Calvados, Rhone Blend, Nebbiol...
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Roger Sabon Lirac 2021Under the helm of Didier Negron, Domaine Roger Sabon plays in the top handful of producers in the Southern Rhône. The estate covers roughly 17 hectares and 15+ parcels, spread throughout the appellation, from which they produce four Châteauneuf du Pape cuvées. The 2021s show the fresher, more approachable and elegant style of the vintage, and the upper tier releases rank with the top handful of wines. JEB DUNNUCK
An impressive Lirac boasts 70% Grenache, the balance is equal parts Syrah, Mourvèdre and Old
Carignan. All fruit is hand-picked and destemmed.2021Rhone BlendFrance467$60.00 As low as $54.00 -
Yangarra Ovitelli Blanc 2023From original '46 vines next to the High Sands block. The '23 grenache wines are very pale in the glass, and they are all a degree lighter in alcohol due to the cool year (one I love). A vintage like this really illustrates the kinship with the avant-garde grenache of Gredos, and with Barbaresco, and refined Etna Rosso (Girolamo Russo in particular), rather than almost anything from the Rhône. Savoury, dried red fruits, cranberry, cherry and redcurrant, warm terracotta, bergamot, potpourri, sumac, ground cinnamon, star anise, so tightly coiled, but also tensile, finely expansive in its flavour delivery. There's tension aplenty, and it promises to unfurl over a long life. Superb. (97) MARCUS ELLIS, winecompanion.com2023Rhone BlendAustralia436$60.00 As low as $54.00 -
Sandro Fay ‘Costa Bassa’ Superiore Chiavennasca 2020With the grape variety recorded as Nebbiolo and its synonym Chiavennasca on the front label, the Sandro Fay 2020 Valtellina Superiore Valgella Costa Bassa offers pretty intensity that gives vertical lift and a direct approach to the bouquet. You get hibiscus and a note of purple fruit or flower, maybe lilac. The mouthfeel is fragile and wispy with a delicate, ethereal quality. There is a mineral, salty-like note as well at the tail end of this long-lasting wine. MONICA LARNER, The Wine Advocate2020Nebbiolo$61.00 As low as $54.90 -
Domaine la Roubine Vacqueyras 202170% Grenache - 15% Mourvèdre - 15% Syrah
Red and blue fruits, violet and lavender lift, some tapenade elements. Beautiful lilting aromatics. The palate is supple, plush and slippery couching raspberry and black cherry alongside some licorice and mineral. Open and charming across the palate but also cinched in by a thread of acidity and balancing quite fine (for the region) tannins. Pure and built for joy. MICHAEL MCNAMARA
A touch of fresh crushed raspberry, some black cherry, and a wild earthen note pocked with meadow herbs. It's all turned up a notch with an extra level of concentration and broad, sweeping fruit and flavour that envelopes the palate then slowly melts away leaving earthy, charred herbs and a little wild note on the close. A bit of rustic charm dare we use the phrase here but in all the right ways and a lovely layering of savoury and sweet throughout. JAMES SUCKLING2021Rhone BlendFrance467$61.00 As low as $54.90 -
Mulline Modewarre Fume Blanc 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!
2023sauvignon BlancAustralia395$63.00 As low as $56.70 -
Cantina Delsignore della Sesia Spanna 2021The 2021 Spanna La Crotta offers lovely purity to match its gracious, mid-weight personality. Succulent red fruit, rose petal, orange peel and spice fill out the layers. This entry-level offering is all charm. ANTONIO GALLONI, Vinous2018NebbioloItaly457$63.00 As low as $56.70 -
Arpepe Rosso di Valtellina 2022This is your perfect introduction to understanding Valtellina.
