Argentine Reds

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Argentine Reds - Malbec and More South African Whites - new wines and vintages Bordeaux Crunch Reds Serge Mathieu – our Champagne Star in the Aube Full-flavoured Whites All wines discounted Pick of Chile from www.jancisrobinson.com by 10% Pre-shipping offers: or more 2012 and 2013 Rhône & 2013 White Burgundy from René Lequin-Colin

For orders and all enquiries, please contact: Simon Taylor: [email protected] Gordon Coates: [email protected] François Dupont: [email protected] Telephone: 01962 712351 Fax: 01962 717545 Email: [email protected] Website: www.stonevine.co.uk No. 13 Humphrey Farms, Hazeley Road, Twyford, Winchester, SO21 1QA Opening times: Weekdays: 9.00am-6.00pm Saturdays: 9.30am-4.00pm Argentine Reds – Malbec and More

We love Argentine Malbec, but we despair of doing business in Argentina as the process of working direct with growers there is so fraught: will they deliver the wines to Mendoza at the right time? Or will the wines be held up by a shortage of corks, or labels or boxes? Will the wines be randomly selected for Natamycin (an antibiotic, illegal in wine in the EU – it’s a long story) testing, holding up the shipment further? Will the truckers be on strike? Will the passes across the Andes be free of snow or mudslides? We have had all these problems over the last five years, and as a result we have on occasion run very short of Malbec. But we have had shipments in either side of Christmas, so here is our full selection of Malbec and more. These are splendid wines for cool weather – generous, warming and a perfect accompaniment to red meat.

Vicien, Catamarca Bonarda, Reserve Catamarca, 2009, 14% Bottle £9.25 £8.33 Code VIB709 The story here is of the eccentric, extrovert Carlos Lightly oaked Bonarda from ancient, twisted vines: very Arizu. Carlos, from the Arizu wine dynasty, loved high- deep purple; cherried aromas, with a creamy note; lots of altitude Malbec so much that after spending years looking for bittersweet red and black fruit, a touch of dark chocolate, a vineyard to make it, he ended up with a long-abandoned with fine tannins. Now-2016 Limited stock estate, including some very old Bonarda vines, 5,500 feet up in the near desert of the altiplano on the shoulders of the Andes, in the Fiambala Valley in Argentina’s wild north- west. This place is so remote that: Carinae, Maipú, Mendoza a) I was only the second importer ever to actually go and Philippe Subra arrived from south-west France with his wife, see him; Brigitte, in Mendoza in 1998 as a manager in an engineering b) The local hotel cost eight dollars a night for a room for business, and after deciding to retire in Argentina, three; established Carinae (named after a giant, glowing nebula c) ..and most of the locals don’t speak Spanish, rather in Sagittarius which lights up the southern sky at night) in indigenous Indian languages. 2003, buying several small parcels of very old vines (now 86, 89 and 96 years old) just south of Mendoza, at Cruz Carlos farms organically (not hard given that it hardly rains at de Piedra, near the winery, and especially at the renowned all there), and uses bio-dynamic techniques on some of the Calle Cobos in Perdriel, Luján de Cuyo. vineyards. We have been working with him for nine years, and his Malbec has become one of our best sellers, but his Winemaking here is overseen by the Mendoza arm Bonardas, based on fruit from those original very old vines, of consultant Michel Rolland. The reds here show the are also worthwhile trying. We now know that Bonarda is hallmarks of Rolland’s influence: the grapes are picked late, genetically the same as an obscure Savoie variety called resulting in a lush, high alcohol style; there is bleeding off Douce Noire (and no relation at all to the Italian Bonarda (especially for the top cuvées) to maximise the percentage Piemontese). Just as with Malbec, this grape has proved far of pip and skin to liquid; long macerations; and generous more successful in Argentina than in its much cooler home. quantities of French oak. But not for nothing are the services of Rolland and his team so widely employed in Argentina. Bonarda, Catamarca, 2011, 13.5% The concentrated fruit of old vines and top terroirs can benefit from this recipe. Bottle £8.25 £7.43 Code VIB211 A splendid, deeply hued wine, rather Italianate in style, all Malbec, Mendoza, 2012, 14.5% crisp damsons and blackcurrants, with a hint of fig, plus Bottle £10.50 £9.45 Code CAE112 cleansing acidity. Excellent with tomato-based cuisine. Drink this year. Philippe’s unoaked Malbec, which always shows the enticing perfume of the grape: crushed blackberries and Malbec, Catamarca, 2012, 13.5% plums. Blackberry and strawberry heart, not sweet, juicy, lively and fragrant. Merest smudge of backing tannins. This Bottle £8.75 £7.88 Code VIB112 is the sort of wine which really wins friends for Malbec. This unoaked example unfailingly delivers pure and fragrant Now-2016 fruit. Lifted perfume of strawberries. Juicy, lively mouthful of strawberries and blackberries, showing appealing flesh for a wine at this price. Fine and silky. Lovely to drink on its own or terrific with a humble ground beef burger. Now-2016

