Calvados, Red, Ribolla Gialla,...

100% Baga – Chalky clay mid-slopes with eastern orientation to the sun and a very intense Atlantic influence (only 15 km from the ocean). For this wine the grapes come from different small plots of Pato’s oldest vineyards (80 –130 years). These 3 centenary vineyards were purchased already some years ago and are fully converted to biodynamics.

The bunches are handpicked and hand-selected from the centenary vineyards in Bairrada (3 to 4 bunches/vine). Partly de-stemmed, fermented in open oak lagares with some extraction (pigeage). After the fermentation the wine is aged in 500 –600 used pipes and tonel (big cask) for 18 months. Prior to release, the wine further aged in bottle for 2 months.

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 compelling bouquet of dusty dried violets, fresh coffee grounds, cocoa powder and dried black cherries makes the 2019 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Sant'Urbano impossible to ignore. This is wonderfully lifted and graceful in style, dense yet energetic with silken textures and polished red berry fruits that slowly saturate the palate. The 2019 youthfully folds in upon itself, leaving a bitter tinge of spice, dark chocolate and fine-grained tannins. The balance here is something to behold. The 2019 is full of potential—bury it deep. ANTONIO GALLONI,Vinous

The Speri’s presence in this winemaking heartland goes back to 1874, though the original homestead and cellars are even older - 1580. From generation to generation for well over a century, the Speri family have handed down a heritage of pride in their land and passion for its fruits. The family operation now comprises of Carlo (pr/admin), vineyardists Eliseo, Marco and Giampietro, winemakers Paolo and Alberto, marketing manager Giampaolo, and the fifth generation Luca and Chiara Speri.

The family now have 60 hectares of autochtonous vines in the finest Classico districts, divided into three distinct crus; La Roverina, Sant’Urbano and La Roggia. In these hills the vines enjoy a mild climate that you would not expect at this northerly latitude and are planted at a much higher density than the appellation’s average using organic farming methods.

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!

Precise nose with layers and layers of red berries, strawberries, blueberries, hibiscus, and minerals. Hint of moss, stems and white pepper, too. Beautifully knit and nimble with a precise, medium-bodied palate rounded by firm yet very silky, polished tannins. A refined, juicy finish with fine herbs that makes you crave a second glass. Really long. Drink or hold. (95) 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!

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!

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!

Black raspberry fruits and a potpourri of dried country herbs lavender, mint, thyme and sinsimella. Marked by the leather and spice of SamsÌ_, but entirely without heaviness, it has a lovely fresh and easy release. Spicey, chewy, nice sweet pippy-purple fruits of a fine, open developed balsamic herbal expression and a deep sense of the earth.

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

The 2016 Valpolicella Superiore is intense, with a captivating bouquet that blends cedar shavings, savory herbs and balsamic spices with rum-soaked cherries, sweet lavender and dark chocolate. This sweeps across the palate with silken textures, delivering masses of tart red and black fruits along with hints of espresso bean. Crunchy mineral tones and zesty acidity add dramatic lift. The 2016 tapers off long and staining, sporting a pleasantly bitter tinge of cocoa as grippy tannins resonate. The 2016 is a well-muscled dancer yet still youthfully coiled. (95) ERIC GUIDO

Dense garnet color, full of polished aromas of balsamic, cedar wood, earthy minerality, licorice, leather, restrained bramble fruit and coffee grounds. Dry, full-bodied and velvety on the palate, with lifted acidity and an austere finish. Long, slightly chocolatey aftertaste. (96) JAMES SUCKLING

The new release for 2024, 2016 is a much anticipated vintage from Dal Forno given that the 2017 was released first. But it has needed the extra time in bottle: export manager Marco Pinna explained that production volumes in 2016 were compromised by hailstorms in 2015. This had the result of naturally reducing yields and lending even more concentration than usual to the wine. Darker and richer in aroma compared to the 2017 Valpolicella, it clings on to a nutty, reductive character, with wisps of mint and fenugreek. In the mouth it's fleshy and powerful; less vertical than the 2017. There's a slightly meaty touch to the ripe, concentrated red and black berries, lifted by floral notes of iris and violets as well as crushed rock and exotic spices. Voluptuous black cherry emerges towards the end, but this still feels quite tight and closed; the best is yet to come. (97) DECANTER

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 2016 Amarone della Valpolicella is a sleeping giant, darkly alluring with dried violets, dusty black currants, shaved cedar and lifting hints of mint. This is sleek and cool-toned in feel-lifted yet intense and savory to the core, with masses of mineral-tinged dark red fruits and balsamic tones carried across a core of zesty acidity. The 2016 finishes tannic and long, clamping down hard on the palate and leaving a bitter primary concentration that lingers on and on. This is just a baby today and in need of serious cellaring, yet the potential is off the charts. Marco Dal Forno explains that he considered selling the 2018 before the 2016 to allow it to come fully into focus, which he already did with the 2017. (98) ERIC GUIDO

Inky in the glass with almost no rim. Aromas of cloves, coconut, graphite, dark lush bramble fruit, plums and cherries. Full-bodied with great concentration of fruit and a super-dense and velvety palate. Extremely rich, but balanced by crisp acidity and thick yet dynamic and chewy tannins. Amazing finish of salted chocolate. A superpower Amarone with grace. Try from 2026. Will age for decades. (98) JAMES SUCKLING

Released after the 2017 vintage, because it was decided that this dense, concentrated vintage would benefit from more time in the bottle, the 2016 is fuller and broader in the shoulders compared to the 2017 Amarone. There's more of everything - body, concentration, tannic presence, richness, spiciness...And while there's a reductive note of petrichor, its aromatics still soar, carrying wafts of wild black fruits and balsam out of the glass. Enticing already, its future looks very bright indeed. (98) DECANTER

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!