Wine
House Wines
Kintu Sauvignon Blanc 2009 Maule Valley Chile - £18.00
Kintu means beautiful view in the ancient pre Spanish dialect of Chile’s native population. The name refers to the stunning vistas of the deep blue Pacific Ocean and the soaring snow capped peaks of the Andes to be seen from the vineyards. A modern, fresh fruit filled white, crisply dry, aromatic and refreshing and very food friendly.
Kintu Chardonnay 2009 Maule Valley Chile - £18.00
Although Sauvignon Blanc is very popular not every one is a fan of its zippy sharp character. For those who prefer something a little softer and more rounded we have Kintu’s ripe peachy Chardonnay. Made without the use of oak the flavours are of ripe lemon, fresh pineapple and white stone fruit.
Tortoise Mountain Pinotage Rose 2009 Paarl South Africa - £18.00
Tortoise Mountain from the classic Paarl region of the Cape is a refreshing rose with plenty of juicy cherry and berry fruit flavours and aromas. Light with a sherbet character this is the sort of Rose made under clear blue skies and a hot sun, close your eyes as you sip and savour and let the flavours take your imagination on a trip to the exotic Western Cape.
El Otro Merlot 2009 Central Valley Chile - £18.00
Soft ripe and plumy with a dash of dark red cherry and a hint of black chocolate, El Otro is a juicy fresh delight. Pure fruit without so much as a hint of oak, this is a very versatile medium bodied red that is as good on its own as it is with food.
White Wines
Hellfire Bay Chardonnay 2008 Denmark Western Australia - £20.00
Hellfire Bay is made by winemaker John Durham at Plantagenet in Western Australia’s Great Southern region. Situated in the township of Mount Barker but using fruit sourced from across Western Australia this is an elegant, almost European style wine. Clean ripe fruit, good acidity and only the very gentlest touch of oak make this a delicious food friendly wine.
Cortegiara Pinot Grigio della Venezie 2009 Veneto Italy - £20.00
Cortegiara is the “negociant” arm of Allegrini one of Italy’s most highly rated wineries. Allegrini buys the grapes for this wine by the hectare rather than by the ton. This gives him and his winemaking team complete control over both the growing of the grapes and the winemaking. His fastidious attention to detail shows in the quality of the wine. Clean, fresh and perfumed with good weight on the mid palate and a lingering dry finish.
Liberty Fairtrade Chenin Blanc 2008/09 Citrusdal South Africa - £20.00
Liberty is made by Charles Back of Fairview fame at this former Co-op situated in the town of Citrusdal on the Western Cape. Perhaps South Africa’s leading modernist winemaker Charles has crafted a gem of a wine from dry grown Chenin Blanc certified Fairtrade. A portion of the profits are ploughed back into the workers village where to date it has paid for a community hall and medical centre. Liberty Chenin Blanc is packed with crisp green apple, ripe pear and honey flavours, off dry it is a great foil for lightly spiced dishes.
SauVignon 2009 Vignerons de Valancay Loire Valley France - £22.00
It is not often that the French wine authorities allow joke and puns, no matter how gentle to appear on a wines label. The capital V in the name is a play on Vigneron or winemaker and relies on the reader understanding that Sau sounds like So in English. It takes on greater significance when you understand that this is made by the smallest Co-Op in France with just two members, the wine maker and his best friend. Stylistically you would be hard pressed to tell this apart from a very good Sancerre, the only give away being the non eye watering price!
Urban Torrontes 2009 Bodegas O Fournier Uco Valley Mendoza Argentina - £22.00
Torrontes is as uniquely Argentine as Malbec but is a lot less well known, which is a great pity for us. Highly aromatic, Torrontes is a distant relative of Malvasia and Muscat. The aromas and flavours are of rose petal, subtle lychee and grapefruit. Fournier’s example is crisply dry and savoury rather than sweet. An excellent foil for Fusion dishes featuring Chilli or exotic spices such as Star Anise Fournier’s superb wine is something that everyone should try.
