eric did his time with established winemakers then made négoce wines with the fruit of like-minded purists. Although he considers his approach to viticulture to be that of an old-fashioned paysan, don’t be fooled. Eric is more of a pioneer than he would have you believe. His fresh take on an old terroir has been instrumental in reviving appellations of the Northern Rhône that would otherwise have been lost. The estate consists of two very distinct terroirs - Brézème in the Drôme (left bank of the Rhône) and the Ouvèze valley in the Ardèche (right bank). Brézème is a limestone hillside facing south, the last ridge of the Vercors Massif at the mouth of the Drôme river, whilst the Ouvèze valley, on the Ardèche side, marks the geological separation between the Massif Central and the Cévennes, where the vineyards facing south, are granitic with a mixture of schist and gneiss on its surface and islands of limestone.
Declassified to Vin de France, as opposed to the more usual Côtes-du-Rhône due to its production method, a blend of 55% Grenache, 30% Cinsault and 15% Clairette (a white grape).
All fruit is organic, harvested by hand, partly de-stemmed and co-fermented with native yeasts in open-top concrete tanks. As with all Texier wines, no extraction techniques are employed, aged in concrete for 12-18 months, unfined, unfiltered and bottled with only the smallest amount of sulphur. The blend of red and white grapes producing a joyfully bright wine, with crunchy red fruit, beautiful texture from the concrete fermentation, and incredible purity and drinking pleasure.
£23.45
45% Cabernet Sauvignon/47% Merlot/8% Petit Verdot
Deep intensity and very dark colour with purple hints. The nose is very open and complex with smooth oak aromas and notes of ripe fruits. On the palate, the attack is silky and fresh. The tannins evolution is very nice giving a full bodied wine with a round feel. The fruity aromas along with some light oaky notes are very elegant and increase the beautiful aromatic length of the wine.
£22.75
£55.00
£21.75
Very impressive Cabernet dominated Bordeaux, packed full of black plum fruit, rich tannins and excellent potential.
£14.75
Owned by siblings Louis and Marie Farbre who were early pioneers of organic viticulture in the Languedoc, Château Coulon sits on a hill near the village of Cruscades close to the Via Aquitania, a Roman road which links the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. The vineyard extends over smooth, rounded pebbles deposited by the river Orbieu and refreshing winds assist in the organic management of the estate..
A concentrated and savoury red from the deep south of France. This Corbières shows intriguing savoury and herbal aromas of bitters and thyme. The palate is full of morello cherry fruit and carries through savoury flavours to the finish. Fantastic with charcoal-grilled lamb, rosemary potatoes and a green salad.
£26.29
£41.80
This property, situated on the northern border of the plateau of Pomerol close to many illustrious neighbors, was purchased by the Ets. Jean-Pierre Moueix in 1953 from M. Pecresse, also owner of Château Trotanoy. The vineyard is planted on heavy clay soils, allowing the Merlot grapes their best expression. The vineyard work is meticulous, with a hand-harvest completed in a few hours once the grapes are perfectly ripe. The wine is vinified in thermo-regulated concrete tanks, before being aged in oak barrels. Supple, round, generous and fruit-driven, Château Lagrange is a delightful expression of the lighter style of Pomerol wines, approachable in its youth.
£175.00
£110.80
£110.80
"In this wine, fine and rich tannins partner with powerful black-plum and black-currant fruits. Densely textured while also having swathes of rich fruits, the wine shows both a firm side and one that offers total deliciousness. As it matures, both these aspects will come together. Drink from 2027."
Roger Voss - 97/100, Wine Enthusiast
£46.75
"Our 2017 vintage looks to be very promising indeed, the wines of this year are unique, yet retaining classical Chateau Musar character. Three factors come to our minds, the similarity in style of the different decades ending in 7, the taste of the last vineyard of Cabernet Sauvignon harvested and powerful aromas. It has a bright ruby colour and there are sweet red cherries, mulberries and plums on the nose with a hint of tea tree and liquorice. The tannins are soft and well-integrated and this vintage has good acidity, depth of fruit and a long finish. Cellared well, it will age beautifully for decades."
£350.80
£29.95
The wine has lots of warm black fruit and plum aromas, with cinnamon, spices, pepper and a hint of vanilla. The palate is concentrated with damsons, red fruit, spice and stony minerality with a very elegant and warm finish. The mouth is initially very silky but gives way to some mouth watering acidity and firm tannins.
£15.50
Local variety Duras plus Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Franc fermented slowly in concrete tanks with only the grape yeasts. No oak treatment and closure is Select Green recyclable Nomacorc.
