Product Line

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

No, 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!

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!

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2019 Opus One leaps from the glass with notes of Black Forest cake, Morello cherries, mulberries and fresh blackcurrants plus hints of licorice, wilted roses, Sichuan pepper and iron ore. Full-bodied, the palate is jam-packed with juicy black, blue and red fruits, framed by velvety tannins and background freshness, finishing on a compelling earthy/mineral note. Tasted as a barrel sample, this is a truly magnificent Opus One in the making! (99) WINE ADVOCATE

The 2019 Opus One is a dense, beautifully layered wine, but it is also quite restrained. That should serve it well in time. Tasted next to the 2018, the 2019 possesses a bit more textural nuance and body, yet it has all the classicism that is such an Opus One signature. Bright floral accents linger on the sublime finish. (97) ANTONIO GALLONI

The purity of fruit is really something else here, with currants and fresh flowers, such as violets and roses. Flower stems as well. Fantastic length and structure to the wine, with tightness and focus. Wonderful fruit. Graceful. A blend of 78% cabernet sauvignon, 8% merlot, 7% petit verdot, 6% cabernet franc and 1% malbec. (99) JAMES SUCKLING

Intensely perfumed on the nose, rose petals, violets, deeply scented and seductive. Rich yet expansive on the palate, very open with dark chocolate, cherries, fragrant blackcurrant - sweet and scented, with satin-like tannins that effortlessly support the flavours. There is real drive and persistency to this, fresh, youthful and alive with a vibrant juiciness that is so appealing. No one element is too dominant, this feels harmonious and balanced with an excellent tangy acidity and long minty, herbal finish with edges of tobacco and dark chocolate. A classic Opus with breadth, finesse and energy. Grapes were harvested 10 days earlier than average, on 10th September with harvest lasting four weeks. 6% Cabernet Franc and 2% Malbec complete the blend. (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!

The grapes for this wine come about 82% from our own block in Mitch Patin’s Lloyd Vineyard on West Soda Rock Road planted in 1998 towards the southern end of Alexander Valley on the banks of the Russian River. 11% comes from the Larrick Vineyard that we farm, and the remaining 7% is Malbec from J. Rickard in Cloverdale.

As always, this wine was produced more like a Pinot more than a Cab. Fermented in open-tops with native yeasts, punched down by hand, and racked to barrels before being aged in 2nd fill French oak barrels for 15 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!

The 2020 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de Mon Aieul is 100% old-vine Grenache, sourced from three different lieux-dits: Les Serres (galets), La Crau (clay) and La Guigasse (sand). This preliminary blend came across as rather polite and restrained, with attractive raspberry shadings, silky tannins and a more elegant style than exhibited by past vintages. JOE CZERWINSKI, Wine Advocate

The 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Cuvée De Mon Aïeul is also all Grenache but was raised all in demi-muids (I believe all used). Its more ruby/plum color is followed by an incredible bouquet of mulled red and black fruits, sweet Provençal herbs, spice box, and graphite. It's slightly broader and more expansive than the Deux Freres and has a sexy, full-bodied mouthfeel, ripe, polished tannins, and a great finish. This reminds me a little of the 2006, and while it's already brilliant, I have no doubt it will evolve for 15-20 years in cold cellars. JEB DUNNUCK

70% 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 SUCKLING

The Touche Mitaine parcel features Chenin Blanc vines aged 35 years, planted on clay and flint soils. It was vinified in used oak barrels of 228 litres, with an élevage lasting twelve months. Aromatically this is rich in powdered chalk, with layers of white peach and a fragrant, lifted, minty freshness. The palate matches this style, in a gently composed structure, polished and fresh, with the same minty, white peach substance. It is framed by firm acidity, which I find typifies the vintage. The alcohol is 12.8% CHRIS KISSACK

Pure and alluring, with apple and citrus cloaked in spices and salty brine. Remains racy through the smoky, vivid finish, thanks to mouthwatering acidity. Drink now through 2028. WINE SPECTATOR

Cabernet ……  who drinks Cabernet anymore?   I mean we can't all hang out in exclusive "Gentlemen's Clubs in Mayfair" can we?

So I was super surprised when I had a chance to taste an older (2018) vintage of the Forman Cabernet a few months ago which was superb - so I couldn't wait to have a crack at the new vintage.  California cabernet - all big, juicy and ripe fruit….. right?  Nope - definitely not.  There were layers of blueberry fruit, dusty chocolate, coffee bean, black cherry - and lovely hint of sweet spice and graphite minerality.  Also a hint of oak supporting the rich - but definitely not over ripe - fruit.    With a little time in the glass fantastic savoury notes popped up … think sage, bay leaf all adding wonderful complexity and interest to the wine.

