Calvados, Arneis, Grenache, Ch...
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Poppelvej ‘Blue Rose Case’ Chenin 2022More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2022Chenin BlancAustralia436$42.00 As low as $37.80 -
Correggia Roero Arneis 2022Pear, apple, a white flower perfume, something a little like hay, and almonds. It’s a glossy wine but has a balanced attack of acidity, a slight lemon zest and almond bitterness, a pleasant and appropriate level of chalky grip, with a juicy finish of good length. Good. GARY WALSH, The Wine Front
Small tweaks and incremental changes in vinification and winemaking have seen the wines improve every year. The quality across the board has always been top of their class and further cements this outstanding estate as one of the pre-eminent producers in the region. It would certainly be no stretch to call them a leading light in the heart and hearts of Roero.
This is another great rendition. A hint of tropical fruit that lends an almost riesling like element to the wine, along with a floral hint. There is a some lovely depth to the fruit and that bit of extra flesh show so nicely on this wine. Still fresh and zippy on the finish with a little phenolic grip that carries the orchard fruits into a long, gentle close. Yum!
2021ArneisItaly457$44.00 As low as $39.60 -
Reed Alexia Grenache 2023The 2023 Reed Wines Alexia Grenache is a piece of fine bonework. It tastes like gossip, all juicy details and home truths. The glory of this wine is that it’s the variety in its landscape and that’s all that it is. It’s dry. It’s uncompromised. It’s real. If you want to be convinced of Sierra’s story; drink this wine. CAMPBELL MATTINSON, The Wine Front2023GrenacheAustralia349$44.00 As low as $39.60 -
Correggia Roero Arneis 2023Pear, apple, a little green herb, some perfume, candle wax and smoked almond. It’s medium-bodied, bright and has good flavour, though not too much, and it keeps itself trim with some light citrus bite, a slightly waxy texture, some chalkiness, and offers a finish of good length with some preserved lemon tang. It’s well-balanced and drinks very well. Nice. GARY WALSH, the wine front2023ArneisItaly457$44.00 As low as $39.60 -
El Berrakin Garnacha 2022More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2022GrenacheSpain$44.00 As low as $39.60 -
Borachio Garnaxa 2022More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2022GrenacheAustralia436$44.00 As low as $39.60 -
Correggia Roero Arneis 2021 (Screwcap)The Correggia family are a small yet formidable force in the sandy soils of Roero, just west of the Tanaro River in Piedmont. After the tragic death of her husband, Ornella with help from friends propelled the wines of Matteo Correggia to even greater heights. She is now flanked by her children Giovanni and Brigitta and the wines have never looked better.
Fragrant aromas of white flowers, citrus and pear on the nose lead into a finely textured palate. Hints of sweet almond arise. Its fresh and tingly finish with a fine phenolic chew carrying the orchard fruits into a long gentle close. GABRIELLE POY, PWS
2021ArneisItaly457$44.00 As low as $39.60 -
Fabien Jouves Les Agudes 2019More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2019Chenin Blanc, sauvignon BlancFrance360$45.00 As low as $40.50 -
Domaine Font de Courtedune Cotes du Rhone Village 2022Regional specificity in the key here, upfront, personable and loaded with charm. It's great drinking and just the right speed for day to day consumption. Red and dark fruits aplenty. Wafts of spice and touches of grit from the tannin. Nice push across the palate where the perky acidity keeps that generosity in check. Hints of dried herbs and flowers appear on the nose and touch the palate from time to time. Really, this is such a lovely wine. A little larger in size than last year's rendition but that's a good thing, adds a little more cuddle. ROSCOE
(On the 2019) Light, fresh raspberry aromas, with a touch of cherry. Fresh and precise. Only medium-bodied, this is very drinkable. A light mineral touch brings further freshness to the finish, which is surprisingly long for a Côtes-du-Rhône. Not overly fat or heavy. This is a steal - a delicious Côtes-du-Rhône. MATT WALLS, Decanter
2022GrenacheFrance467$45.00 As low as $40.50 -
Brash Higgins CHN Chenin Blanc 2022More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2022Chenin BlancAustralia436$46.00 As low as $41.40 -
Brash Higgins CHN Chenin Blanc 2021Chenin Blanc from McLaren Vale, fermented wild, matured in wood.
