Calvados, Touriga, mencia, Mac...
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Nick Spencer Gundagai Light Dry Red Blend 2021No, this is not just another "Light Dry Red" playing to the recent fads but a serious nod to the 'Burgundies' of the 50's 60's and 70's which Nick Spencer is paying homage to. These were classic light-bodied Shiraz and Shiraz/ Pinot blends that emerged from the Hunter and are highly sort after now. They are back in fashion and tasting this it's not hard to understand why.
The style can be a little hit or miss and getting that combo of pinot and shiraz just right is critical, which Nick has done a brilliant job of here. A touch of sour cherry, cranberry and strawberries that plays off broodier black currant and blackberry fruit swirling around in the background. It's served on a palate that is crunchy and vibrant with lovely fine structure and soft melting tannins. Great poise between the fruit and other elements and while this is wonderfully easy to enjoy there is a plenty going on here that belies the seriousness of the wine.
While its ready to go now and easy to love if you put a couple of bottles away for just a couple of years or so I think you would be a very happy camper!
2017Cabernet Sauvignon, shiraz, tempranillo, TourigaAustralia494$30.00 As low as $27.00 -
Petit Pittacum Mencia 2022We have been enamoured with the mencia based wines of Spaces northwest since first we tried them. Their beautiful lifted nose spiked with mineral accents that flowed onto graceful pallets raked with fine granit like tannins an earthy savouryness at the edges. They are something akin to cru Beaujolias crossed with the finest reds of the loire and we just cant get enough.
Bodegas Pittacum is owned by the Terras Gauda operation and is situated in Argaza in the heart of Bierzo and made from grape sourced from small plots of organically grown 90 year old vines grown in clay soils on steep slopes.
Glace fruits with crème de mure and raspberry coulis flecked with granitic mineral shards. Mid weight styling come from slippery red fruits and a gentle burst of freshness that comes not from acidity but from a deep mineral vein soaked up from the long roots and rocky slopes. Its like a bowl of mixed berry smashed onto rock and is absolutely delightful. If you have not had the wines of the region or mencia this is a belter of an introduction.
2021menciaSpain355$30.00 As low as $27.00 -
Gant & Co Touriga Nacional 2024Black almost to the rim with vibrant purple edging. Almost overwhelmingly intense aroma that is pure Touriga with a touch of oak: black, tangy fruit, perfumed with bergamot (Earl Gray tea) and opening up to violets and a sprinkle of sweet spice. The tannins have that thick, almost chocolatey character of the variety, so different from Cabernet's more upright posture. Juicy and aromatic and nicely dry on the finish. More variety than terroir, though it does have the freshness of the region. Lovely dry finish leaving your mouth clean, as dark chocolate does. JULIA HARDING MW, JancisRobnson.com
From a small trial block on the property in Karridale . Single cane. Shoot and fruit thinned. One bunch per shoot. Dry grown. 10 months sur lie in hogsheads and barriques. The crew at Gant & Co. making Touriga Nacional in Australia (Barossa, McLaren Vale and now Margaret River) since 2002 so there is a bit of affinity there for it and it shows in this very authentic verison. They believe this is the best expression yet.
2024TourigaAustralia436$32.00 As low as $28.80 -
In praise of Shadows 'Mankai' 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!
2022Blend, TourigaAustralia436$37.00 As low as $33.30 -
Cesar Marquez Parajes del Bierzo 2022César Márquez Parajes is a coupage of the most prestigious and unique Bierzo plots. Old vines grown as they used to be, without using pesticides or chemicals that can damage the natural balance of the terroir. Each of the plots is worked separately according to their needs and the harvest is carried out manually.
In the winery, 50% of the grapes used to make César Márquez Parajes are destemmed. Then they are pressed in the old-fashioned way, with feet, so that some of them stay whole during fermentation. Fermentation is spontaneous with the grape’s native yeasts. Once the must becomes wine, it is pressed and placed into 225 and 500 litre barrels separately. After 12 months the barrels are emptied and the different wines are combined.