2 Walter Bressia, Agrelo, Luján de Cuyo We were the first to bring Walter Bressia’s remarkable wines to the UK. Now in his sixties, Walter is the grand old man of the Argentine wine scene, having made wine or been consultant oenologue for a large number of Argentine estates. In 2003 he decided he wanted to create his own wines, ‘Vinos de Autor’, on a European style, small scale Cuvée Brigitte, Mendoza, 2012, 14.5% family model. A small but smart cellar has been constructed, Bottle £11.50 £10.35 Code CAE812 and he now works with daughter Marita and son Walter junior. Grapes are sourced in part from his own 5 hectares Named after Philippe’s wife, this is a lightly oaked blend of vineyards and part from local parcels, both in the superb of 51% Malbec, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9% Syrah. Monteagrelo area near Mendoza at around 950 metres, It’s highly successful, the Cabernet bringing black fruit and and in the slightly higher and cooler Tupungato area in the structure to the lush ripeness of the Malbec. Very youthful, Uco Valley to the south. Walter’s wines follow a European with intense fruit and present tannins. Very popular at our model in their refinement, ageworthiness and complexity. Winchester tasting in December, this will also develop well. Now-2017 Monteagrelo Malbec, Mendoza, 2011, 14.5% Harmonie Malbec, Mendoza, 2011, 14.5% Bottle £15.95 £14.36 Code BRE311 Bottle £12.50 £11.25 Code CAE211 Always a winner, this is Walter’s superb pure Malbec. Perfume of crushed blackberries, raspberries and cherries. Beautifully This wine, from ancient vines and given a year in French managed oak just caresses the smooth, lush red fruit. Superbly oak, used to be labelled as the Malbec Reserva - but refined. Very “ dark crimson. Intense, dark, savoury aroma Argentine wines can no longer use this title for exports to that suggests a rocky origin as much as deep fruit. More fruit the EU. Very deep and inky. With silky, classy black fruit, sweetness with a touch of chocolate on the palate but there’s still very concentrated indeed, this always exhibits a seductive, a savoury black-olive character on the finish. Good combination liqueur element. Now-2017 of fruit and ‘not-fruit’ flavours. Generous, concentrated but Malbec, Hommage, Mendoza, 2008, 15% not heavy at all. Even with this concentration, it is still fresh and juicy on the finish.GV , 16.5/20”, Julia Harding on www. Bottle £19.95 £17.96 Code CAE408 jancisrobinson.com, 28th November 2014. Now-2020 This wine, which used to be known as the Gran Reserva, is from 89 year old vines in Perdriel, just south of Mendoza, and Profundo, Mendoza, 2009, 14.5% aged in new and second fill French barrels. Very perfumed: Bottle £23.50 £21.15 Code BRE109 strawberries and blackberries overlaid with cigar-box oak and spice. Concentrated, with fine-grained tannins, offering “The 2009 Profundo is a blend of 50% Malbec, 30% Cabernet brambly autumnal fruit spiked with hints of mocha, nutmeg Sauvignon, 10% Merlot and 10% Syrah from Agrelo, in Lujan and tobacco, this offers a fantastic bottle of wine. Now-2017 de Cuyo aged for 10 months in French oak barrels. It is a serious red with notes of black cherries, ripe plums, flowers and a Prestige, Mendoza, 2009, 15% spicy, cinnamon-driven touch. It is juicy and supple, medium Bottle £25.00 £22.50 Code CAE509 to full-bodied with sweet, round tannins, all varietals singing the same tune but with their own voice which gives it a very About 70% Malbec, with 25% Cabernet Sauvignon and harmonious and complex feeling, good freshness and length Syrah, a selection of all the best parcels of the vintage, aged with a mineral finish. Very impressive! 8,000 bottles produced. in new barrels for 18 months. Inky. Mocha and caramel Drink now-2019. 93/100”, Luis Gutierrez, The Wine Advocate, aromas on intense red fruit. Hugely powerful and intense, April 2014. This cassis-flavoured blend is all about smoothness, yet balanced. Very lush cherry and cassis core, spiced with elegance and length - in contrast to most expensive Argentine cinnamon. Drinking perfectly now. Now-2018 reds. Beautifully made, so svelte, showing red fruit and floral hints above a velvety structure. Just superb. Now-2019

Conjuro, Mendoza, 2009, 14.5% Malbec Medley Bottle £53.50 £48.15 Code BRE709 A case including three bottles of each of the four wines listed below, with a discount of 12% against We have never shipped Walter’s top Malbec blend before, our usual bottle prices but you only live once….. He made just 250 cases of this blend of about 50% Malbec, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and £128.50 Code: MM15DOZ 20% Merlot, sourced from Tupungato in the Uco Valley, all Vicien, Malbec, Catamarca, 2012 in new French and American barrels. At the moment the Carinae, Cuvée Brigitte, Mendoza, 2012 oak is a bit over-bearing, but put this super-concentrated yet Carinae, Harmonie Malbec, Mendoza, 2011 balanced beauty away and you will get a great experience Bressia, Monteagrelo Malbec, Mendoza, 2011 in a few years. Full-bodied, with gorgeous mass. Drink from now but best 2016-2022

3 South African Whites - new vintages and wines

South Africa is leading the world in distinctive, great value white wines right now. Here we show six wines, all recently shipped and available at great prices – even before the 10% discounts!