Colour and cloudiness, straw and nuts. This wine is wild with flavour. Citrus, saline, honey and handfuls of nuts. Lots of zip but lots of give/texture/flavour. Food-friendly and sit-and-ponder friendly. Dry and grippy on the finish, an attractive squeakiness there, and no shortage of length. It’s a ripper, really. It’s varietal but we are also in the presence of difference. CAMPBELL MATTINSON, The Wine Front
2021Chenin BlancAustralia436$46.00 As low as $41.40 -
Hobo Wine Camp Folk Machine Clarksburg Chenin Blanc 2022More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2022Chenin BlancUSA362$46.00 As low as $41.40 -
Rocher des Violettes Vin de France Chenin 2023The 2023 Chenin is dry, clean and pure-fruited. Youthful, with a focus on the fresh fruit that's all pear and honeydew melon, it’s light in body but rounded. This is a silky, appealing style that has some nice juicy fruit. It’s attractive from day one. REBECCA GIBB MW, Vinous2023Chenin BlancFrance422$46.00 As low as $41.40 -
Hobo Wine Camp Folk Machine Parts and Labour Red 2022This is the second vintage that Grenache has dominated the P&L blend. The 2022 is a blend of Grenache from Mangels Ranch in Suisun Valley, Cedar Lane in Arroyo Seco, and Waddington Ranch in Mendocino, Carignane from Lolonis, Maria Martinson, and Castañon all in Mendocino, and Syrah from Vecino in Potter Valley. There is a good amount of whole cluster and carbonic maceration through the lots keeping everything fresh and fun. As always, the blend was made immediately after harvest and the wine was aged in a combination of French oak foudres and stainless steel tanks.
Oh yum! This is such a joy to drink. A cracking drop here from the legend that is Kenny likitprakong of Hobo. He was telling us that this was his house wine. The one that he has cases of to rip the corks off when mates come round, the BBQ fires up and a long warm weekend is about a kick off and we can see why. This is hard to put down once it's in your glass.
It's all about the red fruits here with fresh picked red cherry and raspberry all vying for position at the front of the pack. Some pretty violet notes swirl around and as this opens up some savoury whole black peppercorn and foresty bits make themselves heard. Its lithe and fresh bursting onto the palate with that core of red berry fruit. Clean and pure just sizzling with energy. A joy to drink and would happily take a brief chill if you were so inclined.
2022Barbera, Carignan, Grenache, shirazUSA362$46.00 As low as $43.00 -
Domaine Patrice Colin Blanc "Pierre a Feu" 2023More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2023Chenin BlancFrance423$46.00 As low as $41.40 -
Candea Tinto 2020More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2020Blend, GrenacheSpain440$47.00 As low as $42.30 -
Domaine Ogereau Vin de France 'L'Enjouée’ Red Blend 2022More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2019GrenacheSpain472$47.00 As low as $42.30 -
Ministry of Clouds Grenache 2023More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2023Grenache$47.00 As low as $42.30 -
Craven Wines ‘Karibib Vineyard’ 2023More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2023Chenin BlancSouth Africa$48.00 As low as $43.20 -
Duseigneur La Goutte du Seigneur Cotes du Rhone 202250% Grenache, 50% Syrah farmed organically. The name of this cuvee is a nod to the Duseigneur family name that means "Drop of the Lord". Vines of 30 years old with an average yield of around 30hl/ha. 2 weeks of maceration in a concrete tank. No oak aging. Fragrant nose of wild strawberries, red plum, cherries and spices. Fresh and charming style of Cotes du Rhone. Medium bodied and elegant Cotes du Rhone. Beautiful mid palate with fresh black and red berries. A wonderfully thirst quenching and refreshing wine!
