Red Wine

Love a bit of Saumur Champigny. The town may be more famous for its sparkling wines from the likes of Gratien & Meyer, Ackerman and Bouvet-Ladubay, not to mention its Disneyesque chateau which looks down over the town but this Cabernet Franc from 9 neighbouring villages is definitely worth getting to know. Bright, crunchy and perfect with most red meats, I think you’re really going to like this.

Serve chilled as an accompaniment to an entire meal or with pâtés, grilled fish, red meats, game, cheeses or red berry desserts.

Vines grown on limestone and clay soils, vinified and aged in concrete.

Deep, earthy, incredibly tight in its youth this will certainly benefit from a few hours in a decanter. Upon opening up the herbaceous, spicy notes and elegant shapes come to the fore.

The name of this unusual Bourgogne Pinot Noir refers to the latitude of Burgundy, and it is a blend of out best Bourgogne Rouge, Cote de Nuits Village, Marsannay and Vosne-Romanee.

With a deep ruby red colour good structure and and medium body, this elegant wine has notes of cherries and spice, black pepper, with some oak notes in the background.

From right in the centre of Sardinia, this is 95% Monica Nero (one of the many grapes found pretty much only in Sardinia)with a little Bovalleddu (Graciano) and Tintillu (Mazuelo/Carignan). The vines are all between 60-120 years old and provide intense dark peppery fruit. Hand harvested with wild yeast fermentation, 1/3 in steel and the rest in oak barrels before 12 months lees aging; the wine is big and structural with a nod to intense Southern Rhones but a bit more rustic in style.

From one of the Best Chateaux in the Cotes de Castillon owned by Bordeaux royalty Stephan von Neipperg (also owner of Bugarian producer Enira, a particular favourite of Ed), this second wine is plush with ripe autumn berry on the nose and a palate with intense bramble notes and a smotth long finish.

Elegant and fresh deep blue berries aromas, spice and hints of vanilla. Well balanced with round tannins and some creamy oak notes on the finish.

Vibrant crimson red with purple hues. Fragrant fresh cherries, red liquorice, supported by hints of chocolate, cinnamon and earthy aromas. On the palate there are sweet cheery, plum and mulberry flavours with hints of cocoa wrapped up in soft and silky tannins.

Clovella is a field planting of roughly 60/40 Grenache and Mataro. It is a 40 year old vineyard from the Gomersal sub-district of the Barossa Valley that Rolf Binder has been cultivating himself for many years. The wine spends 22 months in older French oak

Nose: Powerful nose dominated by red berries and delicate oak aromas.
Palate: Powerful attack. Round and supple tannins.

E.Guigal

Stunning Pinot from the Talinay Vineyard. Winemaker Felipe Müller planted the best, limestone rich slope with a field selection from Vosne Romanee and Gevrey Chambertin. This is the first vintage and has already been hailed as one of the best Pinot's from Chile.

Two massal selections from Vosne-Romanée and Gevrey-Chambertin were planted ungrafted and with a very high density of 12,500 plants per hectare on a steep slope (30%) inside the Talinay estate vineyard. It's a unique 1.15 hectares of vines that were planted in 2012, and the first commercial wine was produced in 2018. This site has some of highest concentration of calcium carbonate (limestone) in the Talinay vineyard. It’s fermented with 40% whole bunch, with native yeasts and then matured in used French oak barrels for 12 months.

The nose is attractive with brooding cherry fruit, floral lift and an underlying stoney minerality. The palate is taught with delicious red berry fruits, layered upon precise minerality and freshness. It’s a very long and clean wine with extremely fine, chalky tannins.

Made following organic pricciples but not certified, this is a lovely wild yeast fermented Negroamaro. Ruby red, with a nose of flowers and berries. This is full-flavoured with youthful fruits, distinctive acidity with a nice persistence through the palate.

