Please feel free to make you own selection. You can mix and match with wine from the festive Christmas Champagne, Bin End and our fantastic Sweet and Dessert range from Madeira.
"Accordini’s 2005 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Acinatico emerges from the glass with generous dark cherries, chocolate, spices, leather and French oak. This is an especially opulent and dense Amarone that should drink nicely upon release. It is a strong effort in a challenging year."
90 Points - Antonio Galloni, eRobertParker.com #185. Oct 2009.
"Attractively packaged, new Argentine made from the Champagne grapes. Not too sweet, a little astringent but not expensive. Worth thinking about for a large gathering. Made by the Charmat not the traditional method."
- Jancis Robinson
"This is a blend of 50% Chardonnay and 50% Pinot Noir, of specially selected clones for sparkling wine production. The grapes were sourced from our vineyards in Tupungato, planted at 5000’ elevation. The Chardonnay base wine offers intense aromatics and good length. The Pinot Noir counterpart ensures a good acid balance adding structure and complexity to the final blend. The secondary fermentation and 'liqueur de tirage' confer a delicate sparkling wine of tiny, persistent bubbles, packed with citrus, white flowers and freshly baked bread aromatics. The mouthfeel is rich, with exceptional structure and a fresh lengthy finish."
The 2006 Malbec Reserva Vineyard Selection spent 20 months in French oak. Opaque purple-colored, it offers up a spicy perfume of wood smoke, mineral, black cherry, and blackberry. This is followed by a structured wine with good ripeness, balance and depth. It will benefit from a few years of cellaring but will ultimately offer no more pleasure than its less expensive sibling.
Altos Las Hormigas was founded in 1995 by a group of Italian wine professionals led by oenologist/winemaker Alberto Antonini.
Marc de Grazia Selections, fax in Italy, 011 39 055 2003 1250, various American importers.
"Champagne Antoine de Clevecy is a delicate blend of carefully selected wines from the Champagne region. Well balanced and elegant, it shows a pale golden colour with fine trails of bubbles, delicate floral notes and freshness.
Refined yet intense, it is perfect as an aperitif, served at 7-9°C"
"The 2005 Perdriel Single Vineyard contains 60% Malbec with the balance Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. It was fermented with native yeasts and aged for 16 months in new French oak. A saturated purple in color, it has a bouquet of cedar, smoke, pencil lead, black cherry, and black currant. Full-bodied on the palate, it has layered black fruits, plenty of savory, spice notes, good depth, and a lengthy, pure finish. It will benefit from another 3-4 years of cellaring and will be at its best from 2012 to 2020."
Intensely red in colour with hues of garnet, this wine is a Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon true to its proud heritage as a Boschendal stalwart. The wine displays the finest characteristics from both its parents, combining the plush red fruit and evocative spice from the Shiraz with the big-boned structure and well-rounded finish of a top class Cabernet Sauvignon. Ready to be drunk at the moment this wine will certainly age well for a couple of years, having the potential to develop into modern classic.64% Shiraz, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc Wine notes
Medium dark ruby-colored, with an elegant perfume of raisins, red currants, dried herbs, and melted licorice, Cantemerle’s 2001 possesses sweet tannin, medium body, and a light but nicely etched style. Enjoy it over the next 10-12 years.
Very deep crimson. Mellow, characterful, ripe and round. Sweet oak. Lots of intense fruit. This would knock the socks off a bordeaux in terms of intensity. Great balance. Ripe tannins still linger tucked in underneath. Neat finish. Very round. More strongly Oz than Cabernet.
"The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon “Cuvee Alexandre – Apalata Vineyard" is similarly styled to the Merlot, but with the focus on black currants. It has enough structure to evolve for 2-3 years and should drink well through 2020."
87 Points - Jay Miller, Wine Advocate #171. June 2007.
As I stated last year, there is no Hommage a Jacques Perrin in 2006, but Beaucastel’s 2006 Chateauneuf du Pape is performing even better from bottle than it did last year. Its dense plum/ruby/purple color is followed by a big, sweet perfume of black truffles, camphor, earth, incense, new saddle leather, and loads of peppery, blackberry, and herb-infused, meaty, black cherry fruit. Deep, full-bodied, and dense, with sweet tannin, this explosively rich Chateauneuf is a stronger effort than the 2005, 2004, or 2003. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2028.