César Márquez Parajes remains true to its roots. A wine that overflows with natural elegance as a result of the quality of the raw material and the expertise of the makers. Freshness with enveloping smoothness. DECANTER
2022menciaSpain355$38.00 As low as $34.20 -
Cesar Marquez Parajes del Bierzo Mencia 2021The super affordable 2021 Parajes really overdelivers in this cool year. It was produced with grapes from up to 45 different plots in nine villages, trying to capture the essence of Bierzo. This regional red mixes soils and altitudes, mostly very old plots and therefore planted with a field blend with a majority of Mencía but also around 10% Alicante Bouschet and 5% whites or other reds like Bastardo, Souson or Estaladiña. It fermented by plot in stainless steel and plastic bins with some full clusters, indigenous yeasts and variable macerations, ranging between 15 and 60 days. Seventy-five percent of the volume matured in 225-, 400- and 500-liter barrels and the rest in a 5,000-liter oak foudre. It's aromatic, floral, perfumed and elegant, with a medium-bodied palate and very fine tannins. It is round and juicy, with very fine tannins and depth and complexity, corresponding to a much more expensive wine. A bargain. He harvested quite early in 2021, and the wines have moderate alcohol. 29,504 bottles produced. It was bottled in December 2022. LUIS GUITIERREZ, Wine Advocate
2021menciaSpain355$38.00 As low as $34.20 -
Marco Abella Olbieta Garnatxa Blanca Macabeu 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!
2023MacabeoSpain371$39.00 As low as $35.10 -
Massimo 2022Comprising of almost all Mencía with just a dash of Tempranillo and Sousón, this expressive, light bodied wine captures the very essence of Ribeira Sacra, grown on slopes above the River Sil so vertiginous they can only be worked by hand. Flavours of blueberries, blackcurrants, and herbs with fresh, lifted acidity. BARRICA WINES
2022mencia, tempranilloSpain471$43.00 As low as $38.70 -
Impecavel Encruzado Touriga Nacional Dão Tinto 2021TOP 100 WINES OF PORTUGAL 2023
Impecável (meaning 'impeccable') is an extremely pure expression of Touriga Nacional from the Dão region, where it probably originated even if it is more often associated with the Douro, for both ports and table wine. In Dão it is generally blended with Jaen (known as Mencía in Spain) and/or Alfrocheiro and Tinta Roriz. It does remind me a little bit of Fitapreta's A Touriga Vai Nua, which was my wine of the week three years ago, though Impecável is perhaps a little less sweet-fruited thanks to the cooler, more northerly vineyard site and the imprint of the Dão's granite soils. This is deliciously floral, with a herbal freshness even though the grapes were fully destemmed, and it carries its 13% alcohol effortlessly. The tannins are silky, the whole is mouth-watering. It is fantastic quality for the price. JULIA HARDING MW, JancisRobinson.com
This is spiced and savory with attractive crushed berries and notes of dried herbs and violets. Lovely texture with very fine, polished tannins and a soft, supple mouthfeel. Pure and delicious with hints of spices at the end. Touriga nacional. Unoaked. Drink or hold. JAMES SUCKLING2021TourigaPortugal384$43.00 As low as $38.70 -
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Envinate Lousas Vinas de Aldea Mencia 2022The bottled 2022 Lousas Viñas de Aldea is aromatic, extroverted, open and immediate, floral, perfumed and expressive, with a juicy and round palate. It's fleshy and round, still with 12.5% alcohol on the label but possibly a tad riper than the 2023 sample I tasted next to it. It's a very approachable vintage for this cuvée. 25,200 bottles and 360 magnums produced. It was bottled in November 2023. LUIS GUTIERREZ, The Wine Advocate
There are some incredible things happening in Spanish wine right now and one of the producers at the heart of this revolution are Envinate. A project between four winemakers who met studying oenology in Alicante in the mid two thousands bonded around a shared ideology and desire to explore and express the underappreciated terroirs of Western Spain. Envinate has since risen to become one of the icons of 'New Spain' a movement which is has reached a crescendo in recent years as young producers strive to craft wines that showcase a patchwork of Spanish terroirs, using indidgenous grapes farmed fastidiously and rendered into wines without artifice.2022menciaSpain471$54.00 As low as $48.60 -
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 -
Raventos i Blanc 'de Nit' Rosado 2020Dry pink of great elegance. A lovely faded rose pink colour, it smells of gently boozed strawberries, dusty rose aromatics - perfumed without any outrageous fruitiness or excess. Nice false sweetness on entry -the balance is ultimately off-dry, juicy and gentle, with high quality delicate bubbles underpinning the fruit, cutting the fruitiness and running on to a super-gently acid close.