Predominantly Sangiovese with 10% Petit Verdot, all from vines cultivated on gently sloping vineyards just 20km from the coast. Wild bramble and ripe plum fruit on the nose, warm and spicy with notes of mint and Mediterranean herbs. Fresh red berry and cherry characters combine with with supple tannins and juicy acidity on the palate.

Made from 100% Alicante Bouschet from the Antes and Boa Vista vineyards. The grapes are harvested as late possible to obtain the full richness of the fruit and tannins. The wine sees prolonged maceration on skins followed by 14 months maturation in barrel. The wine has intense notes of dark fruit and spice, which on the palate become plums and prunes, with smooth rich tannins providing a long rich finish with some good acidity.

Old Grenache and Carignan vines grown at altitude provide the fruit which is harvested slightly earlier than the norm to give balance to a wine which could otherwise risk stumbling into clumsy territory. The Grenache provides the driving beat pushing things forward with an intensity of dark fruit whilst the Carignan plays the accompanying harmony. No oak just small concrete tanks. Flippin, flippin gorgeous.,/P>

The Cigar; a name coined by Coonawarra Vignerons to describe the unique cigar-shaped strip of rich red terra rossa soil. Home to some of Australia’s most famous vineyards, the secret of Coonawarra lies in the intimate bond between the terra rossa soil, limestone layers, pure artisan water and a long cool ripening season. Fortunate to be part of this iconic place, Yalumba salutes the region’s pioneers and those privileged to inherit its future.

A perfumed wine, displaying spice notes, lavender and violets, with fruit aromtics of warm strawberries, blackberries, and the quintessential note of sea-spray that the region is known for. Peppery, fresh and alive with youthful tannins, the moderate to long palate has intense red-purple cassis fruit.

Yalumba

Sourced from elevated sites throughout the Barossa and Eden Valleys, The Struie reflects the cooler side of the region and showcases the subtle nuances that are gained from hillside viticulture.

The Struie is a wonderfully aromatic and deeply concentrated wine produced from the harmonious combination of both regions, delivering layers of dark chocolate characters and defining structure. Nuances of plum, blackberries, violets and hidden spice characters all further enhance the natural elegance and tension of the fruit quality. The Struie will certainly age tremendously well over the next decade.

Torbreck

Comprised of varietals that flourish in Paso Robles’ distinct growing region, Troublemaker consists of Syrah, Grenache, Mourve'dre Zinfandel and Petite Sirah. Syrah is the backbone of the wine, setting the stage for a fruit-forward style and a full body. Sweet and bright red fruit flavors of Grenache blend with the rustic and lively flavors of the Mourve'dre. The Zinfandel adds its signature zing to round out the blend and Petite Sirah contributes to the deep ruby color.

This intensely rich wine is deep purple in color and radiates aromas of black fruit, cherry and spicy black pepper. On the palate, loads of vanilla, caramel and black current gracefully evolve into soft supple tannins and a signature zing that balances the wine.

Hope Family Wines

Freshly picked and fermented Frappato grapes are blended with ultra-ripe Nero d'Avola that have dried on the vine to provide a delightful "Appassimento" style red - rich, savoury and a real crowd-pleaser.

Baglio Gibellina

A ripe and supple red made by the traditional Tuscan 'Governo’ method, involving a slow refermentation of the freshly produced wine with the addition of semi-dried grapes to give concentration.

Youthful aromas of ripe plum and cherry with spicy bramble fruit. Full flavoured and generous on the palate with good concentration of red berry fruit backed by fresh acidity and supple tannins. An approachable, rounded style with a mellow, gently spicy finish.

Ripasso wines benefit from extra structure and fruit delivered by using the skins of sun dried grapes. This wine is bursting with cherries on the nose, has great depth of flavour, silky smooth fruit and a long, rich velvety finish.

Biscardo Vini

COLOUR Bright and deep ruby.
NOSE A loaded and dense perfume of cassis, licorice and strawberry sorbet is deepened by ocean scents of dried shells and crayfish bisque. Ironstone rock brings earthy notes which give way to dried rose petal and vanilla butter intrigue.
PALATE So intense, tight, lengthy and exciting. A fresh and succulent entry pulls inward with firm, linear tannins driving the flavours long. Fresh raspberry, wood spice, vanilla and peanut complexities linger.