2022Grenache, Mourvedre, shirazFrance467$48.00 As low as $43.20 -
Clos du Gravillas Sous les Cailloux des Grillons 2020More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2020Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan, Cinsault, Grenache, Mourvedre, shirazFrance418$48.00 As low as $43.20 -
Casa Rojo Enemigo Mio Garnacha 2021100% Garnacha from a single 4-hectare vineyard at the foot of the Sierra de La Pila, just in front of the winery The age of the vineyard is 5 years old and it is 100% property with north orientation and fresh clay soil.
Crushed raspberry and wild bracken with a hint of charry earthy that provides a counterpoint to the fresh fruit. A lovely combo of sweet and savoury that follows on the palate with a playful back and fourth between the clean red fruits and wild cherry notes. Firm and snappy with a fine cut to the tannins.
2021GrenacheSpain411$49.00 As low as $44.10 -
Rochers des Violettes Touche Mitane 2020More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2020Chenin BlancFrance423$49.00 As low as $44.10 -
Damien Pinon Vouvray Brut NVThird generation vignerons, the Pinons have 25 hectares in Vernou-sur-Brenne. 50% of their production is sparkling and 50% still wine with nothing sold off to the négoce.
We have long loved the wines of Damien Pinon and when we first tried this little number we were pretty stoked. Great sparkling Loire is such a treat. It captures all that zingy, racy, pure goodness of chenin blanc while bringing the added dimension of bubbles into the equation. They seem like a perfect partnership and we absolutely love this wine.
Quince and granny smith, talcum powder, quartyz spice and a gently honeysuckle, floral element that floats deliciously around in the background. Its pure and precise but fills out across the palate with each sip. Sometimes, Loire Sparkling is a little too lean but this deliver plenty of fruit at the same time to balance of the fine, minerally acidity.
NVChenin BlancFrance422$49.00 As low as $44.10 -
Chateau du Rouet Cuvee Reserve Cotes de Provence Rose 2022A lovely lift of red cherries, pomegranate and white nectarines leads into a fleshy and textured core. Subtle herbal tones of fennel and dried thyme and wild strawberries join in the chorus too. There's presence and intensity thanks to the riper 2022 vintage, balanced by a spine of chalky acidity. Pleasing phenolics on the finish add a tantalising chew, like biting through peach skins. A hint of white pepper to finish adds a twist (reminds me of adding pepper to strawberries, shouldn't work but it does!). Keep this delightful thirst slaker on hand this summer. GABRIELLE POY, PWS
2022Carignan, Grenache, MourvedreFrance460$49.00 As low as $44.10 -
Les Fruits Tullah 2021More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2021GrenacheAustralia340$49.00 As low as $44.10 -
Tribouley l'Alba Carignan Syrah Grenache 2019More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2019Carignan, Grenache, shirazFrance418$49.00 As low as $44.10 -
Microcosmico Garnacha 2021More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2021GrenacheSpain$49.00 As low as $44.10 -
Jean Louis Tribouley l'Alba Tribouley 2020Carignan, Grenache and Syrah. Organic viticulture, hand harvest. Blend of different plots on gneiss soils with 8-11 months of elevage. No fining, filtration or additions.
