Domaine Mapliers Rose ‘Preferences’
A blend of Grenache and Cinsault, this wine delivers a simple yet precise bouquet of fresh raspberries and vine peach. Superbly refreshing and delicate, the palate is charming and ethereal. Fermented in stainless steel from a direct and light pressing, a classic Provencal style that everybody will enjoy… day and night.Delicious! Sun's out, salads in the garden, you know what to do...
Rochebouet ‘Cave Extreme’ Extra Brut Rose NV
50% Chardonnay and 50%Pinot Noir
French born Jean-Edouard de Rochebouët is a man who knows a thing or two about sparkling wine; he helped pioneer 'méthode champenoise' wines from Argentina in the early days of Domaine Chandon in Mendoza. What's not to love about this? Deliciously fruity and finely balanced with superb brioche and shortbread notes on the nose due to its spending 12 months on the lees in bottle, very pale pink in colour with tiny bubbles.
Fleurie, Didier Desvignes
Didier Desvignes is a winemaker who really epitomises the spirit of Beaujolais; he believes in treating the land with respect and nurturing each vineyard parcel to express its full potential. Everything is done by hand and farmed using organic treatments. The Gamay vines he has in Fleurie are on unique pink granite soils and make a wine of great purity and vibrancy. There are vivid aromas of violets and flavours of crushed wild strawberries and a herbal, savoury edge which makes it so good with charcuterie. You could be in a Paris wine bar, sipping natural wine and enjoying fine charcuterie, or you could be doing exactly the same at No2 Pound Street!
Cotes du Rhone ‘Bout d’Zan’, Mas de Libian
Mas de Libian, a working farm (cereals, fruits and vines) since 1670, has remained in the hands of famille Thibon for its entire history. Hélène a remarkably energetic member of the family took over the viticulture and winemaking in 1995, and convinced her family to bottle their own wine rather than sell to local négociants. Her farming is entirely biodynamic since the 1960’s when her grandfather ran the farm, and the vines (averaging 40-45 years-old) are pruned for low yields and concentration. The terraced vineyards, composed mostly of galets rouges, in St-Marcel d’Ardèche (the west bank of the Rhône) provide stunning views of Mont Ventoux, the Alpilles, and the Dentelles de Montmirail.
Hélène is in her late 20s and in June this year she was selected by the French Wine Review as one of its Young Winemakers of the Year. She makes her wines in a traditional fashion following organic principles, and the vineyards have ‘pudding-stone’ soil like that found in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The stones reflect sunlight during the day and retain heat during the cold nights, thus making the vines work harder to extract water and minerals from the soil.A great wine for the price, full of real character.
Perfect with roasts, stews, bbq...you get the idea.
Merlot 006, Aniello
A beautifully ripe and pure Merlot from Patagonia in the south of Argentina.
Aniello are one of the rising stars of Argentinian wine and are showing that Patagonia can produce World class wines. This has all the rich, ripe, plummy fruit you would want from a good Merlot, with a long smooth finish.
Really well-made; a good all-rounder and a safe bet for a gift.
Three Lions Pinot Noir, Plantagenet
‘La Magendia’ Jurancon Moelleux (37.5cl), Clos Lapeyre
Jean-Bernard Larrieu makes some of the best wines in Jurancon at Clos Lapeyre. This isolated area lies inland in the foothills of the Pyranees and is home to some of the best sweet wines France has to offer (without paying Sauternes prices). Petit Manseng is the main grape for producing these delicious, honeyed wines and it's bright acidity is what makes it so successful; no matter how rich and unctuous the wine, it still feels fresh and mouth-watering on the finish. In case you were wondering, La Magendia means 'the best' in the local Occitane dialect; very fitting, as this is truly stunning.
Perfect with fruit desserts (rhubarb or apple crumble...?) and is a star with blue and rind-washed cheeses.
Te Whare Ra Sauvignon Blanc
Te Whare Ra (TWR), pronounced Te Faré Rha (House of the Sun), is the oldest little winery & vineyard in Marlborough, being first established in 1979 in the sub-region of Renwick. Since 2003 it has been owned and operated by Anna & Jason Flowerday. She’s an Aussie from South Australia and he’s a Kiwi from Marlborough.
Anna and Jason firmly believe that biodiversity is the key to maintaining a good vineyard. They plant between the vines and plough alternate rows. To combat pests, they use natural methods such as buckwheat, and fertilize the vineyard using their own home-made composts and manure. In the cellar they practice a hands-off approach as they seek to express the nature of their individual vineyards and sites. The TWR wines are truly hand-made. Everything is hand-picked, hand-sorted and the attention to detail is meticulous. Anna and Jason are dedicated to making delicious authentic wines that showcase the very best of Marlborough not the mass-produced version.A food-friendly Kiwi Sauvignon - great with grilled fish with olive oil and herbs
Coola Hills Pinot Noir
Winemaker Xavier Goodridge has set out to create great value low intervention wines. And this is a beauty!Mount Gambier is historically a dairy farm region but is rapidly becoming on of Australia's most exciting wine growing regions. Volcanic soils and cooling breezes from the Southern Ocean.This Pinot is light and juicy with loads of fresh red fruit flavours bursting out of the glass. In warm weather, this is great chilled down and is perfect with BBQ.
Lion’s Tooth Shiraz/Riesling, Dandelion Vineyards
Dandelion Vineyards is the venture of self-titled ‘typist’ Zar Brooks and his winemaking wife Elena, with wines made from the Barossa and Eden Valleys, Fleurieu, the Adelaide Hills and McLaren Vale.
Nick Stock, one of Australia’s leading journalists, has described Dandelion as follows: “Brooks has teamed up with his winemaking wife Elena, a woman whose talents are outweighed only by her tolerance, in an exciting new venture called Dandelion Vineyards. The approach is remarkably simple and sees Elena making wine from a suite of beautiful old vineyards across that blessed curve that runs from the Barossa, up through the Eden Valley and Adelaide Hills and down into McLaren Vale.”
From this vineyard, Elena co-ferments an almost forgotten but timeless blend of Shiraz and Riesling to enhance the wine's perfume and palate.This has always been one of our most popular wines, year after year it delivers amazing value for money. Rich and intense, it is impressive without being too much. There is balance which makes it very, very drinkable.
Cedre Heritage Malbec, Cahors
Pascal Verhaeghe of Chateau de Cedre has been the driving force behind the Cahors “Quality Charter” and quality oozes from these wines.
The estate was originally created by Charles Verhaeghe on vineyard land devastated by the frosts in 1956 in Viré-Sur-Lot.
His sons Pascal and Jean-Marc duly studied winemaking, the former in Burgundy and California, the latter in
Bordeaux. Ecological viticultural methods eschewing weedkillers and chemical fertilizers, yield reduction by serious
pruning, leaf stripping for greater sun exposure and air circulation, harvesting the grapes on the verge of overripeness
yield the superb raw material essential to create fabulous wines.
In the cellars the Verhaeghes aim for softness, richness and harmony through gentle extraction by long vattings and limited pigeage, malolactic fermentation and sensible use of oak.The Heritage du Cèdre is the Pugsley in this Addams menagerie. The family traits of abundant dark brooding fruit are evident; the heart is black but the flesh is youthful. Its lunchtime and you could murder a Cahors, but you don’t fancy taking out one of the big guns. Heritage is for you, a bonny ruby-red, the Malbec softened
by plummy Merlot soothing to the gullet.Great with sausages, in fact, any grilled red meat!