Cape Atlantic, Sauvignon Blanc, Nitida, Semillon, Durbanville, 2014, 14% Western Cape, 2014, 12.5% (Screwcap) (Screwcap) Bottle £8.50 £7.65 Code CED614 Bottle £11.50 £10.35 Code NIT114 Although there is no mention on the label, this wine is Nitida, near Cape Town on the Atlantic-influenced west from the young Sauvignon parcels at Cederberg. The coast, is well-known for growing high quality Semillon: half gannet on the label is a bit of a red herring (to mix animal of this wine is barrel fermented, some in new French oak. metaphors). The vineyards here are 1100-1150 metres up A reductive wine-making style (i.e. minimizing exposure to in the Cederberg mountains, well inland from the Atlantic. oxygen) produces a smokey / struck match nose; but on the Good natural rainfall, cool temperatures (occasional palate this is vividly green-fruited, showing green fig, kiwi snow-showers in winter), with plenty of wind, mean that and passion-fruit. Grassy, mouthwatering and pungent. This Cederberg enjoys a near perfect climate, and in particular should age decently too. Now-2018 a long ripening period. The whites are mountain-fresh, with plentiful natural acidity. Nitida, Riesling, Durbanville, 2014, 13% This is clean, precise and a total bargain given its pedigree (Screwcap) and quality. Grassy, citrus and asparagus notes on a steely frame. Really mouth-watering fruit and acid balance, crisp Bottle £11.50 £10.35 Code NIT414 and bright. Now-2016 Wow – this Riesling is a new wine for us, but we were knocked out by this example: if it came from Alsace or Badenhorst Family Wines, Secateurs White, Germany it would be £14-17.00 a bottle. Chenin Blanc, Swartland, 2014, 13.5% Very pale and clear. Classic Riesling aromas: citrus, honey, (Screwcap) lavender and wet stone. Open, exuberant pink grapefruit palate. Textured, very aromatic and with a sprinkle of white Bottle £10.95 £9.86 Code BAD114 pepper on the finish. 7 grams of residual sugar gives a From old - largely planted in the 1960s - vines on Adi perfect balance to this dry Riesling. Now-2018 Badenhorst’s family farm on the Paardebeerg, plus fruit from a neighbour. About 10% goes into old oak barrels, Nitida, Coronata Integration, Durbanville, giving volume rather than oak flavour, and the wine gains 2013, 13.5% (Screwcap) weight from about seven months on its lees. Bottle £14.95 £13.46 Code NIT313 Floral aroma - white flowers. Sunnily exotic fruit - tangerines, green melon and pineapple - with nuances of honey and This is one of the top white Bordeaux style blends in almond / marzipan. As ever, well-textured. Long, with a the Cape; from 57% Sauvignon Blanc and 43% barrel- touch of white pepper on the finish. Now-2016 fermented Semillon, blended and then given 8 months in old oak. The previous vintage performed extremely well Cederberg, Chenin Blanc, Cederberg, 2014, (as most of the South African examples did) in a big blind tasting of oaked Sauvignons from round the world last 13% (Screwcap) July, against much more expensive wines from Bordeaux, Bottle £11.25 Case £10.13 Code CED114 California and Australia. Always our benchmark wine at Cederberg - we have Creamy scent with a hint of asparagus. Smooth and shipped every vintage since the 2003! - in a totally different rounded but also lively and green-fruited: lime and green style of Chenin to Adi Badenhorst’s above. fig with suggestions of custard and vanilla . Oak very subtly Open, appealing scent of fresh pineapple and citrus. integrated. Silky, mineral even, and long. Now-2017 Mouthwatering entry of pineapple, grapefruit and kiwi. Exotic flavours but zippy; and finishes dry and mineral. Now-2017 South African Whites A mixed dozen of two bottles of each of the six South African whites above, with a discount of 12% on our usual bottle prices. £120.80 Code SAW15DOZ

4 Bordeaux Crunch Reds

With price increases from most other French regions - due to small harvests caused by the vagaries of the weather - it has become perfectly clear that Bordeaux remains an excellent source of value, especially when quantity and quality go hand in hand, as they did in the 2009 and 2010 vintages.