Elemental wine, earthy and of pumice and granite, bright cherry, dried herbs, alpine herbs, so fragrant and so pretty in the palate. Grippy, fine, silty tannins, lots of dried citrus peel and dried blood. Freshness in all this. Far out. So much on. This is outstanding, The drinkability through the roof, and yet structure in tow. Beautiful wine all up. MIKE BENNIE, The Wine Front
Sweet violets and red and dark fruit on the nose. Layered and complex profile. Very juicy with a light to medium body and dry, extracted tannins in the finish, yet fierce and still rugged. Quite a personality. Drink or hold. JAMES SUCKLING2022NebbioloItaly457$64.00 As low as $57.60 -
Domaine la Roubine Vacqueyras 2022Soft and silky in style, enjoyably full-bodied, this is ripe, with ample fruit, balanced alcohol and good acidity. Altogether harmonious and very drinkable, this is an elegant style of Vacqueyras that comes highly recommended. DECANTER2022Rhone BlendFrance467$65.00 As low as $58.50 -
Pierre Usseglio Lirac 2022The 2022 Lirac is 60% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre, and 10% each of Syrah and Cinsault that saw a splash of stems and is still resting all in foudre. Ripe black cherries, black licorice, and peppery, savory herb notes all define the aromatics, and it hits the palate with medium to full- bodied richness, a layered, mouth-filling texture, and outstanding length. JEB DUNNUCK2022Rhone BlendFrance467$65.00 As low as $58.50 -
Marchesi Alfieri Costa Quaglia Nebbiolo 2020Aromas of cranberry, cherry, wild rose and fresh herbs lead to a lifted nose. Vibrant and fresh, the palate shows crushed red fruits, sweet spices and a pretty and elegant structure, offering a vivacious and lively experience. — Jeff PorterAromas of cranberry, cherry, wild rose and fresh herbs lead to a lifted nose. Vibrant and fresh, the palate shows crushed red fruits, sweet spices and a pretty and elegant structure, offering a vivacious and lively experience. JEFF PORTER, wineenthusiastmagazine.com2020NebbioloItaly457$65.00 As low as $58.50 -
Pascal & Nicolas Reverdy Terre de Maimbray Sancerre 2022100% Sauvignon blanc from 20+ year-old vines, hand-picked and sorted, very gentle pneumatic press and cool fermented in stainless steel. Matured in tank on fine lees for 6 months. Ripe and vibrant gooseberry fruit aromas without excess. Excellent depth of fruit on the palate with texture minerality and excellent depth and character. More refinement apparent each vintage.2022sauvignon BlancFrance423$66.00 As low as $59.40 -
Domaine La Soumade Rasteau Vin Doux Naturel 'Grenat' 2022Raisined fruit, fruitcake and prune on the nose with a hint of leaf tea. It’s exceptionally sweet and concentrated, with strong acidity and quite robust, ripe tannins. The balance and freshness is likely to see this age for a very long time. A leviathan of a wine that will probably last forever. 95g/L residual sugar. MATT WALLS, Decanter2021Rhone BlendFrance467$66.00 As low as $59.40 -
Boffalora Alpi Retiche IGT Umo 2021Manual harvested, fermented with indigenous yeast, aged in stainless steel, unfiltred and unfined. Minimal additional sulphites. Organic.
2020NebbioloItaly457$67.00 As low as $60.30 -
Marcoux Lirac La Lorentine 2021There was no frost in Lirac, so yields were healthy as well. Ripe darker, almost blue fruits, garrigue, and pepper, as well as a touch of flowers, all define the nose, and it's medium-bodied, has good concentration, and a great finish. This cuvée also offers pleasure, and the 2021 will be no exception.
JEB DUNNUCK, jebdunnuk.com
“The nose has a careful air of mixed fruits, dark berries. The attack is crystalline, with free run, still cautious fruits, neat juice late on. It’s upright and cool, outside the main group of wines, carries interest.”
JOHN LIVINGSTONE-LERANMONTH, Drink Rhône2021Rhone BlendFrance467$67.00 As low as $60.30 -
La Palazzina Coste Della Sesia Rosso “Vecchi Vigneti” 2018Dried flowers, mint and liquorice, brown spices, ripe red fruits. It’s medium-bodied, packed with dense graphite tannin, cool feel to acidity, but has succulence and perfume. Feels very stony and full of ‘mineral’ things, precise and long with spiced strawberry and plenty of silty tannin trailing. It’s excellent, and feels like a wine from somewhere quite specific, if that makes any sense. GARY WALSH, The Wine Front2018NebbioloItaly457$67.00 As low as $60.30 -
Domaine la Roubine Vacqueyras 2023
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!