Beaucastel and its subsidiary wines marketed under the Perrin et Fils moniker are consistently among the bright shining stars of France. I have been visiting this estate for nearly thirty years, and over that time I have seen all the elements of what makes wines great – an incredible respect for the vineyards, a conscientious, uncompromising work ethic, and extraordinary passion for gentle handling of fruit from their sites. Brothers Jean-Pierre and Francois Perrin seem to be gradually inching closer to retirement as their sons take more and more of a front row seat in the running of this outstanding estate. This is a marvelous portfolio of wines, from the extraordinary values, to the top-end world classics. While one could say this is as traditionally run estate as can be found in western Europe, the Perrins are remarkably flexible if they sense that quality can be improved. Quality rises dramatically with the Perrin et Fils cuvees. The Cotes du Rhone Reserve wines are produced primarily from the estate vineyards at Grand Prebois and Vinsobres, with some purchased fruit from such Cotes du Rhone appellations as St.-Gervais. Marc Perrin, who is responsible for winemaking at Perrin et Fils, seems to go from strength to strength with this line of wines, which includes negociant bottlings as well as some from estate vineyards in Vinsobres.
Beaucastel’s 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape has turned out even better out of bottle than I predicted. An inky/ruby/purple color is followed by a glorious nose of blue and black fruits, truffles, pen ink, licorice, and meat juices as well as glorious levels of acidity and sweet tannin, buttressing the fruit’s fabulous freshness and vibrancy. This full-bodied effort still displays considerable tannin, no doubt because of the relatively high Mourvedre content. It should resolve its tannins in 2-4 years, and last for 25 or more.
One of the great estates of the Rhone Valley, Chateau Beaucastel has been run by several generations of the Perrin family, beginning with the late Jacques Perrin (who died in 1978), then the brothers Jean-Pierre and Francois, and now their sons Thomas, Marc, Pierre, and Mathieu. Beaucastel has nearly 200 acres in vine in Chateauneuf du Pape, and they have branched out with an impressive operation under the Perrin et Fils label, purchasing grapes and acquiring land (in Vinsobres and Gigondas, for example). Their goal is to become the most recognized name for high quality wines in the southern Rhone. As shrewd consumers know, one of the best values in under $10 a bottle wine is La Vieille Ferme. The Perrin et Fils cuvees include wines made from purchased grapes as well as their new acquisitions in Vinsobres, Gigondas (25 acres), and the Cotes du Rhone village of Cairanne (35 acres). The Perrins enjoyed tremendous success with their 2008 red wines, largely because yields ranged between 18 hectoliters per hectare for Beaucastel, to only 20 hectoliters per hectare for Coudoulet. The mildew that affected everyone was the culprit. The entire family acknowledged there was an extraordinary triage and culling out of the grapes at the sorting tables.
"The powerful 2003 Chateauneuf du Pape comes closest in character to the 1990 (which is still drinking beautifully). Its dark ruby/plum/purple color is followed by sweet aromas of resiny pine forest interwoven with creme de cassis, black cherries, melted licorice, and smoky herbs. In the mouth, gamy, meaty flavors emerge along with black currants, cherries, and a hint of the sushi wrapper called nori. Full, rich, and moderately tannic, this 2003 requires another 1-3 years of bottle age, and should keep for 12-15 years."
"The debut vintage of the Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes, the 2006 (nearly all Grenache) has totally closed down. It possesses a Chateauneuf du Pape style with a Bordeaux structure. Dense ruby/purple to the rim, it displays a hint of new oak along with sensational levels of kirsch liqueur, licorice, lavender, and loamy soil. Full-bodied and powerful, with high tannin, it is built for the long haul. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2044.