Château Le Faure, Bordeaux, 2012, 12.5% Bottle £8.75 £7.88 Code FAU112 Made by Eric Guérin, a fourth generation grower at Ladaux in the heart of Entre-Deux-Mers. From about 50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cabernet Franc, basically unoaked (just a few staves in the tank), it’s got decent body, in part because of the high average age of the vines here, with some parcels 50 years old. Slightly stony nose, creamy and dark fruited. Medium bodied, with pretty red cherry and raspberry fruit. Savoury with very modest structure. A charmer. Now-2018

Château La Plaige, Bordeaux Supérieur, 2009, 14% Bottle £8.95 £8.06 Code PLA109 This is a classy, much applauded wine (in the Concours, a gold medal in Paris and a silver in Bordeaux), from Frédéric Naud, a fifth generation vigneron. 40% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc, and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon. By clever reserving ahead we have been able to carry on shipping this highly popular winner. Scents of really ripe red berries, with hints of vanilla, clove and even chocolate. Surprisingly fat and rich for a wine at this price. Raspberry and ripe redcurrant palate backed by Château de Lauriole, Bordeaux, 2010, 13% soft but present tannins. Mildly spicy finish.“…surprisingly rich blackcurrant fruit and a chunky, mouth-filling texture Bottle £7.50 £6.75 Code LAU110 freshened with green, leafy acidity and softened by earthy Unoaked, from 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, cream. If you open this a few hours before it is required, or grown just south of the city of Bordeaux by Jean Michel decant it, it will become softer still, and you’ll think you Laplagne, it’s a perfectly correct, light and fine example. are drinking a delightful, traditional St-Émilion at a great deal less money”, Oz Clarke, My Top Wines for 2013. Gentle red fruit and lead pencil hints on the nose. Now-2016 Redcurranty, mildly leafy, this is fresh, clean and silky, in a classic claret idiom. Perfect lunch-time drinking, equally at home with simple roasts or cold cuts. Now-2016 Bordeaux Crunch Case Château Moulin de la Marzelle, Three bottles of each of the four wines above at a Côtes de Bourg, 2012, 12.5% discount of 12% to our usual bottle prices Bottle £8.25 £7.43 Code MLM112 £88.30 Code BC15DOZ This blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon from the right bank, directly across the river from Margaux, was a stand out during last summer’s visit. A nose bursting with berried fruit aromas. On the palate blackberry and blackcurrant flavours, with discreet structure. Now-2017

5 Serge Mathieu – our Champagne star in the Aube

Ever since we began at SVS thirteen years ago we have listed the Champagnes of Serge Mathieu, yet, in an unconscionable error, we have never really featured the Mathieu family and their wines at length. So here is the broadest - and cheapest - range of their wines available in the UK, including halves and magnums, plus a mixed dozen which will, we hope, encourage you to try these superb Champagnes. These are “Grower’s Champagnes”, i.e. produced by the family from grapes from their own vineyards, as opposed to the wider practice among branded Champagnes of buying in grapes or wine. Although the Mathieu family have been farmers in Avirey since the 1760s, only in 1970 did Serge Mathieu begin bottling his own Champagne. The most important determinant of style is where they are: at Avirey-Lingey, the vineyards are right down the south-west end of the Bar-sur-Aube. Here it’s considerably warmer than around Reims, and this offers perfect conditions for the Pinot Noir grape, which also thrives on the calcareous marls which are similar to soils in many Burgundian vineyards. So all the wines are dominated by Pinot Noir, which lends them a strong colour and a fleeting sense of red fruits. Secondly, these Champagnes are really well-aged (see details below): they always have a roundness and gentleness to them which is in sharp contrast to cheaper examples. And finally, these wines show the love of a very hard-working couple, Isabelle Mathieu and Michel Jacob. These two have integrity, dedication and, as their website clearly demonstrates, a sense of humour, even joy, in their labour.

Serge Mathieu, Champagne Tradition, Serge Mathieu, Champagne Brut Rosé, NV Pur Pinot, Brut, NV, 12% Bottle £29.75 £26.78 Code MAT5NV Bottle £24.95 £22.46 Code MAT1NV 90% Pinot Noir and 10% Chardonnay with a minimum of Half bottle £14.75 £13.28 Code MAT2NV two years ageing. This is always made in a dry style, so is 100% Pinot Noir, with a minimum of two years ageing on perfectly suited to drinking as an aperitif or with food such the lees: this has been described as a mini-Bollinger, for its as salmon. Winner of a gold medal in the 2013 Concours rich and rounded flavours. Winner of a gold medal at the d’Epernay. 2014 Concours d’Epernay des Champagnes du Vignoble. Salmon pink. Mildly yeasty aromas, followed by bright and Deep tone. Attractively ripe and broadly flavoured, with intense red fruit, reminiscent of strawberries and cream. an engaging creaminess and intensity. Strong berried fruit. The finish is bone dry. Now-2017 Great mouthfeel and length. Now-2016 Serge Mathieu, Champagne Millésimé, Brut, Serge Mathieu, Champagne, Cuvée Prestige, 2006, 12% Brut, NV, 12% Bottle £29.95 £26.95 Code MAT706 Bottle £27.50 £24.75 Code MAT4NV 100% Pinot Noir again, with a minimum of five years ageing Magnum £56.75 £51.08 Code MAT9NV on the lees. 2006 was a fine summer in Champagne (with 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay, given a minimum of only a few problems with a wet August), and the harvest three years ageing. enjoyed perfect weather in September. That Chardonnay element shows in a greater creaminess Very fine and persistent mousse. Open and creamy nose, and freshness in the Prestige. Graceful. Now-2017 with a subtle pear note. Attractive breadth of flavour. So refined– a noticeable step up on the Tradition. Now-2018

Serge Mathieu Tasting Case Three bottles of each of the four 75cl bottles listed above at a discount of 12% to our usual bottle prices £296.00 Code MAT15DOZ

6 Full-flavoured Whites

In cold temperatures one doesn’t want wines which are too light and crisp - Sauvignon Blanc is more fun in summer. So here are four well-flavoured whites which pack in flavour at a modest price without being heavy on alcohol - and all under screwcap for easy access.