2023Rhone BlendFrance467$67.00 As low as $60.30 -
Pieropan Soave Classico La Rocca 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!
2023GarganegaItaly499 -
Domaine La Barroche Liberty 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!
2020Rhone BlendFrance467$68.00 As low as $61.20 -
Produttori del Barbaresco Langhe Nebbiolo 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!
2022NebbioloItaly457$68.00 As low as $61.20 -
Correggia Nebbiolo La Val dei Preti 2019The 2019 Roero Riserva La Val dei Preti is a rich, resonant wine. Macerated cherry, spice, cedar, worn-in leather, tobacco and dried flowers fill out the layers nicely as this mid-weight Roero gradually opens with a bit of aeration. A wine of substance and character, the 2019 will drink well for another decade or more. ANTONIO GALLONI2019NebbioloItaly457$69.00 As low as $62.10 -
Lalu Langhe Nebbiolo 2021Organic. This vibrant, perfumed Nebbiolo equally blends two sites that were both planted by Lalù. The first site, Roncaglie in La Morra, is a plot of land that Lara Rocchetti and Luisa Sala bought in 2015 and planted in 2017. Looking towards Verduno, this parcel faces east at an altitude of 400 metres. It’s a cool, windy, slow-ripening site. The second source is Bussia Bovi, a sub-Cru within Monforte’s superstar Bussia MGA. Lalù’s parcel is located at 320 metres above sea level, in the south of Bussia, between Bricco San Pietro and the area historically known as Bussia Arnulfo. The soils here are rich in sand, gifting a perfumed wine with supple fruit and great delicacy—the yin to Roncaglie’s yang. The fruit from here fermented as whole bunches and was raised in concrete to retain as much fragrance as possible. Both vineyards could be classified as Barolo (when the vines are of age), which says a great deal about the quality on offer here.
This Langhe Nebbiolo delivers more than most. The 2021 is a juicy, pretty Nebbiolo brimming with vibrant red and dark cherry fruit, anise, florals and some wood spice. In the mouth, the typical austerity of young Langhe is traded for svelte, integrated tannins and supple texture, all supported by mouth-watering energy.
2021NebbioloItaly457Special Price $69.00 Regular Price $82.00 -
Elvio Cogno Nebbiolo Langhe Montegrilli 2022The 2021 Langhe Nebbiolo Montegrilli is a powerful, intense wine for the dinner table. Crushed red berry fruit, spice, dried flowers and a touch of whole cluster savoriness lend complexity, with firm tannins that give the wine its serious structure. ANTONIO GALLONI, Vinous
Dried herbs, dark chocolate and bark with red and dark berries on offer here. Medium-bodied, juicy and crunchy with a flavorful, citrusy finish. Drink now. JAMES SUCKLING2022NebbioloItaly457$69.00 As low as $62.10 -
Elio Grasso Gavarini Langhe 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!
2022NebbioloItaly457$69.00 As low as $62.10 -
Dirupi Valtellina Superiore 2014More 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!
2014NebbioloItaly498$70.00 As low as $63.00 -
Crissante Alessandria Langhe Nebbiolo 2022Great balance on the palate, fresh fruity tones ranging from strawberry to watermelon with a touch of fresh violet and a long finish of liquorice. Alberto Alessandria is one of the most prominent winemakers of the moment in Barolo, and all the grapes for this Langhe Nebbiolo 2022 come from La Morra. Ageing in second-use barrels for a year.