Waipara Springs Sauvignon Blanc 2008 Waipara Valley South Island New Zealand - £24.00
Waipara Springs or “Wipe-ra” as the locals call it is classic New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc from the up and coming cool climate region of the Waipara Valley near Christchurch. The vineyards are situated on the bed of an ancient lake. Planted on the deep alluvial deposits of gravel and clay 20 years ago the vines are now producing fruit of stunning quality. Cooler than nearby Marlborough, the wines of Waipara Springs are finer, more perfumed and better balanced than those of their giant neighbour down on the coast.
Andante Gewurztramier Muscat 2008 Cave de Ribeauville Alsace France - £26.00
Most Alsatian wineries produce a blended wine, called Edelzwicker, it is a combination of the neutral Sylvaner and Pinot Blanc varieties and is intended as a quaffer to partner the local day to day cuisine. Ribeauville are almost unique in taking a very different approach. Muscat and Gewürztraminer are the most wildly aromatic and flavoursome varieties planted in Alsace. An exotic perfume of Muscat, lychee, grapefruit and white flowers leads onto a medium dry palate offering more of the same. An utter delight either as an aperitif or with gently spiced Fusion dishes.
Gran Sasso Pecorino 2008 Ortona Italy - £28.00
Percorino is a full bodied wine with moderate and well balanced acidity and an expressive nose of peach, mango and candied rose petals. The flavours are of lively bright yellow fruits, wild sage, white ginger, white pepper, along with hints of almonds and hazelnuts. Gran Sasso Pecorino has a long, full mineral-rich finish. Pure and vibrant, Marco Flacco’s wine is something the world nearly never got to taste. Pecorino was almost extinct. A few vines were discovered in a narrow rocky canyon in the Marche region, clippings were taken and now there are several hundred hectare planted up to this fabulous variety.
Leonildo Pieropan Soave 2008 Soave Italy - £30.00
Pieropan is a winemaker of legendary ability, expertise and attention to detail. His good friend Franco Allegrini says of him that if he were not the producer of the worlds finest Soave he would, if he were a clockmaker, make the Worlds best watches. Pieropan says modestly that making great wine is simply a matter of doing a series of small things well from the moment you pick up a pair of secateurs till you seal the bottle. Pieropan Soave is crafted predominantly from his beloved Garganega, a very fine variety with great finesse, perfume and elegance and a long mineral laced finish. Utterly divine!
Chablis Legland 2008 Domaine des Maronniers Chablis France - £33.00
Bernard Legland makes ultra modern, steely dry but richly fruit driven Chablis. Clean as a whistle with a core of ripe almost peachy fruit, mineral laced acidity and a lingering finish this is the classic foil for fish and shellfish dishes.
Paco & Lola Albarino 2008 Rias Baixas Spain - £35.00
Albarino is easily the most fashionable white wine in Spain being the drink of choice with seafood of almost any kind. This makes it quite hard to prize out of the country really good examples at anything like a reasonable price. Paco & Lola is made by the young dynamic team at Adegas Rosalia de Castro in Meano from the finest fruit produced by the Co-Ops 460 Members. With its funky label this standout wine is seriously well made. Crisply dry with notes of peach, lemon and green apple with a very subtle hint of minerals and lavender.
Chablis Grand Cru Les Blanchots 2008 Patrick Piuze Chablis France - £75.00
French Canadian born Patrick Piuze is one of the names to watch in Chablis. Both modern in technique and traditional in style Patrick sources grapes from some of the best vineyard sites to craft his highly individual wines. Having previously worked at Verget and Brocard Patricks track record is sensational. Rich, almost oily in texture with stunning weight this is quite unlike Village Chablis in style. Grand Cru Chablis of this quality is more akin to very fine Grand Cru Burgundy from further south in the Cote d’Or in its opulence.