Cape Heights, Chenin Blanc, Western Cape, South Africa, 2014, 13% (Screwcap) Bottle £6.50 £5.85 Code CAH114 A revelation: winemaker Marinda Kruger Van Eck sources dry-farmed, bush-vine Chenin from the Paardeberg, Paarl and the Drakenstein areas, and makes a really classy example for the price. Terrific Chenin nose: pears and honey. Bright, citrussy, with pleasing accents of pear and tangerine. Attractively rounded. Drink this year

Mas du Canal, Blanc, IGP Pays d’Oc, France, Conviviale, Fiano, Puglia, Italy, 2013, 13% 2013, 12.5% (Screwcap) (Screwcap) Bottle £6.95 £6.26 Code CNV613 Bottle £6.75 £6.08 Code VIC713 The latest ampelographical research (i.e. Jancis Robinson’s An attractively fruity and easy-quaffing Languedoc monumental Wine Grapes) suggests that the Fiano white, very well-blended - it’s based on Vermentino with Aromatico of Puglia is distinct from the better known Chardonnay and other varieties. Fiano, the ancient grape of the Campania; and that it Citrus and lightly floral aroma. Fresh, easy drinking should be renamed Minutolo. Whatever the minutiae (sorry mouthful showing stone fruit and melon with zesty acidity. couldn’t resist it) this is, as her book describes Minutolo, an Drink this year “opulently grapey Puglian”, and that’s spot on. Really open aromas of tangerine peel, pine and stone fruit. Very much a Mediterranean white, with ripe, generous, peach flavours, a zesty finish and the merest twist of pithy, quinine-like bitterness. Drink this year

La Puerta Torrontés, Argentina, 2013, 13% (Screwcap) Bottle £7.95 £7.16 Code PUE113 From Torrontés grown in the Famatina Valley in Argentina’s north-west region of La Rioja, on poor-fertility, dry and windswept land at 1,000 metres in altitude: perfect conditions for this fickle grape. The fragrant, exotically flavoured Torrontés grape makes a fine aperitif and accompanies spicy food well. Good Torrontés always has a lovely floral perfume, rose petal here. Very pale and clear. Initial fruity gush of stone fruit and lychees is followed by a clean, dry finish. Sprightly exoticism. Drink this year

Full-flavoured Whites Case Including three bottles of each of the four wines above with a discount of 10% on our usual bottle prices. £76.00 Code FFW15DOZ

7 Pick of Chile from www.jancisrobinson.com

The team at Jancis Robinson published a bunch of reviews of our wines in their South American assortment on the 28th of November. Here are two whites and two reds to bring to your attention: all four have also been very well-received at tastings.

Volcanes de Chile, Summit Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon, Rapel Valley, 2013, 14% (Screwcap) Bottle £8.95 £8.06 Code VOL113 Female winemaker Pilar Diaz crafts wines at Volcanes with gentle extraction and moderate oaking, in the pursuit of a European style wine with some structure. A true Cabernet (with 15% Syrah), fine-boned and classy. Deep tone. Simple black-fruited scent. Currant and raspberry flavours, not over-ripe, fresh and perfumed. Tannins fill it out, and the merest savoury note makes it very food friendly. Now-2016 “Deep crimson. Leafy cassis in classic Chilean form but not overly so. Refined, dry and fresh on the palate. All the Cousiño Macul, Isidora, Sauvignon Gris, hallmarks of Chilean Cab and none of the defects. Juicy and Valle del Maipo, 2013, 13.5% chewy on the finish.GV 16/20”, www.jancisrobinson.com Bottle £9.75 £8.78 Code COT613 Viña Aquitania, Reserva Carmenère, Chile used to be full of Sauvignon Gris, a grape usually Valle del Maipo, 2013, 13% considered to be an inferior version of Sauvignon Blanc (and it was often sold as such). Most has now been ripped Bottle £9.95 £8.96 Code AQU613 up, but with careful handling the result can be excellent. From a vineyard on the eastern side of Santiago, on the This is rather like a good central Italian white in style, fresh, slopes of the Andes. Including 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, textured and herby. Lifted aromas of pear skin and stone and part oaked in old barrels, this is a very expressive fruit. Pears again on the palate, well-textured. Firm, dry Carmenère. finish and good length. A good partner to seafood such as Both on the nose and on the palate it shows the smoky prawns or squid. Now-2015 and lightly vegetal aromas and flavours characteristic of “Salty, herbal citrus, and a touch of orange zest. Riper citrus the grape. With moderate alcohol, this is very Bordeaux- on the palate with citrus and peach sweetness though it like in style, elegant and showing refreshing raspberry fruit. finishes dry (RS 2 g/l). 15.5/20”,www.jancisrobinson.com Restrained and light, it’s a pretty wine. Now-2017 “Mid cherry red. Red fruit and tomato leaf. Capsicum Viña Aquitania, Reserva Chardonnay, freshness but not green. Lightish on the palate but the Valle del Malleco, 2013, 13.5% tannins and acidity are very fine. Elegant. 16/20”, www. jancisrobinson.com Bottle £10.50 £9.45 Code AQU113 From 15 hectares of wines planted in Traiguén in the Malleco Valley, some 650 kilometres south of Santiago at around 38° of latitude, a cool-climate Chardonnay of Purple Pages Chile Pick vigour. A case of three bottles of each of the four wines listed Glorious, crystal sharp (no malolactic fermentation) above, with a discount of 12% on our usual bottle unoaked Chardonnay: so open on the nose, showing ripe prices. pear and melon. Very fresh, but builds in flavour and depth. £103.35 Code PPCPDOZ Dry, brightly green-fruited, this is really splendid, a real Mâcon challenger. Now-2016 “Subtle creamy citrus and a little nutty. Dry and much more like a Mâcon than a typical Chilean Chardonnay. Creamy texture, a little woody in flavour but relatively ripe citrus. Long finish and very good freshness. 16/20”, www. jancisrobinson.com