Soft but wild bramble fruit with a touch of herbiness on the nose and a grippy but approachable palate. Just on the right side of funky, nicely balanced and very digestible.
£18.79
The estate, dating back to the early 1300s lies just to the north west of the town of Chinon and comprises around 18ha made up of a number of extremely well sited and famous plots on the coteaux. The estate has for many years employed a strict policy of ‘selection massale’ so as well as a high average vine age there is an extra element to the quality that shines through in the wines. Fully organic since 1997.
Young vines, wild yeasts, fermented in concrete and then aged in a mixture of old oak and concrete.
Fragrant, bright with an attractive leafy character and dark cherry notes. Serve very lightly chilled with cold meats or if you're feeling adventurous a wild seabass would also fit the bill nicely.
£16.57
£18.30
The Mourvèdre comes from two windswept, south-facing blocks 270-300m above and a mere 2 miles from The Atlantic. These factors combine to produce low yields, balanced grapes and wines with a true sense of place. Production was just 2 tonnes per hectare in 2020. Mourvèdre is one of the few varietals with enough wind-resistance to plant as bush-vine on Waterkloof. Grapes are hand-harvested and brought to the cellar by horses for hand-sorting. Bunches are sorted and whole-bunch fermentation happens spontaneously with wild yeast in large, open-top wooden fermenters. Manual punch-downs or foot-pressing take place 1-2 times per day and the wine is left on skins for 30 days before going through malolactic fermentation in old 600 litre barrels then ageing for 24 months in the same vessels. No fining, just a light filtration. No additons other than sulphur. Vegan friendly, biodynamic wine. 10 barrels made.
An elegant rendition of this often unruly varietal. Ripe, dark fruit with graphite notes on the nose with wild herb and lifted red berry aromas. Robust and concentrated with the dense yet fine tannins typical of the variety and with a freshness and lightness of touch, thanks to high natural acidity and moderate alcohol.
£115.80
£145.80
£130.80
£220.80
£29.29
A fine, pure and elegant nose, with Morello cherry, blackberries aromas and a hint of spice. Subtle oak emerges on a layered savoury palate balancing the liquorice flavours and juicy dark fruit notes, all surrounded by a silky structure with round and fine tannins, leading to a long finish.
£12.05
£12.39
A vibrant Pinot Noir from Chateau Burgozone on the Danube river. Soft and juicy it is easy drinking but retains good Pinot Noir character.
£62.30
This Guigal wine from the legendary slopes of Côte-Rôtie is beautifully balanced with scarcely perceptible acidity and tannins which add ageing potential – softened by long ageing in oak. Guigal put a touch of Viognier in the blend to add femininity allowing for round, soft tannins. Aromas of raspberry, blackberry and vanilla.
£36.30
£11.29
Classic Cotes du Rhone red. Punchy spicy palate with hints of red and cassis fruit. Especially good with rich meals.
£13.75
A classic blend of 50% Syrah, 40% Grenache, and 10% Mourvedre combining to produce a smooth, ripe Cotes du Rhone.
£12.79
From the middle ages vines have been grown on the Plaine du Plan de Dieu in the heart of the southern Rhone. Back then you were taking your life in your hands crossing the plain as it was very much bandit country – hence whether you survived was dependent on God’s plan! Pascal Maillet is kind of “living the dream.” No winemaking background and only a degree in computer science to guide him, together with his wife, Marie-Pierre, they bought this traditional estate in 1993 and threw themselves into it. Classic southern Rhone – Grenache/Syrah blend with various other usual suspects playing support, it’s got layers of red fruit, spice and garrigue herbs in abundance; not shiny or polished, just gutsy and satisfying.
£23.49
Amongst the first Chilean blends to champion Carmenere. Rich sumptuous intense black cherries, mulberries and more berries! Vanilla, sweet spice with herbal and savoury tones together with a hint of mint. The palate contains the same berry intensity plus a wonderful warm dusty character, reminiscent of its location. It is a well-balanced and complex wine with soft, round tannins and a long finish that shows both character and personality.
£21.99
£12.19
Deeply coloured with ripe, sweet bramble and pepper spice notes, full-bodied with a defined structure, nice balance and some classic northern Rhône freshness on the finish.
£26.75
A single vineyard Pinot Noir from the cool Elgin region near Grabouw. Elegant and light in style, with an abundance of ripe red berries, juicy strawberries and subtle spices on the nose which follow through on the palate where it marries perfectly with a savoury meatiness.
£33.75
This Pinot Noir is a blend of parcels from our own vineyard at Pipers River, Coal River Valley and our growers at Swansea and Ouse. Each of these sites is unique with distinctive individual terroirs, building complexity into the final wine blend.
