Calvados, cider, tempranillo, ...

Damijan Podversic represents the essence of the artisan spirit of Friuli, where quality-driven, manual labor in the vineyards and a minimalist approach in the cellar aren't choices, but rather a way of life. The whites see a period of contact on the skins and are aged in large, neutral casks such as those one might see in traditionally oriented cellars in Piedmont or Montalcino. Readers should be prepared to give these wines at least several hours of air. ANTONIO GALLONI, Vinous

Entices with a pretty air of white flowers, chalk dust, and freshly sliced nectarines. This sweeps across the palate with sleek textures and mineral-intense orchard fruit, taking on an almost crunchy sensation as a lemon-rind tartness setlltes in. …a refined interpretation of Damijan’s Ribolla that I could sit with for hours watching it slowly unwind. ERIC GUIDO, Vinous

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!

The more classical 2018 Reserva showed a textbook nose of cigar ash, pencil lead, tobacco and forest floor, tertiary and developed, with a polished palate. It's elegant, has typicity and is balanced and fresh, really impressive and clean. It matured in American and French oak barrels for 22 months and has been in bottle since August 2020, getting closer to the profile of a Gran Reserva. Impressive. 8,620 bottles produced. This is the first vintage of Miguel Merino Junior for this wine. Bravo! (94) LUIS GUTIERREZ, The Wine Advocate

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!

El Escolladero is a cuvée of Tempranillo and 15% Graciano from vines at 640 metres in cool climate Ábalos. Aged in larger foudres to soften its tannic structure, it has density and grip, damson, cranberry and black cherry fruit, muscular tannins, a hint of good reduction and plenty of texture and concentration.  (96) TIM ATKIN MW, Rioja Report 2025

The 2022 El Escolladero is 85% Tempranillo and 15% Graciano sourced from El Meadero in Ábalos, Rioja Alta. Aged for up to 12 months in foudres, this purple wine presents aromas of balsamic with an elder and sour cherry core, framed by an oaky touch. Dry, juicy and compact on the palate, this vibrant, fine-grained, chalky-textured wine lingers long with a whiff of pure, primary fruit—a modern Rioja wine. JOAQUIN HIDALGO, Vinous.com

 

 

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!

The wine that stole the show this time is the 2020 Bahierra. It's from a single vineyard that they have worked organically for the past four years (but not certified) with some very old Garnacha and Viura on five terraces and some 35-year-old Tempranillo. It had a 15-month élevage in used 225- and 500-liter barrels and expresses the freshness of the place in Sajazarra. This vintage feels different, with red cherries and a touch of orange peel, more elegant and more Pinot Noir if you allow me. This is really a clarete with 60% red grapes and 40% white, fermented and aged like a red. The palate is vibrant and effervescent with acidity and acid berry flavors, ultra fine tannins and a long, supple and dry finish. Superb! Unfortunately, they had hail and had to sort to produce only 316 bottles. It was bottled in January 2022. It should age well. LUIS GUTIERREZ, The Wine Advocate

Located in the tiny pueblo of Villaseca, on the municipal footprint of Fonzaleche, Baherra is just north of Sajazarra, and features cold stony limey soil. It's a tiny 0.45 hectare field blend vineyard, planted 100 years ago to roughly 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha and 10% Viura and other unknown cultivars. Total yield is 1-1.5 tonnes (harvested in October).

Simply, the taste of a place. Tree and vine, wood and leaves, sky and earth. Brilliant, bright, savoury, lactic-electric fruit, centred and radiating. Floral, detailed, deep, fresh. Wonderful.

It has something special about it," says Arturo de Miguel of this remarkable 0.75- hectare parcel planted in 1920 and brought back from near abandonment in 2013. Rightly recognised as one of the world's great wines, this is a field blend of Tempranillo, 9% Graciano, 6% Garnacha and 5% Palomino. Floral, refined but concentrated at the same time, it has some subtle reduction, succulent tannins, sweet bramble, plum and wild strawberry fruit, a hint of garrigue and a long, satisfying finish (97) TIM ATKIN MW, Rioja Report 2025

The 2022 La Condenada is 80% Tempranillo and 20% Graciano, Garnacha and Palomino sourced from sandy loams in Baños de Ebro, Rioja Alavesa. Aged for up to 12 months in foudres, this garnet red wine offers a liqueur-like aroma of sour cherry and plum. Dry, lean and bold on the palate, the fine-grained tannins and juicy flow lead to a compact and flavorful experience. This wine embodies the essence of a primary, new-wave Rioja. JOAQUIN HIDALGO, Vinous.com

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!

Tasting his 2015 Ribolla I think I understood a lot about his human journey as well. Because if there is one wine that he will consider perfect, this is it. To call it orange wine is to do it an injustice. Of course, it is a macerated white, for seven months in buried amphora. Sure, it matures seven years in large oak barrels. But it is above all a total wine, where everything is in its right place. The oxidative component that does not define it completely, but is only one component, as in great red wines. Infusion scents, as if it were an alcoholic tea. The flavor where saline elements and alcoholic warmth continuously dialogue. A total wine, in short, and as far as I am concerned something extraordinary. (99) DANIELE CERNILLI, doctorwine.com

The 2015 Ribolla Gialla Anfora is sweetly alluring, with a complex and heady blend of orange blossoms, raw honey, mint leaf, earl grey, dried apricots and peaches. It smooths over the palate with oily textures, lifted by a core of nervous acidity. Tart orchard fruits swirl throughout and are complicated by a mouthwatering twist of tangerine. The 2015 lingers impossibly long, spicy and wickedly fresh, mixing candied ginger with lemon sorbet, hints of butterscotch and exotic inner florals. The 2015 is a rich wine of contrasts and tension. ERIC GUIDO, vinous.com

Gorgeous aromas of persimmons and spices as nutmeg, cinnamon, orange peel, and hints of caramel. Honey and apricot. Full-bodied, dry and layered with dried fruits such as apricots and pears. Botrytis spice. Fine silky phenolic texture and a flavorful finish. Layered and fascinating. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees centigrade. Drink or hold. JAMES SUCKLING, jamesuckling.com

Gravner’s legendary wine – the most sought-after skin-contact wine of Italy – is released seven years after the vintage. It's the result of the scrupulous, unconventional work of Josko, from the vineyard to the cellar, that makes the 2015 vintage a deep, golden wine with amber hue. Its intriguing nose is rich in aromatic components like dried apricot, orange peel and resin notes. Mouthfilling with great texture and delicate tannins, it shows lovely acidity with a sapid, mineral finish. DECANTER

Deep orange with amber-coloured reflections. Seductive, initially slightly reductive, oxidative, sweet bouquet of dried orange, peach and sweet spices. On the palate, it has an impressively silky texture with lush fruit, honey notes, hints of baked apple and vanilla. It is firm, stable and could be mistaken for a red wine when tasted blind. Be sure to temper it to 14-16°C, decant and keep a little for the next day! LUCA GIARDINI, superiore.com

Pale orange (less than half the usual sulphites added). Smells of the sort of orange-cream centre in a box of chocolates. Not aggressively chewy. Tangy, salty and dry with a hint of caramel. Went well with sea-bass carpaccio with blood orange and hazelnuts. JANCIS ROBINSON MW

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!