8 Pre-shipping order of Rhônes from the 2012 and 2013 vintages

Here is the first of several offers we will make during the year. Effectively these are priced like en primeur, with a discount of about 15% or more on our future bottle prices. The advantage for us is twofold: first, as with anen primeur offer we can have your money in before we have to pay for the wines; but in addition we only have to do one invoice and don’t have to duplicate the effort of first invoicing you for the wine and then again for duty and VAT. The advantage for you is that this is simpler, and we can maximise savings as we have already bought euros forward at today’s advantageous rates, so can pass on the immediate benefit. A quick summary of 2013 in the southern Rhône: the chief determining character of the vintage was about 220mm (over 8 ½ inches) of rain in April to June. This quantity of rain, and wind, dramatically spoiled the flowering period, in particular for Grenache, which is fragile at this time. Vignerons in the south lost 20-50% of their usual harvest. The summer was fine, without excessive heat, and the reduced crop benefited from a long growing season and fine weather at the harvest – which, unusually now, did not finish until October. As Jancis Robinson noted in her summary of the vintage: As“ is often the case where low yields are matched by careful selection, overall quality is good”. The wines are generally marked by lower alcohol levels than usual, and good colour and concentration. These are not blockbusters: with moderate and ripe tannins it’s a good year, like 2011, when the wines will be accessible fairly young. All wines will be here by early March at the very latest and are ready to be delivered. All wines will be sold by the unsplit case of 12 only, except Pichat’s Condrieu. All prices INCLUDE duty and VAT.

Domaine des Espiers, Domaine des Espiers, Côtes du Rhône Villages, Sablet, 2013, 14.5% Vacqueyras Case £129.00 Code ESP413 Philippe Cartoux at Espiers had a torrid time in 2013. Like Richer, riper aromas. Generous gush of fruit: raspberries, many vignerons in the south his vines, in particular his blackberries and cherries. Plenty of texture. Some pepper Grenache, suffered from coulure, poor fruit set, caused by and savoury hints. the rainy and stormy weather. His yields, in particular for Late 2015-2018 his Côtes du Rhône, were down by up to 40%. One effect of the vintage is to increase the proportion of Syrah in his wines, as that suffered less at flowering. The Côtes du Rhône Villages Sablet, from Philippe’s vineyards on the better land on the slopes above the village towards Seguret, is largely Grenache but with about 35% Syrah, all raised in stainless steel tanks. The Gigondas is about 2/3 Grenache and 1/3 Syrah, about a third raised for 6 months in old oak demi-muids, not to lend oak flavour but just to round it out. As I have noted before Philippe is making wine with more freshness and fruit than five years ago, making them more approachable without compromising keeping ability. Having been organic in his work for years, he is also now going through the formal process of organic certification (noted on the Gigondas label below).

