Chablis, Gerard Tremblay
Gérard Tremblay and his wife, Hélène, oversee a domain that they inherited in a line of five generations, but which they have mostly built themselves. With 80 acres of vines under production, most of them in the best Premier Cru and Grand Cru appellations, their list of Chablis is among the most prestigious in the region.
Their wines are mostly sold direct from the winery, or are snapped up by top restaurants, they don't often appear for retail.
This wine has all the hallmarks of great Chablis, clean and minerally but with a depth and length of flavour that lets you know you're dealing with serious a winemaker here.
Perfect with shellfish..how about a lobster salad? Or big garlicy prawns? Oh yes please!
JCB No21 Cremant de Bourgogne, J.C.Boisset
40% Pinot Noir , 35% Chardonnay, 20% Gamay, 5% AligotéJean-Charles Boisset was born into a winemaking family in Burgundy and now makes wine all over the World.
Pale and vibrant in colour, this Crémant boasts aromas of citrus fruits, almonds and white flowers on the nose. The palate has refreshing and lifted acidity, coupled with a lovely, rich texture from the lees ageing.
A great value alternative to Champagne, showing
Te Whare Ra, SV Dry Riesling
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.I love this dry Riesling, it has such purity of fruit; it's light yet focused with complex citrus and herbal aromas.
Richer on the palate, it marries perfectly with dishes with some chilli (and lemongrass).Such a good wine!
Trinity Hill Hawkes Bay Syrah
Founded in 1993 by winemaker John Hancock together with Robert and Robyn Wilson, owners of The Bleeding Heart and The Don in London, Trinity Hill has become a byword for quality and consistency. Winemaker Warren Gibson has been with Trinity Hill since 1997. He is also in charge of the 80 hectares of vineyard owned by Trinity Hill and knows Hawkes Bay and the Gimblett Gravels exceptionally well. The wines reflect this. Warren and his team make wines that show the best of what Hawkes Bay and the Gimblett Gravels can produce. The wines have an elegance, balance, drinkability and precision of flavour that makes them a joy to drink.
St. Chinian ‘La Laouzil’, Thierry Navarre
Carignan/Grenache/SyrahThierry Navarre has a dozen hectares of vines planted on dark brown schist terraces around Roquebrun. The achingly beautiful countryside is an amphitheatre of small mountains clad in a sea of green, a forest of small trees and bushes and the familiar clumps of fragrant rosemary and thyme which captures the scented spirit of the high Languedoc. The culture in the vines revolves around the respect for the soil, the cycles, the seasons. No chemical products are used, simply composting, natural preparation, plant infusions and working the soil. The harvest is manual and carried out by a small team.
This wine is full of red fruits, liquorice tones and plenty of herbs and spice, yet is unforced, supple and fresh.A proper southern French wine to accompany roast lamb or great with some good sausages or a hearty stew.
Classic Riesling, Framingham
Framingham are widely regarded a the top producer of Riesling in New Zealand. They make several different styles from very dry to very sweet. This ‘Classic’ Riesling is very much inspired by the great wines of the Mosel; a wine with a touch of sweetness but with crisp acidity and juicy citrus flavours perfectly balanced. This is sooo drinkable and refreshing and perfect with Thai food or any salads (especially on a sunny day in the garden…). Organic
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!
‘The Barossan’ Shiraz, Peter Lehmann
Sauvignon Blanc, Framingham
Framingham has been named winery of the year by The Real Review (New Zealand’s top wine publication) for the last two years. They make stunning wines! This Sauvignon is a little bit different to most, with the wine seeing extra skin contact and some ageing in old barrels; this gives the wine a lovely texture and a savoury edge alongside those classic Sauvignon flavours. A very ‘food-friendly’ version of Kiwi Savvy Blanc!
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.
Friuli Sauvignon, Fondo Indizeno
Fondo Indizeno is a new project from renowned winemaker Christian Patat, one of Friuli’s most faithful advocates and a man who has done so much to promote this area. Fondo Indizeno's vineyards are spread over three villages in the Colli Orientali del Friuli, which were chosen due to their excellent quality terroir; Buttrio, Prepotto and Premariacco. They works with 15 hectares of very old vines, between 30-40 years, planted on marl based soils (locally known as “Ponca”). The vines benefit from a Mediterranean climate, with continental influences, hot summers, cold winters and dry autumns. The vineyards are planted with Ribolla Gialla, Chardonnay, Friulano, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Bianco and Malvasia.The idea of this project is an introduction to Friuli’s best wines, to showcase the quality achievable and the area's potential. Each wine is dedicated to a producer whose wines have brought prestige to a particular grape variety, for example Ribolla Gialla is named after Stanko Radikon, who spent his life promoting this variety. While Chardonnay is dedicated to Nicola Manferrari who is one of the best interpreters of this grape. As with all Christians wines, they are impeccably executed, expressive styles, which are exemplary of Friulian wine and really showcase this areas potential.This is a food-friendly example of Sauvignon Blanc, less of the intense nettle and gooseberry flavour and more subtle, herbal notes.
A really refreshing take on the grape; here it's all about balance and creating a wine that will enhance your meal, not stamp all over it!Delicious with sushi, or simple grilled white fish. It would also work well with seared tuna steak.
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.