ALDO FIORDELLI, Decanter
2022NebbioloItaly457$70.00 As low as $63.00 -
Vietti Perbacco Nebbiolo Langhe 2021Spicy and quite marked in terms of its aromatic intensity, the Vietti 2021 Langhe Nebbiolo Perbacco is a more elaborate expression of the grape that has been softened by oak, spice and well-ripened fruit. It ages in large wood botte for two years. The wine has a velvety quality that helps to coat the palate, and you get a lot of stuffing here in terms of texture and lasting fruit flavors. Fruit not directly used for the Barolo Castiglione goes to this wine instead MONICA LARNER
The 2021 Langhe Nebbiolo Perbacco is a medium red color and opens with a tightly wound profile, offering spicy aromas of cherries, pine, pepper, and dried orange. Medium-bodied, it has good tension on the palate, with fine tannins and a hint of iron-rich, sanguine earth. It's going to benefit from another 6 months in bottle, and is a tenser expression of this wine that's true to the vintage. JEB DUNNUCK
This wine opens with an expressive nose, exuding macerated red cherries, dried roses and sweet and savory spices. The palate unfolds with rounded and lush loads of cherry, where well-integrated tannins create a harmonious structure, offering a delightful and balanced profile. WINE ENTHUSIAST
The 2021 Langhe Nebbiolo Perbacco is an especially nervy edition of the Perbacco, the result of a significant presence of Monforte fruit in the blend. Notes of red fruit, orange peel and white pepper sculpt the 2021, finishing with notable tension. ANTONIO GALLONI
2021NebbioloItaly457$70.00 As low as $63.00 -
Mont Redon Gigondas 2019Shimmering ruby-red. Spice-accented raspberry and cherry aromas are complemented by musky garrigue and floral nuances. Sweet and seamless on the palate, offering juicy, well-concentrated red berry, cherry-cola and lavender flavors and suggestions of allspice and licorice. Firms up steadily on the persistent, red fruit- and -floral-driven finish, which is framed by slow-building tannins. Made with 25% whole clusters. JOSH RAYNOLDS, Vinous
80 % Grenache, 20 % Syrah and Mourvèdre, from 70+ year-old vines in two lieu-dits in the north of the appellation, in roughly equal proportions. Notre-Dame-des-Pallières is a south facing site at about 200m, whilst Pallière et Pied-Gu is north-facing and at 300m. The fruit from Notre-Dame-des-Pallières is fully de-stemmed, that from Pallière et Pied-Gu fermented as whole bunches and each parcel is on skins for about 25 days. Malo is completed in tank and then 60% of each parcel is transferred to 228L barriques for 16 months, before blending and bottling.
Top notes of garrigue and spice overlay a deliciously voluminous palate of red forest berries. The tannins are deep and rich yet also remarkably fine and silky and the wine finishes long and clean with good acidity. Remarkably good now and will cellar for a decade or more.2017Rhone BlendFrance467$71.00 As low as $63.90 -
Suavia Soave Monte Carbonare 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!
2022GarganegaItaly499$72.00 As low as $64.80 -
Pierre Prieure et Fils Sancerre 2023
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!
2023sauvignon BlancFrance423$72.00 As low as $64.80 -
Patrick Underwood Chalmers Colbinabbin Nebbiolo 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!
2021NebbioloAustralia$74.00 As low as $66.60 -
Domaine la Roubine Gigondas 202270% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre, 10% Cinsault. Certified organic. Tank sample.