Les Espiers, Côtes du Rhône, 2013, 14% Case £108.00 Code ESP113 Youthful and quite deep purple. Definitely more black- fruited than usual, both on the nose and palate. Open, crunchy black fruit – blackberry and cherry, with a tapenade, black olive note. Just a touch of supporting tannin, but basically forward and ready, with creamy length. Now-2017

9 Domaine des Espiers, Gigondas, 2013, 14.5% Case £180.00 Code ESP313 Deep purple. Lifted aromas, showing liqueur opulence and southern warmth. Very concentrated. A little closed right now: dense, dark fruit and firm structure. Give it a bit longer. “…the 2013 Gigondas (70/30 Grenache and Syrah) should be an outstanding wine. Medium-bodied, nicely textured and fresh, it has ample black raspberry, spice, wild herbs and spring flower-like aromas and flavors.89-91/100. 2014- 2026”, The Wine Advocate, January 2015 2016-2020 Domaine Le Couroulu, Vacqueyras Note: reds from the 2012 vintage offered here Domaine Le Couroulu, Vacqueyras, Our customers will know that Guy Ricard at Couroulu is Classique, 2012, 13.5% a late bottler so we always introduce his wines a year late. Case £147.00 Code COW112 Guy really liked 2012 as a vintage – he thinks his wines are About 65% Grenache, 20% Syrah and 15% Mourvèdre. certainly better than his 2011s, with very good balance. Really lovely this vintage: forest fruit aromas preface an open, Prices are down on last year’s en primeur offer too. supple and juicy mouthful of raspberries and blueberry. Do note his white: a rarity, as so little white Vacqueyras is Silky - certainly more polished than some vintages - with made, and Guy only produces about 1,200 bottles. From splendid depths and subtle earthy hints. “Offering up a Viognier and Roussanne in old oak and old vine Grenache concentrated, rich and traditionally style bouquet of liquid Blanc and Clairette kept closed in tank, this is akin to a blackberry, crushed rock, earth and spices, this medium to white Châteauneuf at a lower price. full-bodied 2012 has a solid mid-palate, sound underlying structure and at least a decade of longevity. (89-92/100). Domaine Le Couroulu, Vacqueyras, Drink 2013-2023”, The Wine Advocate, December 2013 Cuvée Laura, Blanc, 2013, 13.5% Now-2021 Case £153.00 Code COW613 Domaine Le Couroulu, Vacqueyras, This consistently has a wonderfully complex nose: hints of fennel and sandalwood around waxy peach and ripe melon. Vieilles Vignes, 2012, 14% Full-flavoured - a wine to accompany food perfumed by Case £192.00 Code COW312 Provençal herbs, whether fish or fowl. Textured stone fruit, Magnums Case (6 x 150cl) £219.00 Code COW912 concentrated, yet with zesty balance. Long, dry finish. The Vieilles Vignes bottling is a very special Vacqueyras. Now-2016 Average production of this wine is around 8,000 bottles, about two-thirds 60 year old Grenache and one third Syrah, based on one plot planted mainly by Guy’s grandparents on the plateau amidst the garrigue. Sombre purple. Complex aromas of black fruit, wild herbs and Christmas cake. Very fat, almost luscious, and that concentration masks the structure which is there and will deliver longevity. Sharp curranty core; but overall, warm, hearty and long. “Even more impressive, the 2012 Vacqueyras Vieilles Vignes is an inky colored blend of 70% Grenache and 30% Syrah that also was aged completely in concrete tank. Loaded with mineral-laced blackberry fruit, earth, wild herbs and roasted meat-like aromas and flavors, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness and depth, bright acidity and stunning purity of fruit. More than a little impressive, it’s an age-worthy 2012 that should benefit from a year or two in bottle and have over a decade of longevity. Don’t miss it! (91-93/100). Drink 2014-24 These two smoking Vacqueyras stood out in my tastings and this estate needs to be on every reader’s radar!”, The Wine Advocate, December 2013 2016-2021