Red Wines
Thandi Fairtrade Cabernet Merlot 2007 Western Cape South Africa - £20.00
Thandi was the first Fairtrade wine producer in South Africa, it is also the first wholly Black owned and run winery in South Africa. Technical and administrative assistance comes from Paul Cluver. The winery and bulk of the vineyards are situated in Elgin adjacent to the Cluver Estate with additional sites across the Western Cape. Soft, ripe and well balanced you get a lot of wine for the money with dark minty cassis, ripe plum and a gentle hint of vanilla oak to the fore.
Bodegas Navajas Rioja Tinto 2008 Navarette La Rioja Alta Spain - £20.00
Antonio Navajas makes great Rioja from his high altitude property situated in and around the sleepy hill top town of Navarette. His youngest vines were planted in 1970 meaning that all of his wines are crafted from intense old vines fruit. The high natural acidity means that Antonio makes his wines more in the style of Bordeaux than other Rioja growers. This leads to fresher fruit flavours and better balance whilst still keeping that lovely creamy vanilla oak influence.
Willandra Shiraz 2006 New South Wales Australia - £21.00
Willandra is the name given to an area of ancient dried lake beds including the famous Lake Mungo that lie some 90 miles north of Trentham Estate on the Murray River. In Autralian terms that means its right next door! The vineyard covers some 500 hectares most of which is dedicated to harvesting water. The fruit obtained is very ripe and flavour packed. Whist most fruit is sold of in bulk to bolster the quality of certain big brand wines, the pick of the crop is retained to make this wine. Dark, soft and brimming with mellow spiced bramble and plum fruit with a subtle use of new American oak this is a winter warming treat.
Cortegiara Pagus Valpolicella 2008/09 Vento Italy - £22.00
If you are looking for something a little lighter, more juicy and refreshing than powerful and warming. If you still want plenty of flavour but don’t want the high alcohol content that all too often comes with big flavours then look no further. The Allegrini wine making team crafts Cortegiara from carefully selected parcels of fruit from Corvina and Rondinella vines. Brimming with juicy black cherry fruit, a very gentle spice and a dash of wild herbs this is a superb wine to partner Pasta and white meat dishes.
Chilcas Organic Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 Central Valley Chile - £22.00
This wine comes from the heart of the Maule Valley, itself a subsection of Chile’s vast Central Valley. Situated on the coast south of the regional capital Concepcion, the vineyards are subject to the cooling influence of the chill Humboldt Current. This givers the region a longer growing season allowing the vines to pack more flavour into grapes than warmer regions further inland. A big cool minty Cabernet with lashings of ripe cassis fruit and more than a dash of toasty vanilla oak ageing.
Trentham Estate Pinot Noir 2008 Redcliffs New South Wales Australia - £25.00
James Halliday the leading Australian wine writer and critic rates Trentham as a 5 star winery (on a scale of 1-5) meaning that the wines from this superb estate situated on the banks of the Murray River represent superb value for money. Further more, Tony Murphy’s Pinot Noir is the only example of this capricious variety to make it into Halliday’s Top 100 Best Value Australian wines. Brimming with soft, succulent ripe hedgerow berry fruit, gentle spice with a vegetal hint this is an excellent example of Australian Pinot Noir.
Estapor Venir Mezcla Tinto 2007 Valle de Guadalupe Mexico - £35.00
Now, you know we like to be a little different. To offer you not only classically elegant wines from the worlds great wine regions but also superb wines from unusual places. Mezcla Tinto is made by Hugo D’Acosta the head winemaker at Casa de Piedra, an estate that’s wines sell for $70 a bottle en primeur in California and Mexico! The name Mezcla means mixture and thats what this delicious red is, a blend of Petit Sirah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Barbera and Zinfandel. Soft, succulent and ripe, big bodied and complex with layers of fig, date, ripe plum and spiced blackberry fruit overlying well integrated toasty oak.
