Calvados, cider, Bitters, Spar...

Known more as a cutting-edge cider maker, Eric Bordelet was a top sommelier at Arpege in Paris, before returning home to Normandy in 1992 to take over the family business. He biodynamically grows more than 20 apple varieties and 15 pear varieties. JASON WILSON, Vinous

Eric Bordelet approaches Cider-making with the same intensity as a passionate oenologist brings to winemaking. Bordelet worked as sommelier in the leading 3 star Parisian restaurant, ‘Arpege’ where he became deeply familiar with the top winemakers and wineries of France. In 1992 he took over the tiny patch of family farmed orchards in Charchigné, in the heart of Normandy’s premium Cider producing area. Since then he has set about rescuing the ancient ‘heirloom’ varieties of pears and apples that produce tiny quantities and amazing flavour.

Produced from pear trees estimated to be about 300 years old. Poiré Granit has 25-80 grams of sugar per liter, yet it doesn't taste particularly sweet.  This is due to the tannin and acidity, which Bordelet says is twice as high as the apple! Stunning as aperitif or with cheese or desserts. With just 4% alc/vol this can be enjoyed any time. Cider simply doesn't get better than this !!

...Vibrant, lively, lemon and ginger with green apple characters. Has this slightly wild sourness in the mix, lots of sea spray and salty minerality, a very refreshing zesty expression with a compelling edginess that sits outside traditional sparkling wine styles. I really like this. MIKE BENNIE, The Wine Front

Méthode traditionnelle, 72/28% pinot noir/chardonnay. Fourth release, with a low dosage (7g/L), disgorged in June, 2021. Complex floral and citrus aromas introduce this charmer with pastry and yeasty notes in support. With input from reserve wines – 2017 and ' 18 reserve chardonnay and pinot noir, aged in old barrels – the palate delves into mandarin, cumquat, nougat and toast, in harmony with a surge in tangy acidity. Great balance and length on display. JENI PORT, James Halliday

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

A blend of 88/8/4% pinot noir/chardonnay/pinot meunier. A couple of years on lees for added complexity. An unusual brightness, almost zingy, saline and briny, with a lift of white balsamic friskiness and strong red cherry and rosehip tea characters. Good stuff, from the get-go. It's fragrant and pretty, a good deal of energy on the palate with a tartness and pleasing bitterness despite the ascendence of red fruits and sweet spice. There's a relative simplicity at play but it works in the wine's favour, precise, fine-boned, and very refreshing. A little left of centre in a way, so pure and fresh, and yet so delightful. A winner. MIKE BENNIE, Halliday Wine Companion

The 2016 Blanc de Blanc like all of our sparklings is crafted méthode traditionnelle, with 7 years on lees and over 12 months under cork pre-release which promotes complexity. A generous palate with rich tertiary elements making this wine's length long and delicatable.

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

A deeply coloured wine that exhibits a dazzling array of wildly exotic fruits and herbs as well as the usual stone fruit that I expect from the style. Gloriously perfumed and so enticing. You could wear this as a perfume. People would think you are nuts, but you would smell amazing! Big, super concentrated, it hits your mouth with intent, absolutely engulfing the palate with the same heady array of character that is suggested on the nose. So much weight and richness but there is the sweep of uplifting acidity that washes away any lingering sweetness and leaves your palate feeling refreshed and enlivened. Long and stimulating across its length with a final flourish of citrus like acidity and fine saline edge. This is a wonderful bottle of wine that had me coming back to it over 24 hours or more. I love it. ROSCOE

Wow, is it salty or is it sweet? The 2017 Recioto di Soave Le Colombare lifts up with dusty yellow flowers, dried tangerine and orange zests complemented by crushed almonds and hints of confectioners' sugar. It's silky-smooth yet not weighty in feel, with zesty citrus and tropical fruits motivated by brilliant acidity. The balance here is unreal, as the 2017 hides its 120 grams of residual sugar very well, maybe too well, making it easy to like but also dangerously easy to drink. A bitter twang of citrus rinds and hints of ginger spice linger. ANTONIO GALLONI

Sublime. A rapier-like thread of acidity compresses quince, tangerine, tamarind, truffle, cardamon and glazed stone fruits into a ball of such tension and freshness that the finish is not only endless, but uncannily dry. Recioto as good as this is among the very finest sweet wines on earth. Drinkable now, but best from 2028. JAMES SUCKLING

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!

Aged in small apple brandy casks for over 12 months, this rich and generous liqueur is a result of blending pressed French and British heirloom apple varieties with our apple spirit.

Complex and well-structured with baked apple and spice, balanced with firm tannins and cask influence.

Our take on the traditional aperitif from North-West France – enjoy as such or serve with blue cheese or dessert. WILLIE SMITH

(Previous Disgorgement)

Straw yellow. Breadcrumb, walnut and yellow fruit on the nose. Really fresh palate with cracking lemony acidity and fine bubble. Just a tiny bit bitter but adds contrast and tension. WALTER SPELLING, Jancis Robinson

In the words of Sergio and Lorenzo, their Aromatico Bitter is a "collision… made by mixing cold with heat, bitter with sweet, bright red with the brown tones of the earth". With a partially different mix than for the Chinato, here we have a neutral alcohol, sugar, distilled water and a natural infusion of aromatic herbs, which include gentian, cinchona, liquorice, wild cherry and cardo gobbo. Initially packed with bitter herbs, this cocktail of medicinal goodies moves into a typical bittersweet taste, with marked notes of fresh fruit and spices. 25% alc.

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!

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!

