(2024) This is 100% Carignan from the 80+ year old La Roque vineyard at Domaine of the Bee. Fermentation is in both stainless steel and 500-litre barrels, with a further year in French oak barrel, plus one in American oak barrels, all 500-litre. Dark, spicy and plummy, there's a smoky suggestion of real depth here. The fruit has a supple, rich but elegantly understated succulence and depth. The oak integrates very nicely indeed, creamy and dark, a swirl of mocha onto suede-like tannins and a juicy bramble acidity. Long and concentrated into the finish. Wine Club members buy for £20.
(2024) This unoaked blend of 50% Carignan, 23% Mourvèdre, 23% Grenache and 4% Syrah comes from 50-year-old vines in Boutenac, one of the prime terroirs of Corbières. It is certified organic. There's an interesting combination of fresh, pomegranate and cherry/floral aromas balanced by a deeper undercurrent of something plummy and black-fruited. In the mouth the flood of abundant sweet, fleshy and ripe black fruit fill the mid-palate, a real hedonistic mouthful of luscious and deep fruit. The tannins here are genuinely soft and silky, with the acid balancing nicely into a gentle, long finish.
(2024) d'Arenberg is one of the iconic names of Australian wine and has been a constant presence on UK wine shelves for decades. This is 100% biodynamic Grenache, foot trodden two-thirds of the way through ferment and pressed in a basket press as is d'Arenberg's way. It was matured in French oak for nine months. It has a terrific nose, straddling a buoyant, crushed red berry fruit with masses of fresh-cracked black pepper and a certain meatiness. In the mouth it has substantial tannins and fine acid core, but the weight of fruit is equal to that all the way, giving this lots of drinkability as well as a bit of serious gastronomic usefulness. Watch the video for more information and food-matching ideas.
(2024) A blend of 30% Cabernet Franc from 32-year-old vines and 70% Cabernet Sauvignon from 13-year-old vines. It is aged 12-months in medium-toast, Alliers oak barriques and larger barrels. A ruby to purple colour, this opens with very fine, classic Bordelais character. There's some light and shade with more than a hint of raspberry and leafiness, then cassis and some cedary depth. In the mouth it is glossy, ripe and touched with mocha and cocoa, the fruit sweet and still those little lifted characters giving lovely freshness and definition. No UK retail stockists listed at time of review.
(2024) Typical Douro blend of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinto Cão, Tinta Roriz and Sousão from vineyards at 450 to 650 metres altitude. The wine spent 12 months in French oak barriques. It has a most attractive tove nose, sweet black fruits with an elegant sheen of vanilla, touches of espresso and, to balance, violet, add layers of interest. A balsamic edge of sweet and savoury character lies o er the rich black fruit of the palate, the whole picture balanced with enough structure, but a hint of sumptuous richness.
(2024) This is not the current vintage of this wine (the 2017 is the one most retailers seem to be stocking), but it just shows how beautifully the wine ages over several years. From an estate very much focused on Bordeaux as a model, it spent 17 months in barrels from top French coopers, 40% new. When I last tasted it in 2019 I noted "serious structure, the deep black fruit bound by firm, gripping tannins and decisive acidity," and while the tannins have mellowed a little since, that wonderful balance of the wine, and that wonderful combination of fruit and structure remains. The intervening five years have also developed its tertiary aromas suggesting game and sweet, damp earth among the more plush black fruits. The current vintage can be had for £17-£18 quite widely, which is surely very attractive for a wine of considerable pedigree and cellaring potential. Stockist and price quoted for the most recent vintage.
(2024) Sangiovese spends around four months on the lees in stainless steel, then into French oak barriques for 12 months, 20% new oak. Cherry dominates the aromatics, but the oak has given a lovely tobacco and vanilla roundness, a warming chestnut character in the background too. Once again that touch of lift to the aromas. The palate has a creamy ripeness to the tannins, which along with the oak-enriched red fruits that are also ripe and fleshy, gives the wine a chocolaty texture. The juicy plum-skin grip of the acidity balances the finish with a welcome touch of bitterness.
(2024) An organic certified partner to the regular Roggiano Morellino, this is just redolent of ripe, juicy cherries. There's a savoury edge that emerges, slightly cedary, smoky and meaty, moving on to the palate where that plump cherry ripeness reasserts. There's a delightful axis of ripe tannins and pin-sharp acidity here, adding a bittersweet, grown-up firmness to the fleshy mid-palate fruit.
(2024) From an organic estate just outside the Brunello di Montalcino appellation, this is 100% Sangiovese, fermented and aged in French oak for 24 months. I find the paler colour of this eight-year-old wine to be attractive, maybe just a hint of amber on the rim. On the nose there's a developed character, moving into an autumnal phase with dried leaves, truffle and a little chestnut. It's Sangiovese in a Burgundy mould, with a little sour cherry added. The palate has that same briary, mushroom and truffle softness, the tannins are resolved and elegant and the balance of the acidity is very good, giving this clarity into the gently spicy finish. The opposite of blockbuster, it's a lovely wine of individual style.
This is not the current vintage of this wine (the 2017 is the one most retailers seem to be stocking), but it just shows how beautifully the wine ages over several years. From an estate very much focused on Bordeaux as a model, it spent 17 months in barrels from top French coopers, 40% new. When I last tasted it in 2019 I noted "serious structure, the deep black fruit bound by firm, gripping tannins and decisive acidity," and while the tannins have mellowed a little since, that wonderful balance of the wine, and that wonderful combination of fruit and structure remains. The intervening five years have also developed its tertiary aromas suggesting game and sweet, damp earth among the more plush black fruits. The current vintage can be had for £17-£18 quite widely, which is surely very attractive for a wine of considerable pedigree and cellaring potential. Stockist and price quoted for the most recent vintage. 