Bodegas Navajas Rioja Reserva 2004 Navarette La Rioja Alta Spain - £38.00
Only made in good years from select parcels of Antonio Navajas’ best blocks of old vines Tempranillo and Garnacha. Aged for twenty four months in American oak and a further 12 months in bottle prior to release this is in most respects a very traditional Reserva. However as Antonio keeps the barrels topped up rather than leaving an air gap as is traditional in Rioja the fruit is fresher, fuller and more lifted than other Reserva’s.
Chateau Saint Jean Chateauneuf-di-Pape 2008 Orange Rhone Valley France - £50.00
Total production of this sumptuous wine is a mere 900 cases. 90% of the blend is old vines Grenache that is particularly suited to this estates soil profile. The other 10% is old vines Syrah that adds backbone and complexity to the wine. Very dark sumptuous and rich with a core of spiced cherry and blackberry fruit this wine is approachable now, if it gets time…which it wont Saint Jean will develop even more complexity and finesse.
Franco Allegrini Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2005 Fumane Italy - £75.00
This is a truly awesome example of ultra modern winemaking applied to a very traditional style of wine. Corvina Veronese, Rondinella and Molinara grapes are dried for three to four months before being crushed and fermented. The method is almost as old as the hills on which the grapes are grown. Allegrini has refined and modernised the technique to produce a thrillingly pure, clean and powerfully complex wine un marred by the oxidative aldehyde and ketone flaws that mark so many other growers Amarone. Allegrini’s Amarone is a truly world class wine from a winemaker at the top of his game.
Sparkling Wine & Champagne
Mionetto Prosecco Frizzante NV Conegliano Italy - £27.00
Prosecco is a delicate rose petal and lemon scented grape grown in the region of Valdobiadene in the hills north of Treviso. Prosecco is tremendously popular as an aperitif both in Italy and increasingly in the UK and Ireland. Mionetto is a very modern producer that uses all sorts of state of the art techniques to retain and enhance the subtle, delicate and refreshing character of this highly prized grape. And yet every single one of these bottles has the traditional spago or string sealed cork tied by hand!
Montaudon Reserve Premier Brut NV Reims France - £45.00
The greatest Champagne you have never heard of! Montaudon is the epitome of finesse, elegance and sophistication. Richly fruity with a lovely toasty note from the lees ageing, the very fine bubbles produce a creamy mousse and the dry perfumed finish just goes on and on and on.
Montaudon Classe M NV Reims France - £80.00
Montaudon’s Prestige Cuvee is a hedonists dream, fabulously rich, complex and elegant with great depth, poise and balance. Made in miniscule quantities from the finest blocks of old vines fruit for very special occasions.
Dessert Wines
Trentham Estate Noble Taminga 2006 Redcliffs New South Wales Australia 37.5cl - £20.00
Only the Australians could come up with a name like Taminga, so what exactly is Taminga. A crossing of Riesling and Gewurztraminer that was then crossed with an obscure Spanish variety called Farana. The first two lend Taminga an extraordinarily aromatic and flavoursome nature. The Farana has only one claim to fame, namely that no matter how hot it gets it does not loose its acidity. The result is an exotic melange of tropical fruit, ripe lemon and thanks to the effects of noble rot a deep honey, caramel and peachy richness. Low alcohol keeps things light, high flavour and aroma makes this a wow with almost all rich desserts.
Paul Cluver Noble Late Harvest Weisser Riesling 2008 Elgin South Africa 37.5cl - £27.00
This wine won the trophy for the Best South African Dessert Wine at the Decanter World Wine Awards in 2009. Grown high on the Groenwald or Green Mountain in Elgin, half the Botrytis affected grapes were fermented and aged in 3rd fill oak barrels whilst half were fermented in stainless steel. This fermentation takes place for a staggering sixteen weeks at very cool temperatures to enhance the natural aromas and flavours. A lot of very hard work with fastidious attention to cleanliness and detail produces a stunningly delicious wine.