Mid gold, with a gentle bead. Depth of brioche and cream, with some toastiness. Crisp and dry, with a fine mousse, flint, lean yellow peach and a good lengthy, leesy finish. Rather fine. TIM JACKSON MW, Jancis Robinson

Ca’ del Bosco’s NV Franciacorta Cuvee Prestige Brut offers up an attractive core of honeyed fruit intermingled with floral and spice notes in a finely sculpted, nuanced style. The wine reveals lovely length on the palate and excellent balance at this level. The Cuvee Prestige is the house’s new entry-level bottling. ANTONIO GALLONI

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!

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!

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!

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!

A fragrant rosé where the delicate freshness of Chardonnay is completed with the fruity richness of Pinot Noir and the suave roundness of Pinot Blanc. The softly pressed grapes develop a harmonious accord in the more than 24 months of maturation on the lees. Notes of freshly picked currants and cherries, crisp apricots and strawberries, peony petals and blood orange, with a delicate nuance of fresh almond and cotton candy. The sip is lively and sunny, dynamic in the juicy freshness of pomegranate and red apple, with a subtle and vital flavour.

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

Poli are best known for there fine range of premium Grappa, liquers and distillates from North east Italy. Established in 1898 this quality producer has over a 100 years' experience with distilling. Recently they have produced a unique Gin - MARCONI 46. Artisanaly distilled and obtained from a unique infusion of juniper berries, muscat grape, mountain pine, cembra pine, mint, cardamom and coriander reminding of the Asiago plateau in the north of the Veneto region, where the Poli family comes from. This is a heady and perfumed gin that is at once powerful and refined. A truly unique product that speaks of its home in the hills and of the philosophy of this family run operation.

In addition to this month's Italian Mixed dozen we thought we would like to offer a Negroni pack featuring this incredible product. We have matched it with our very own Vermouths and Bitters from its western counterpart Turin Vermouth. Their philosophy is to maintain tradition through the production while sourcing aromats and herbs from all over the world and based on the local wines of the Piemonte's hills. Together this forms once of the world great classic cocktail- the Negroni.

This classic was first created for Count Camillo Negroni in 1919 at Florence's Café Casoni.  A century later and millions of Negroinis, and this has sealed itself as one of the world's greatest classics. Below is the deceptively simple and delicious cocktail. We have included 2 bottles each of the Turin Bitters and the Drapo Rosso Vermouth so once you have gone through your first bottle of Marconi 46 all you have to do is grab another bottle or choose any one of your favourite local or international gins.

Ingredients

1 oz. Italian Bitters
1 oz. Gin
1 oz. Sweet vermouth

Instructions

Stir Tuve Bitters, gin, and vermouth in an ice-filled tumbler; garnish with orange slice.

A new wine from Pieropan, this blend of five vintages – 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 – celebrates the five years it took to build the estate's new winery. Aged on the lees in cement... It's bursting with ash, stone, melon, peach, papaya and pineapple aromas. Intense and chiselled, there’s a prominent mineral character here, joined by juicy exotic fruits and aromatic floral notes. A big wash of fresh, saline acidity runs through the core, taking it to a very long, elegant, lifted conclusion. JAMES BUTTON, Decanter

There are only a select few, perfect locations, to grow great wine on this big blue orb of ours and those are between 30 and 50 degrees north and south latitudes. Those regions need to provide just the right temperature, humidity, heat and climate to grow high quality grapes. We are absolutely spoilt for choice when it comes to the northern reaches with the whole of Europe at our disposal, but travel further south and things are a little different.

While New Zealand and Tasmania provide us with plenty of choices (and we would be remiss not to include them) the southern reaches sitting on and just below the 40 degrees latitude offer a up a wholy unique drinking experience.

While grapes like riesling, cabernet and pinot noir are familiar to us, a number of the wines in this months pack aren't seen so regularly on your local wines list or on the shelves of your corner wine store. From Malbec's in Argentina to the infamous Pinotage and the more classic varietals like Chenin in South Africa this is an exploration of all that is good in these great southern lands of ours.

Where do we start with such an awesome selection of interesting wine? It's hard to decide we might just do a quick run down by country.

South America is relatively new to the wine scene but has come along in leap and bounds. WE start with a couple of classics with the Finca Los Moras Malbec and the Santa Ana Cabernet. These are text book varietal wines with plenty to love in their up-front fruit and modern styling. For something a little different we through in the Bouchon pais. For those who do not know, Pais is an old variety that is Chile's answer to pinot noir. With a little more bite and a wild flourish this a great introduction to this fascinating wine.

Closer to home in New Zealand we have few classic drops with the Palliser Estate Pencarrow pinot. A wine you would be hard pressed to find with the structure, concentration and complexity at the same price. Off to Hawkes Bay for some stonking Chardonnay from Bilancia fame and some of the world most underrated syrah from stars Te Mata. What a treat!

Just in our backyard, Tassie continues to pump out some of the best wine in the country and while we would never miss out on showcasing another great pinot there is some real winners with pinot gris and riesling on the rise. The Moores Hill gris is a freat example of textural and vibrant gris from the Apple Isle with the Riversdale riesling hot on its tale.

And for something a little different we have got the latest release Willie Smiths Cider. This is an absolute belter, and we couldn't help but included it once we were told it had been released. Perfect timing! We will take that one!

Last, and something we don't see much in Aus is a cracking selection of wines from South Africa. Long-term customers may recognise some of these wines and as far as we are concerned, they are some of the best modern day Cape wines to make it over. The Bare Bones cinsault is a zippy red full of energy while the Winery of Good Hope pinotage is a juicy and fun take on this classic red variety,

And what would a selection of wine from South Africa be without a chenin blanc. The Secateurs is clean and crunchy with a plush fruit profile that is cleaned up by chenin's zippy acidity.
All in al a pretty awesome and exciting collection of stellar wines from the great south!

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!

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!