Each of the different parcels of fruit from across the vineyard sites were picked on their merit. Fermentation started after 2-3 days with plunging of the cap to extract colour and tannin from the skins. The wine was pressed at completion of fermentation and settled before being placed into French oak barriques, where malolactic fermentation took place, prior to filtration and bottling.
Evidence of a warmer vintage is immediately apparent; with the generous red berry fruit aromas, hints of fresh cut plums and fine oak spice. The entry onto the palate of soft red fruits with ripe tannin structure support the sense of a warm vintage. Savoury notes of dried meats and provencal herbs add to the complexity after opening, and will become more integrated with bottle age. The 2016 will reward cool cellaring for 3 – 5 years.
£13.95
A project between sisters, Ruth & Ana de Andres, Garganta del Aguila is produced from selected parcels of high altitude Garnacha, grown on the distinctive decomposed granite soils of the Gredos Mountains (west of Madrid).
Vines scratch out an existence in these once abandoned vineyards, up at 1,007 metres close to the walled town of Avila, dotted amongst huge granite outcrops, with roots sunk deep into the sand-like soils. With a long standing fascination for the wines from this region, it was just a matter of finding the right vineyards and the right people. After speaking to various contacts Ruth & Ana came across a small winery, with 8 partners (the youngest of whom was 70 years old!), who had access to incredible old plots of bush vine Garnacha on these very particular soils. All of the plots are smaller than 1 hectare; yields are super low, and currently they hand-harvest from across 90 different sites in order to produce this wine. The idea was to produce a youthful wine from these old vines; with a focus on purity and an unencumbered expression of the variety and terroir. Ruth describes this as a ‘down-to-earth wine’ ... it’s not over manipulated in the winery and is more commercial and approachable in style than some. Ruth & Ana are now on their fifth vintage and the collaboration is going from strength to strength.
Raspberry and wild strawberries, together with herb like aromas such as origano and thyme. In the mouth, it is soft and velvety. Fresh and vibrant, it leaves a fine aftertaste reminding the same herbal aromas as in the nose.
£25.99
Made from low-yielding old vines of Grenache and Carignan Noir, with Syrah and Mourvèdre grown in the hills above the village of Cairanne in the southern Rhône valley. Hand-picked grapes are vinified only by naturally occuring yeasts, aided by manual pigeage and gentle remontage in open topped oak vats (tronconique). Les Deux Barriques is matured for 24 months in French oak demi-muid (600 litre barrels); the wine is neither fined or filtered before botting at Domaine Boutinot in Cairanne.
Only made in the very finest vintages, this is the fifth release of Les Deux Barriques and it embodies the phenomenal concentration and complexity of the 2015 vintage. Primary fruit and overt oak have evolved into rich, autumnal aromas of dried fruit, with flavours of blueberries and black tea on the finish.
£19.05
This pinot noir is deep purple with hints of crimson. A rich and complex nose showing generous aromas of ripe dark cherry and red berry fruits dominating against a background layer of spice and savoury complexity. It has mouth-filling flavours of ripe raspberry and strawberry. The fruit flavours are balanced by a good concentration of fine, soft, silky tannins and enough acidity to give definition to the finish which is long and persistent with lingering ripe fruit. The wine is drinking well now and will develop more complex and savoury characters with some more time in the bottle. It could be cellared for another four to eight years.
£26.30
The grapes from the Helderberg region stem from an old vine block dating back to 1974. Aromatic on the nose, yet soft and smooth on the palate. Lightly tinted and medium bodied, this wine greets you on the nose with aromatic floral notes which follow through onto the palate with ripe strawberries, cherries, sweet spices and soft tannins on the mid palate.
Accolades.
NEW RELEASE 92/100 Tim Atkin MW 2017; 4 ½ * – Platter Wine Guide 2018
£27.65
£26.65
Simon of Domaine Capmartin has dusted off the historic traditions of Madiran and Pacherenc de Vic-Bil into a new, more progressive age.
He has set about significant changes amongst the vines and in the winery leading to his own unique versions of these truly exceptional AOP wines. Certified organic for the best part of a decade, Simon is now striving further with his sights firmly set on Biodynamic certification. Natural, low intervention winemaking are the watchwords. No added sulphur, all wild ferments and aiming for light tannins makes for previously unknown modern, fresh and delicious Madiran Tannat. The unique white blend of AOC Pacherenc de Vic-Bilh, made in part with the rare and cherished Petit Corbu variety, is wonderfully complex and a food friendly wine that will no doubt inspire sommeliers.
Punchy and ripe plum and dark berry flavours. This has plenty of depth on the palate, with a spicy finish alongside well balanced tannins.