Tasted blind. Earthy and meaty, with a savoury note. Both red and blue fruits, with a cooling herbal streak alongside ripe and succulent tannins. Lovely balance of sweet fruit and savoury undertones.JANCIS ROBINSON2022Rhone BlendFrance467$75.00 As low as $67.50 -
Francesco Rinaldi Langhe Nebbiolo 2022STAFF PICKS 2024 - MATT O'CONNOR
This is such a lovely early drinking nebbiolo for those of us who can't wait 10 years to wait for our Barolo to mature gracefully! This wine has lovely floral aromas backed up by dark cherry, ripe wild raspberry and just a hint of herbs - think sage, fennel and some savoury oregano. Want a preview of Rinaldi Barolo? Drink this .... it even comes from grapes grown in the Barolo area - so great quality fruit, with layers of aromas, flavours and gentle tannins - drink up! MATT
The transformation that has taken place at Francesco Rinaldi over the last few years is truly remarkable. Today's wines are cut with beautiful precision and show exceptional harmony. ANTONIO GALLONI
Juicy and delicious, the 2022 Langhe Nebbiolo from Francesco Rinaldi & Figli doles out flavors of ripe raspberry, crushed strawberry, cake spice and mint. Polished, refined tannins and tangy acidity provide support. Enjoy soon to capture all the succulent fruit. Drink through 2026. KERIN O'KEEFE2022NebbioloItaly457$75.00 As low as $67.50 -
Guigal Cotes du Rhone Rouge 2020 1500mlA rocking little gem in the making, the 2020 Côtes Du Rhône has a round, elegant, incredibly satisfying profile as well as textbook blackberry and black raspberry fruits supported by pepper and floral notes. It should be outstanding and well worth a few bottles. JEB DUNNUCK
Wines of the Year 2023: Value category and top scorers
Modern, lifted and a bit heady, but attractive and evocative. Black cherry inkiness segues into a dense palate where all the fruit is crammed into a structured body with drying tannins. Herbs and stones hemmed in by a firm grip. A good all rounder DECANTERAn impressive Cotes-du-Rhone with stacks of blackberry and black raspberry fruit wrapped around a core of moderately dry tannins on the bold palate. Long self-confidently dry finish. A cuvee of 50% syrah, 45% grenache and 5% mourvedre. Drink now. JAMES SUCKLING
The medium to full-bodied 2020 Cotes du Rhone will see plenty of more time in tank, yet it's already drinking well, with hints of garrigue and black olives adding nuance to the blackberry and cherry fruit. Silky and clean, it's delightfully easy to drink. WINE ADVOCATE2019Rhone BlendFrance467$75.00 As low as $67.50 -
Pascal & Nicolas Reverdy Terre de Maimbray Sancerre 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!
2022sauvignon BlancFrance423$75.00 As low as $67.50 -
Gini Soave Classico La Frosca 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!
2021GarganegaItaly499$75.00 As low as $67.50 -
Francesco Rinaldi Langhe Nebbiolo 2023
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!
2023NebbioloItaly457$76.00 As low as $68.40 -
Suavia Recioto di Soave Acinatum 2013 375mlMore 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!
2016GarganegaItaly499$77.00 As low as $69.30 -
Domaine du Joncier Lirac 2022A voluptuous, well-balanced and charming Lirac red with aromas of dark cherries, plums, warm spices and wet stones on the nose. It’s medium- to full-bodied with fine tannins. Juicy center palate with pulpy dark cherries and a refreshing core of purple berries. Well-driven and focused with a flavorful finish. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. JAMES SUCKLING
48 % Grenache, 35 % Mourvèdre and 17 % Syrah from very low yields of 15 hl/ha, at Domaine du Joncier on the pebble terroir of the Vallongues plateau. Certified Biodynamic, Joncier was acquired by Mont-Redon in 2022 and the wine remains Joncier-labelled. 100 % destemmed with gentle extraction via pumpover. Matured for 15 months in 228 litre Burgundy barrels (Syrah) and stainless steel (Grenache, Mourvèdre). Unfined, unfiltered.This wine is incredibly impressive with great energy and intensity while remaining very supple, elegant and fresh. A remarkable success and a great addition to the already outstanding Château Mont-Redon Lirac (one-third of which is from these vineyards at Joncier).
2022Rhone BlendFrance467$77.00 As low as $69.30 -
Le Battistelle ‘Roccolo del Durlo’ Soave 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!
2022GarganegaItaly499$77.00 As low as $69.30 -
l'Oratoire Saint Martin Cairanne Haut Coustias 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!
2020Rhone BlendFrance467$78.00 As low as $70.20 -
Domaine la Roubine Gigondas 2023
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!
2023Rhone BlendFrance467$78.00 As low as $70.20 -
Domaine Simha 'Raya' Sauvage 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!