This estate, owned by the Jaume family, has been on fire over the last decade. The wines are made in a polished, civilized, modern style, but they do not lack Provencal or Chateauneuf du Pape typicity. In 2006, they added a third cuvee of Chateauneuf du Pape, an old vine cuvee that was mostly all Grenache in 2006, but a different blend in 2007. The real bargain among the Chateauneuf du Papes is their traditional offering. Over the last 4-5 years, Grand Veneur has produced a bevy of terrific Cotes du Rhones, and the following two cuvees are indicative of what they are capable of achieving."
The most concentrated and potentially longest-lived cuvee is the Chante Le Merle. The 2000 Chateauneuf du Pape Chante Le Merle Vieilles Vignes is peppery, garrigue, lavender, black cherry, currant, and new saddle leather-scented and flavored. It possesses a deep plum/ruby color, serious concentration, loads of rich fruit, plenty of spice, and a provocative perfume of roasted herbs, licorice, mincemeat, and black fruits. This full-bodied 2000 is softer than the 2001, but 1-2 years of cellaring is warranted. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2016.
This particular wine is only produced in years when the Pinot Noir grapes reach perfect maturity. The wine derives from the following holdings: Les Bressandes, Les Chaumes, Les Pougets, Les Perrières and Les Grèves, all of which are planted with vines with an average age of over 40 years.
After about 10-12 months of ageing, each cask is then meticulously tasted and only the finest ones, showing the best colour, bouquet and capacity to age, will be blended to make Château Corton-Grancey. 1999 was a particularly outstanding year for this stellar wine.
A beautiful wine with 13.4% natural alcohol, this blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, and 3% Cabernet Franc possesses a deep ruby/purple color as well as a sweet perfume of cassis, incense, charcoal, and subtle oak, round, generously endowed flavors, medium to full body, silky tannin, and surprising depth and length. It can be drunk now and over the next 12-15 years.
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)
85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc
The 2008 Cos d’Estournel possesses an atypically high (85%) amount of Cabernet Sauvignon, with 13% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc. The first vintage vinified in the new facility, an unusually high percentage of the crop (78%) was included in the grand vin. The bad news is that yields were a minuscule 25 hectoliters per hectare. This wine achieved 13.8% natural alcohol, and the number of days between the flowering and harvest was 160, compared to the normal 100-110 (one of the keys to understanding the exceptionally high quality that characterizes the 2008 Bordeaux). There were no serious heat waves during the growing season, which meant that the maturation process was slow, long, and ideal. Combine that with the very low yields, and the superb weather from mid-September to late-October, and the often splendid results are much easier to comprehend. The inky/purple-hued 2008 Cos is still very young, and probably will improve even further as the wine came out of malolactic fermentation very late. It reveals exceptionally precise, fresh aromas of black fruits, crushed rocks, licorice, flowers, and subtle smoke. Dense and high in tannin, the extraordinary richness of polyphenols has given the wine power, substance, and depth, but the sweetness of the tannin and the seemingly low acidity, even though the wine tastes remarkably fresh and the pH is only 3.57 (compared to pH’s close to 4 when the fruit is this ripe), has given the wine a precision and elegance that is remarkable. And don’t forget, this is probably the highest percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon ever used in a Cos d’Estournel blend. This wine should gain weight, richness, and a few Parker points by the time it is bottled. It is even denser and richer than the 1996, with an index of polyphenols at 80, which is not unusual for many of the top wines of the vintage, but is extremely high, and more along the lines of what one would find in the top wines of 2005. It should evolve for 30-35 years.
This property has undergone a complete make-over, building a state-of-the-art, spaceship-looking new winemaking facility, and giving brilliant winemaker Jean-Guillaume Prats carte blanche authority from proprietor Michel Reybier. The team continues to fine tune and reflect on every possible detail in both the vineyard and the winery in order to achieve even greater success.
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (182)
85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc Wine notes
"Elegant and well-structured, it is veiled with fine, satiny bubbles. Bringing together a long, well-balanced taste and a cultivated, distinguished character, this champagne is a harmonious prelude to a delicious meal. Derived from a lively cuvee, lofty, fragrant source with a hint of minerals, it will capture the memories of shared emotions for a very long time."
"Text-book carmenere: This blends notes of red bell pepper and herbs with flavors of cherries and chocolate in a juicy, friendly sweetness. The finish is refreshing and crisp."
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