55% Macabeo/20% Xarel-lo/20% Parellada/5% Monastrell
2019MacabeoSpain372$63.00 As low as $56.70 -
Forlorn Hope Mil Amores 2012The DeWitt Vineyard is sustainably farmed, made up of granite and quartz soils. A blend of Portuguese grape varieties, Touriga Nacional, Tinto Roriz, Trincadeira are planted in a single block. The block was picked and co-fermented at the same time. Aged only in neutral oak for 12 months then bottled. The blend is loaded with black, blue fruit, earthy and spicy undertones, unmatched suppleness with lots of intrigue. PWS2012Tinto, TourigaUSA362$68.00 As low as $61.20 -
Raventos i Blanc 'Blanc de Blancs' Espumoso 2021Raventós i Blanc is a small, family-owned concern, based on 90 hectares at Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, which has been in the family since 1659, and has been a wine-growing estate since 1497. Their 'Blanc de Blancs' is a blend of Xarel.lo, Macabeu and Parellada, the varieties are fermented separately then blended before second fermentation. Minimum lees aging is 18 months and dosage is kept to a minimum, keeping it extra brut in style.
Typical of the Raventos i Blanc house style, this is a supremely elegant and delicately textured premium sparkler, featuring fresh apple and fine sand earthiness. Nestled into the characteristic fine bead are twinkles of seaspray, white nectarine and green pear; it’s deft, delicious and has lovely flavor and mouthfeel as well as crunch and race. Outstanding wine for the price.
2021MacabeoSpain372$73.00 As low as $65.70 -
Le Roc Des Anges Llum 2022From the Côtes Catalanes sub-region in the Languedoc-Roussillon from a blend of Grenache Gris, Macabeu, Grenache Blanc.Organic and practicing Biodynamic with vines on schist. Whole-cluster pressing. Settling without cooling. Ambient yeast fermentation with no sulfur additions in 500L barrels, mostly used. No fining. Light filtration. Total sulfur at bottling 40 to 60 ppm, though it is not all added because the yeasts in the terroir produce a substantial amount on their own during fermentation.2022MacabeoFrance418$77.00 As low as $69.30 -
Raventos i Blanc Brut 'De Nit' Rosado Espumosa Cava 2021A dry pink style of sparkling, using the classic blend of xarel.lo, parellada and macabeu, along with monastrell to create an amazing pink hue to the wine. Varieties are fermented separately in stainless steel before blending to create the base wine. Minimum of 18 months on lees in bottle before disgorgement, with a tiny bit of dosage at the end.
Dry pink of great elegance. A lovely faded rose pink colour, it smells of gently boozed strawberries, dusty rose aromatics - perfumed without any outrageous fruitiness or excess. Nice false sweetness on entry -the balance is ultimately off-dry, juicy and gentle, with high quality delicate bubbles underpinning the fruit, cutting the fruitiness and running on to a super-gently acid close.
2021Macabeo, monastrellSpain372$81.00 As low as $72.90 -
Niepoort Vertente Douro 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!