2019sauvignon BlancAustralia490$80.00 As low as $72.00 -
Domaine Simha 'Raya' Sauvage 2016More 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!
2016sauvignon BlancAustralia490$80.00 As low as $72.00 -
l'Oratoire Saint Martin Cairanne Les Douyes 2020A seductive and well-made Cairanne with crunchy berry character. On the nose cherries, forest berries and herbs dominate. The medium-bodied palate reveals a harmonious structure and poised character. Delicious and vivid. JAMES SUCKLING2020Rhone BlendFrance467$82.00 As low as $73.80 -
Pascal Jolivet Sancerre 2023Each grape (Sauvignon Blanc) is sorted upon receipt of the harvest, we work by gravity in order to respect the natural circuit of vinification. Press lightly to maintain optimum fruitiness. Assembly of 50% limestone, 30% clay-limestone and 20% flint. Each soil is vinified separately in thermo-regulated stainless steel vats, the limestone brings minerality and finesse; the clay-limestone brings the fruit, the richness and the flint brings the structure and the minerality. Unique, precise, chic, timeless and divinely good.2023sauvignon BlancFrance423$83.00 As low as $74.70 -
Alberto Oggero Roero Le Coste 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!
2019NebbioloItaly457$84.00 As low as $75.60 -
Domaine Gour de Chaulé Gigondas Tradition 2022STAFF PICKS 2024 - ROSCOE HALLIGAN-ROSE
Too long a story to tell here, but the brief version is, I spent a good bit of time before our recent trip to the Rhone trying to find a producer that fit our wants and needs perfectly, we found three in the end. The Rhone is so exciting at the moment with so many great wines coming out, and many remain at reasonable prices. Still, in the face of this wave of excellent wine it is still rare to find someone crafting wines that are this extraordinary. Paul Formosa is one of the most talented and focused young winemakers I have come across in a long while. His wines are nothing short of spectacular.
Wonderful purity of expression, vivid, bright and clearly defined. Lighter in colour than you may expect, but that belies the deep wells of character that lurk amongst those soaring aromatics, dramatic fruit and the flashes of minerality that add to the overall feel of crispness that accompanies the luxurious and beautifully cushioned fruit. The wine goes on and on and with each moment another nuance or detail escapes from the depths and flicks or flutters along your mouth, tantalising you with the feeling of things to come.
Composed and self-assured, this is not a Gigondas that seeks to stun you with bold and forward fruit, rather it lures you in with its seductive flavours, its shapely profile and its enticing array of perfume. Sneaky structure pays second fiddle here, but it is all perfectly measured and ensures a very long and expressive life ahead. This was an easy choice for my wine of the year. ROSCOE
The promising 2022 Gigondas Cuvée Tradition 1871 mixes 80% Grenache with the remainder equally split between Syrah and Mourvèdre. Glossy red fruits mingle with dashes of dried herbs and a splash of rosewater. Refreshing acidity neatly balances the moderate fruit concentration, persisting all the way through to the sapid finish. This is a lovely Gigondas. NICHOLAS GREINACHER, Vinous2022Rhone BlendFrance467$85.00 As low as $76.50 -
Dirupi Valtellina Superiore 2019The Dirupi 2019 Valtellina Superiore is generous and balanced, with a 360-degree approach to the palate underlined by dark fruit, plum jam, bluebells and other mountain wildflowers. You smell alpine slopes, cool weather and glacier-like aromas. The palate shows some dried herb and lightly powdery tannins. Fruit comes from a two-hectare site that is divided into nine parcels with mostly sandy soils. Production is 9,915 bottles. MONICA LARNER, The Wine Advocate
The 2019 Valtellina Superiore is super-expressive right out of the gate. Spice, cedar, leather and tobacco meld into a core of bright red Nebbiolo fruit, with dusty tannins that wrap it all together. I suppose there could be a bit more finesse here (especially in the tannins) but all things considered, this is nicely done. ANTONIO GALLONI2019NebbioloItaly498$85.00 As low as $76.50