2020Carignan, Grenache, shirazFrance418$51.00 As low as $45.90 -
Casa Castillo La Tendida Monastrell 2021The 2021 La Tendida is the second vintage of this wine from young vines planted between 2006 and 2010 in an area where they are going to keep growing as they transition from the valley to more limestone-rich soils in other parts of the property. It was produced with 75% Monastrell and 25% Garnacha and matured in oak foudre. It has an elegant rusticity compared with Las Gravas or Pie Franco bottlings, with a combination of herbs, flowers, earth and tree bark, with very fine tannins and a chalky finish. It has ripeness, power, elegance and balance. 40,000 bottles were produced. It was bottled in February/March 2023. LUIS GUTIERREZ, The Wine Advocate2020Grenache, monastrellSpain411$51.00 As low as $45.90 -
Bondar Rayner Vineyard Shiraz 2022More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2023GrenacheAustralia436$51.00 As low as $45.90 -
Rochers des Violettes Touche Mitaine 2021The Touche Mitaine parcel features Chenin Blanc vines aged 35 years, planted on clay and flint soils. It was vinified in used oak barrels of 228 litres, with an élevage lasting twelve months. Aromatically this is rich in powdered chalk, with layers of white peach and a fragrant, lifted, minty freshness. The palate matches this style, in a gently composed structure, polished and fresh, with the same minty, white peach substance. It is framed by firm acidity, which I find typifies the vintage. The alcohol is 12.8% CHRIS KISSACK
Pure and alluring, with apple and citrus cloaked in spices and salty brine. Remains racy through the smoky, vivid finish, thanks to mouthwatering acidity. Drink now through 2028. WINE SPECTATOR
2021Chenin BlancFrance423$52.00 As low as $46.80 -
Rocher des Violettes Touche Mitaine Sec Montlouis 2022The 2022 Montlouis-sur-Loire Touche-Mitaine is an aromatically restrained style that focuses more on the lemon, mineral side of Chenin Blanc, displaying notes of autolysis from a year on lees and creaminess through the mid-palate. It’s rather nicely made—hands-off and with delicate juice. The 2022 spent a year maturing in very old 228-liter barrels, allowing the purity of fruit to shine and shaping its edges. REBECCA GIBB MW, Vinous2022Chenin BlancFrance422$53.00 As low as $47.70
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Koerner Cot 2020More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2020GrenacheAustralia377$53.00 As low as $47.70 -
Rocher des Violettes Touche Mitaine Sec Montlouis 2020Beautifully expressive Chenin Blanc, fusing both crystalline acidity with flecks of richness; white flowers, ripe lemons and subtle honeyed notes. Energy in glass and complexity that continually morphs as you go back for another sip; Underrated gem! JOHN BARR, BEAUNE & BEYOND
100% Chenin blanc, hand-picked in successive tries from 4ha of vines averaging 35 years old and planted at 6500 vines/ha.
2020Chenin BlancFrance422$55.00 As low as $49.50 -
Mount Mary Marli Russell RP2 2021Grenache (60%) Shiraz (25%), Mataro (10%) and Cinsault (5%). It’s in keeping with my little Grenache theme this week, except it’s from the Yarra Valley!
It’s complex and a wine of many layers. Raspberry and blackberry, plenty of perfume and spice, hazelnut, something in the way of dried herbs and earth. Medium-bodied, no shortage of red and black fruit, rose oil, but also something a little more meaty and savoury in the mix, with fresh acidity, kind of like pomegranate, fine emery board tannin grip, and a fine ‘minerally’ finish of excellent length. Outstanding in 2021. (95) GARY WALSH, The Wine Front
60/25/10/5% grenache/shiraz/mourvèdre/cinsault. The grenache spends 16 months in 1600L seasoned foudre, the rest matured in barriques (15% new for the shiraz). A wine that shows both the potential of these varieties and this blend at Mount Mary. Perfumed and spicy with red and black fruits and a little Mediterranean garrigue. Brightly fruited and with tannins that are juicy and balanced, this medium-bodied wine is already a treat to drink. PHILIP RICH, Halliday Wine Companion2021Cinsault, Grenache, Mourvedre, shirazAustralia506$55.00 As low as $49.50 -
Rimauresq Cru Classe Rose 2022This is a serious rose with delicate floral, strawberry fruit characters and a fresh dry finish. Rimauresq takes its name from the "Real Mauresque" which is the river which flows through the vineyards. Its exceptional 'terroir', recognised through its Cru Classé status, results in wines of elegance, complexity and purity. It is blend of 43% Grenache, 24% Cinsault, 10% Mourvedre. PWS2018GrenacheFrance460$56.00 As low as $50.40 -