2020tempranillo, TourigaPortugal450$81.00 As low as $72.90 -
Willie Smiths Pommeau de Tasmanie 18.2%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
NVCalvadosFrance$90.00 As low as $81.00 -
Yarra Yering Dry Red No 3 2019This blend of Portuguese varieties has come together seamlessly and offers immediate drinking appeal. Heady with violets and lavender, blackcurrants and Szechuan pepper, blackstrap licorice and Mediterranean herbs, all adding to its youthful beauty. Fine tannins, raspberry-like acidity and complexity raise it way above ordinary. (95) JANE FAULKNER, Halliday Wine Companion2019Blend, TourigaAustralia506$120.00 As low as $108.00 -
Algueira Mencia Ribeira Sacra Risco 2019Merenzao is the same variety as Trousseau (and Bastardo in Portugal) and was probably brought to Ribeira Sacra by the Cistercian monks who set up camp here in the Middle Ages. Algueira’s Merenzao vines have an average age of 80 years and are rooted in a steep slope of gneiss, quartz and slate in the Amandi Gorge. The fruit sees a wild yeast, 100% whole-bunch ferment, is pressed by foot and aged for 12 months in old oak and some local chestnut vessels.
The result is an extraordinary, unique wine with a complex perfume of finely detailed fruit characters that recalls wild cherry steeped with blood orange, rose and a tincture of wild herb. There’s more colour and muscular density from the solar year, yet it remains super lucid and tender and finishes long, leaving behind a lick of elegant tannin and a perfume of sweet red berries and smoky minerals. This is one tasty Bastardo!
2021menciaSpain355$125.00 As low as $112.50 -
Nin Ortiz Planetes de Nin Priorat 2017More 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!
2017menciaSpain459$130.00 As low as $117.00 -
Roger Groult Calvados 8yo Pays d'Auge 41% 700mlMore 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!
CalvadosFrance$150.00 As low as $135.00 -
Cidrerie du Leguer Eau de Vie de Cidre 700mlMore 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!
CalvadosFrance449$180.00 As low as $162.00 -
Guimaro Finca Capelinos Single Vineyard Mencia 2020The 2020 Finca Capeliños comes from a warm year, but the grapes have been harvested earlier in recent years to achieve moderate alcohol and macerations have been shortened to get wines that are more elegant and harmonious. The 2020s are quite open and expressive, and the Capeliños displays impressive notes of violet pastille and a faintly Mediterranean note of aromatic herbs. (96) LUIS GUTIERREZ2020menciaSpain471$185.00 As low as $166.50 -
Guimaro Pombeiras Single Vineyard Mencia 2020This is from a plot planted with the classical field blend found in the old vineyards, mainly Mencía with a myriad of other varieties-Caíño, Sousón, Brancellao, Merenzao, Negreda, Garnacha, Mouratón... The full clusters fermented with indigenous yeasts, and the wine matured in 225- and 500-liter oak barrels for one year. This is explosive with a baroque, exotic and decadent nose redolent of flowers, soy sauce, violet pastille, spices and herbs. It's a little spirity (it's 14.2% alcohol), which probably adds to the showy profile. The palate is a little more backward-it's structured and has abundant, fine tannins, still a little hard. 800 bottles produced. (97+) LUIS GUTIERREZ2020menciaSpain471$185.00 As low as $166.50 -
Adrien Camut Pays D'Auge Calvados 6yrs 700mlMore 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!
CalvadosFrance449$195.00 As low as $175.50 -
Christian Drouin Calvados 1995 700mlMore 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!
1995CalvadosFrance$330.00 As low as $297.00 -
Descendientes de Jose Palacios La Faraona Mencia 2011Depp, bright purple. Drop-dead aromas of dark berry preserves, Asian spice, potpourri and incense, with an intense mineral overtone. Stains the palate with sappy, chewy black raspberry and floral pastille flavors enlivened by notes of allspice, star anise and nutmeg. Silky, sweet and penetrating on the finish, which clings with outstanding tenacity and clarity. There's an elegance and focus here that's reminiscent of the best Burgundies, but with more power and texture. If I were a third-world despot this is what I'd be drinking every day. STEPHEN TANZER, wineaccess.com2011menciaSpain355$1,383.00 As low as $1,244.70