Vasse Felix

Vat 9 is a blend of the best of Tyrell's old blocks that sit on the strip of red soil that runs through the winery.

The 2018 vintage, one of the earliest Shiraz harvests seen, was simply spectacular for Shiraz in the Hunter Valley. Warm, dry conditions kept cropping levels down, producing wines of great concentration and length of flavour. Intense purple in colour, the wine displays a pretty, red-berry nose with hints of subtle oak and lifted spice. The medium-bodied palate shows soft, sweet fruits and more of that subtle oak, all complemented by a fine, clean acid structure and long tannins. This is a classic Vat 9 that is destined to have a long life in the cellar.

Tyrrell's Family Winemakers

This wine is produced from selected Tempranillo, Mazuelo and Graciano grapes sourced from 30 to 40 year old Rioja Alta vineyards whose distinctive stony soils are ideal for the long, even ripening of quality grapes. The fruit is hand harvested in mid October. Each variety is fermented separately in small tanks using natural yeasts at 28-30° C. After 20 days on the skins the wine is gently pressed and racked to stainless steel tanks for malolactic fermentation. The clear wine is then racked to 2nd and 3rd year American and Russian oak barrels for 24 months maturation before blending and bottling.

An intense wine, classically designed and crafted. Aromas of ripe red berries, a touch of oak, cinnamon and spice. The palate is silky and ample with layered complexity - berry fruit, spice and liquorice building to a complex finish.

Aromas of ripe plum and cherry with spicy, savoury notes. This is a fruit-forward style of Chianti - the palate is bright and sappy, with redcurrant and bramble fruit providing fresh acidity, and supple tannins giving structure.

Villa La Pagliaia

6 years is, by anyone’s standards, a long apprenticeship but having graduated as an oenologist in 1992, Marco Puyo then worked both within Chile and internationally before bringing all of that experience to bear in setting up his own winery in partnership with cork producer, Patricio Gomez-Barris in 2015; 3 years later he gave up his various other commitments to dedicate himself entirely to Dagaz Wines. This is really classy and a measure as to how far the Chilean industry has come over the past 25 years or so. Oozing elegance and balance it marries red fruit flavours of raspberry and cherry with cedar and spice. Add 10 months of ageing in French oak and you have one of the best value reds I’ve tasted all year

Intense, deep ruby red colour. The nose is complex, with red fruits and notes of spice, as well as a great mineral content coming from the granite that constitutes the soil. In the mouth it is elegant, with good structure, lots of energy and good acidity. This makes it fresh, vibrant and juicy, as well as helping the wine in its potential in the bottle.

This intense red Tannat with violet hues has a leathery, blackberry jam bouquet that slowly reveals itself once the wine is served. The typical tannins of the variety, rounded by its time aged in barrels, are present, but smooth and well-rounded.

Maison Roche de Bellene

Aromas of ripe cherry, plum and vanilla. Bright cherry, strawberry and baking spices on the palate. This pinot is medium bodied with well balanced acidity and silky tannins.

Westcott Vineyards

With the colour of arterial blood, the nose reveals wild berries, rhubarb and custard. The palate is dense, concentrated and brooding opening to a rich mid-palate with cherry-stone fruit and bitter plum and a long finish with a gentle brick-like texture.

Alpha Box & Dice

Juicy bright flamboyant Montepulciano with a quickening beetroot tang. This has a really more-ish acidity with a bitter cherry attack crying out for fatty carpaccio.

Alpha Box & Dice

This is a bright, bloody Shiraz from old river land vines blended with Barossa Cabernet that gives the nose a grapite, leafy lift. A South Australian classic the palate reflects the rich iron source soils with notes of ripe, fresh red cherries with a touch of star anise from the local eucalypt influence.