Jean-Francois Malsert 'Alliance' Vin de France 2019More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2019Gamay, Grenache, shirazFrance467$58.00 As low as $52.20 -
Le Roc Des Anges Segna de Cor 2021Segna de Cor is almost exactly Roc des Anges spelled backwards. Its 40% Grenache Noir, 30% Carignan, 30% Syrah from vines 30 to 40 years old on average and a blend of about 20 small parcels on schists. Organic, mostly destemmed and fermented with ambient yeast in closed concrete tanks for 7 days, then pressed and racked back to tank to finish fermentation. No temperature control. No punching down or pump overs. Aged in tank for approximately 10 months. No fining, light filtration. Total sulfur at bottling 30 to 50ppm. Held for several months in bottle before release.2021Carignan, Grenache, shirazFrance418$58.00 As low as $52.20 -
Rocher des Violettes Petillant Originel Montlouis 2019A mid-gold hue, with abundant pastry notes, honeysuckle, orange balm and oatmeal accents, pointing toward a fuller-weighted, very ripe and ambitious Mountlouis fizz. A warm year. This is a commune that has strutted past Vouvray on the opposite side of the Loire, and is today responsible for a good swag of the most exciting white-wine producers in the region, if not the world. The wine finishes textural and bright, marked by chenin's lanolin, tarte tatin and dried hay, before a plume of dutiful freshness. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold. NED GOODWINE MW, James Suckling
100% sparkling chenin blanc made in the Pétillant Naturel style from a single parcel in the lieu-dit “Le Moulin”
Preserved lemon and citrus pith with chalky notes sprinkled throughout and a delicate lift and soft fruit profile. Dry and chalky with a savoury edge. Pure with a seam of mineral that runs the length. Only 5 producers making this wine in Montlouis - very cool. MYLES THOMSON, PWS
2020Chenin BlancFrance422$59.00 As low as $53.10 -
Arrayan Rosado 2021More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2021GrenacheSpain469$59.00 As low as $53.10 -
Pierre Bise Savennieres Clos de Coulaine 2018
More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2018Chenin BlancFrance422$59.00 As low as $53.10 -
Terroir Sense Fronteres Brisat 2022Brisat is a blend of 75% Garnacha Blanca and 25% Macabeu from 15- to 35-year-old vines around Capçanes, grown at between 300 and 350 metres on sandy clay soils locally known as panal. The fruit is harvested earlier than typical for the area—when flavours are ripe and acidity is still vibrant.
Brisat in Catalan refers to wine fermented on skins. Half the grapes were direct-pressed, and the other half macerated in their juice for five to seven days. If you tasted earlier releases of Brisat, we should note that these days Huber and Peceric are searching for more finesse and expression of place in this wine, and thus have toned back the ‘skinsyness’. The must fermented with indigenous yeasts before the wine rested on lees for six months in tank. It was bottled unfiltered.
2022Grenache, MacabeoSpain439$61.00 As low as $54.90 -
Terroir Sense Fronteres Negre 2022Prizing finesse over concentration, Serbian-born vigneron Tatjana Peceric has a beautiful touch with Montsant’s high-grown Garnacha and Cariñena. Except for the skin-contact white Brisat, the wines are fermented as whole bunches in concrete, amphorae and stainless steel (no oak is used), and extraction is as gentle as possible. In the cellar, Peceric works with the infusion model—a buzzy term for sure, yet we should not forget that this kind of no-bells-and-whistles winemaking is scarce in this corner of Europe. In short, the grapes are gently crushed by foot and taken off their skins at between eight and 12 days to continue fermentation. “We don’t need to extract tannin,” says Peceric.
Another key to the style and quality here is that regulations allow for harvesting early for lower alcohol; minimum levels here are 12.5% for reds and 11.5% for whites (compared to 13.5% for reds and 13% for whites in the DOQ Priorat). This year’s Negre is a pure Garnacha, from mature vines sited around Capçanes. The 25-year-old (on average) bush vines sit at 350 metres on the mixed sandy clay soils (known locally as panal) with varied exposures.
2022Carignan, GrenacheSpain439$61.00 As low as $54.90 -
Huet Vouvray Le Haut Lieu Sec 2022 375mlDomaine Huet reigns supreme in Vouvray. They make some of the world's most pure dry wines and piquant sweet styles from the racy and multifaceted Chenin Blanc. But you'll need patience, these powerhouses need around a decade to start revealing their inherent complexities.