10 Domaine Jérôme Gradassi, Domaine Pichat, Vérenay Châteauneuf-du-Pape We have rarely offered Stéphane Pichat’s exquisite Condrieu at all, mainly because our small allocation always vanished We continue to hunt in the Rhône Valley for exciting swiftly to a highly discriminating London sommelier. We emerging talent, and in Jérôme Gradassi we have struck managed to get more of the 2013 vintage from Stéphane, the jackpot. Jérôme, 50 years old, was the boss and chef so here it is. Oaked Condrieu - and the oaking is subtle - is of a Michelin starred restaurant, L’Isle Sonnant in Avignon, one of the great white wines of the world, reflecting the until he sold it in 2003 to take up a mere 3½ hectares of Viognier grape’s success in this tiny appellation (just 135 vines left to him by his grandfather. He has since taken on a hectares, the area of just one large Bordeaux Château). further 2 hectares from his family. These are all on the north Here Viognier is at the northern limits of ripening (like the side of the town, along the road to Orange, where the soils Syrah which surrounds it), and on these steep south and tend to be based on clay and sand and show few of the east facing slopes, on granitic and mica-rich soils, it attains famous pudding stones. As Jérôme notes, these cooler soils levels of finesse and minerality unique in the world. are less prone to drought and tend to produce an elegant We are also shipping a pure and elegant Syrah, from young style of Châteauneuf - “plus sur la finesse que la puissance” vines within the Côte Rôtie appellation, always a wine of - with (by modern standards) moderate alcohol levels. He authenticity and value. thinks his wine drinks well young, but there’s no doubt it has the stuffing to last well too. Domaine Pichat, Condrieu, The vineyards are planted to about 75% Grenache and the La Caille, 2013, 13% rest Mourvèdre, with a little Syrah. Most of the vines date from his grandfather’s replanting in the 1970s. Jérôme is 3 bottles £82.50 (equivalent of £27.50 a bottle) personally very focussed on labour in the vineyard – he 6 bottles £162.00 (equivalent to £27.00 a bottle) considers precision there to be key to success. Although he 12 bottles £318.00 (equivalent of £26.50 a bottle) farms organically, Jérôme can’t face the cost of certification. Code PID613 In the cellar it’s all very traditional - into old stone tanks for Mid gold. Still quite tight on the nose – opens slowly when the vinification, then a short ageing in old barrels. poured. But all the appeal of Condrieu is in the glass: this Jérôme has already been singled out for praise within tastes of white peaches and clotted cream, or russet apples France, for example featured in a long article in the La and custard; but finishes dramatically, stony dry. Hints of Revue du Vin de France in October 2012, which applauded lime and almonds. So aromatic and complete. the “pureté magnifique” of his wine. In this 2013 vintage he “Also outstanding, the 2013 Condrieu La Caille reminds only has 7,000 bottles to sell, so we are lucky to get a good me of a fresher version of the 2012 at this stage. Toasty allocation, and look forward to the first arrival of his wine oak, brioche, spice, caramelized citrus, apricot and peach on these shores. all flow nicely to a medium to full-bodied, clean, classy Condrieu to drink over the coming 2-3 years. 90/100 Drink Domaine Jérôme Gradassi, 2014-2017 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, 2013, 14.5% Producing a modern-styled Condrieu and Cote Rotie, this Case £237.00 outstanding estate is run by the young Stéphane Pichat. He’s excelled in both 2012 and 2013. I think production Deep purple (reflecting that good slug of Mourvèdre). here is minuscule, but these are worth the effort to track Terrific aromas of liquorice, cinnamon and herbs – a real down”. The Wine Advocate, December 2013 sense of the garrigue, the herby scrub around the vineyards. Classic mélange of red and black fruits, backed with just Now-2017 enough tannin for grip, but not obtrusive. Lots of peppery spice. Fine, red fruit finish, hinting at raspberry jelly and Domaine Pichat, Syrah, Turkish delight. Decant if you drink soon – it really benefits Vin de France, 2013, 13% from exposure. Case £153.00 Code PID113 Late 2015-2020 Youthful translucent purple. Classic young Syrah aromas, pure fruit with a savoury twist. Enticing mouthful of crushed blackcurrants and blackberries, spiced with vanilla, clove and fresh mint. Light-bodied, almost refreshing, the very antithesis of much New World Shiraz, this cool-climate example has a limpid purity and charm. Late 2015-2018

11 Pre-shipping Offer of 2013 White Burgundies from Domaine René Lequin-Colin, Santenay

We have been majoring on François Lequin’s Chassagne-Montrachets for years - his 2010 Chassagnes are drinking beautifully from now - but it has dawned on us that the wines which offer the best value in his wide ranging cellar (some 18 wines here) are actually his Bourgogne Blancs. Both are oaked (see details below) but made in different ways. With Back to the Roots François harks back to ancient practice, making it as naturally as possible, giving it the same bâtonnage (stirring of the lees in barrel) as a more expensive wine, before bottling it unfined and unfiltered. We like the style of the 2013 white Burgundies: a cool year brings greater freshness and welcome lower alcohol levels.

René Lequin-Colin, Bourgogne Chardonnay, René Lequin-Colin, Chassagne-Montrachet, 2013, 12.5% (Screwcap) Les Charrières, 2013, 13% Case £123.00 Code LEQ813 Case £270.00 Code LEQ113 From fruit grown in vineyards close to the village of The fruit comes from very old, low yielding vines located Santenay, this is fermented 50% in tank and 50% in barrel, below the Montrachet Grand Crus and around 25% new with 10% new oak. This is always our go to wine for anyone oak is used. This always shows ripe and honeyed aromas. seeking oaked white Burgundy at a fair price. Lightly floral Ripe melon and orange flavours, ample and well-textured. and ripe melon aromas. Fresh and lightly creamy palate of Very long. attractive pear and melon fruit. 2016-2021 2015-2017

René Lequin-Colin, Bourgogne Chardonnay, Back to the Roots, 2013, 12.5% Case £150.00 Code LEQ513 All in barrel, 10% new. Interesting aromas: lime, cream and a hint of wax. Bright mouthful showing green apple but also hints of honey and nuts. Surprisingly long. This is a ringer for a more expensive traditional white Burgundy. Late 2015-2019

Delivery charges* to one address are as follows: 1-5 bottles: £10.00, 6-11 bottles: £8.50, 1 case of 12 bottles: £5.95, 12-24 bottles: £8.50 Please note: • Free delivery for orders of £150 or more (to one address), or over £75 in the Winchester area. • *Delivery prices vary for delivery to the highlands, islands and Northern Ireland - please ask us for a quote.