Le Haut Lieu is the original vineyard, purchased by founder Gaston Huet in 1928. It's based on heavy clay and chalk in the topsoil means these wines tend to be the most approachable in youth, though they age beautifully.
The 2022 Le Haut-Lieu Sec is a lithe, reductive style with floral character and talcum powder. Full of phenolic, lip-smacking texture woven through its core, lending a sense of satisfying grunt to this dry yet balanced style. Clarity, precision and harmony are keywords in this wine's execution. A little more fleeting on the finish than ideal. (5.5g/L) REBECCA GIBB MW, Vinous
2022Chenin BlancFrance422$61.00 As low as $54.90 -
Valfaccenda Arneis 2021Luca and Carolina are two of the best people we’ve met in the world of wine. We’ve known one another for many years and long admired the wines so we decided it was time to navigate our friendship and import the wines. Luca Faccenda grew up in the hills of Roero, northwest of Alba, where his family made wines in Valle Faccenda, a small valley between Canale and Cisterna. The vineyards in Roero are primarily on sandy soils, the hills very steep and difficult to work, and the wines more perfumed and pretty compared to those of the Langhe with a distinct saltiness on the palate.
This comes from Loreto and Mompellini with an average vine age of 15 years and the vineyard parcels are divided into ‘rich’ and ‘poor’ soils, harvested separately. The rich soils bring acidity and and sharpness to the wine, whilst the poor soils more structure and warmth. The poorer soils produce smaller berries with ripe tannins and these parcels are fermented and aged in old wood, with about 10-15 days on skins. The wine goes through malo and is blended and bottled in the waning moon of late Spring following the harvest and then aged in bottle for a minimum of three months.
Luca makes the point that his Arneis is grown only on the steep hillsides (where mostly Nebbiolo is grown) and it’s the first variety to flower and the last to ripen. He is looking complexity rather than a simple aperitivo wine. The nose is rich with peach and pear fruit and touch of white pepper. The mid palate fills out with depth and some tannin, finishing crisp and salty.2021ArneisItaly499$62.00 As low as $55.80 -
John Duval Annexus Grenache 2022From Stonegarden vineyard, planted in 1858. 300 cases made. Raspberry, red cherry, mint nougat, floral too, with something a little more stony in play. It’s medium-bodied, almond and red fruit, fine pumice stone tannin, mint and sage, succulent but controlled, with a slightly warm raspberried finish of excellent length. Very good. MIKE BENNIE2021GrenacheAustralia349$63.00 As low as $56.70 -
Idlewild The Bee Flora and Fauna White Wine 2017Proprietor Sam Bilbro has spent virtually a lifetime around wine. His family owns Marietta, while brothers Jake and Scot are behind the reborn Limerick Lane. At Idlewild, Sam Bilbro focuses on Italian and other less well-known varieties. In addition to these wines, I also tasted the, Arneis Fox Hill Vineyard, Vin Gris Dry Creek Valley and Grenache Gris Gibson Ranch. The best wines in this range are compelling, and point to a bright future. ANTONIO GALLONI, www.vinousmedia.com
Having had a relationship with the Bilbro family as importers of the Marietta wines some years ago we were delighted to find youngest son, Sam, was behind this new venture, Idlewild. In many ways the wines are the anitpathy of what so many believe Californian wines are supposed to be. Hunting out heritage stands of Italian and Rhone varietals (mostly in Mendocino County) Bilbro makes extremely interesting wines characterised by texture, savouriness and subtlety. Skin contact is a part of the wines as is a relatively non-interventionist approach; both indicative of the preferences of the younger brigade of Calfornia producers. PWS
The 2017 White The Bee Flora & Fauna, is a classy, polished wine to drink now and over the next few years. Green pear, mint, white flowers and light tropical overtones all grace this very pretty, expressive wine. The Muscat in particular adds an attractive aromatic flair. ANTONIO GALLONI2017Arneis, Cortese, MuscatUSA362$63.00 As low as $56.70