This wasn't an over ripe jammy new world Cabernet … nor was it an austere/mouth puckering Bordeaux  - just a wonderful balanced wine - drink up! MATT O'CONNOR, PWS



The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon is a powerful, deep wine that marries elegance and finesse in a way few people can do, like Ric Forman. Rich and sumptuous in the glass, with terrific depth, the 2020 has so much to offer. Black cherry, mocha, licorice, spice, incense and new leather are all dialed up. Although it is early, this 2020 is shaping up to be one of the finer wines of the year.
(95) ANTONIO GALLONI, vinous

The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley has to be seen as a success in the vintage, revealing a solid bouquet of red and black fruits, tobacco leaf, cigar, and toasted spices. These carry to a medium to full-bodied Cabernet with a good sense of balance, moderate tannins, and outstanding length. It's well done and should evolve for another decade at a minimum. I followed this bottle for multiple days, and it always showed well. JEB DUNNUCK

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 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

An 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 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!

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!

Cartology is a vinous exploration of Cape heritage. It’s intended to be a picture of the Cape seen through the lens of her old vineyards in a given vintage. The cuveé is composed of rare and extraordinary parcels of mature dryland bushvines, of heritage grapes, namely Chenin Blanc and Sémillon. These grapes have been planted in the Cape for centuries. Cartology has become our staple offering. It serves as a poster child for the project, and also seems to have become a flag bearer for Cape heritage wine in general.

The grapes were hand sorted and whole bunch pressed. The juice was very lightly settled (we like very cloudy raw juice) with no additions to the raw juice, wild fermentation took place in cements eggs, clay pots, foudres, and old barrels (various sizes). Fermentation of various parcels lasted anywhere between 3 weeks and 11 months. The wine was kept on lees for around 12 months, then rested in tank on fine lees without fining for a further five months prior to bottling. Very simple, careful winemaking.

The nose shows citrus oil and pear, with some subtle floral/honey tones. The palate is very well proportioned, with firm mid-palate structure, medium rich mouth feel, and long carry. Flavour persists and even intensifies throughout its length. The wine finishes dry and saline, refreshing the palate. This vintage has a sappy, thirst-quenching quality about it.

The 2008 Camartina (70% Cabernet Sauvignon,30% Sangiovese) comes across as rather understated in this vintage. Dark fruit, spices, leather and tobacco are some of the aromas and flavors that take shape in the glass. Mineral notes appear later to frame the long, vibrant finish. The 2008 shows lovely balance in a relatively subdued style for this wine. ANTONIO GALLONI, Vinous 

Happy days for me when I can taste Cabernet and Italian wine in the one glass. Two worlds collide.  Black and red fruit, chocolate and licorice, florals and fine spicy oak treatment. It’s firm and medium bodied, almost tense with a slight jaggedness to its grainy tannin and crisp acidity – though it feels clearly defined and lively. Has a subtle green tobacco note along with leather that lends it an Italian drawing room charm. Needs a bit of time to settle down, but a lovely stylish wine it is. GARY WALSH, The Wine Front

Maturing ruby with orange tinges. Gorgeous cherry and cassis nose with notes of undergrowth, and with plenty of energy. Tar, tannic grip and pure cherry and cassis fruit. Acidity adds a real sense of freshness while streamlining the whole. Tasted 03/18 WALTER SPELLER, JancisRobinson.com

Deep bright purple-red colour leading into a stylish bouquet of sweet mulberry and other berry fruits, violets and cassis, succulent and mouth-filling, with masses of fine emery-like tannins that run the length of the palate adding authority, structure, length and refreshment to the aftertaste. Concentrated, superripe blackberry, cassis and mulberry flavours; oak tucked discreetly into the background. (98) HUON HOOKE, The Real Review

Really delivers as you might expect from this excellent concentrated and powerfully frame vintage in Margaret River. It’s dominant cabernet with smaller portions of merlot, cabernet franc and malbec. Typical of this wine since switching to biodynamics, it is bright and brilliant with a nervy tense energy to drive the palate. The succulent fruit is harness by fine chalky tannins and neatly played oak of which 55% was new. A wine of extraordinary elegance and poise with a few of many decades. (98) RAY JORDAN

Needless to say, Margaret River enjoyed another superb vintage with the 2022 season. Slightly cooler, Cullen report that it was a vintage of “immense perfume and texture”. The wine is a wonderfully vibrant purple in colour. The nose gives up plums, cassis, spices including nutmeg, chocolate, mocha, bay leaves, cigar box notes – think a freshly opened box of Cohiba Siglo VI – and near perfect oak integration. This is finely balanced and exhibiting immense length on a palate that sees the emergence of aniseed, mulberries and coffee beans. An alluringly supple texture with the silkiest of tannins, though plenty of them – there really is some grip here. This will easily sail through fifteen to twenty years in a good cellar. (98) KEN GARGETT, Wine Pilot

Extremely perfumed and floral with lavender, lilacs and violets to the sweet, ripe berries, such as blackberries and blackcurrants. Some slate and graphite, too. It’s full-bodied, yet ever so balanced and refined, with super fine tannins that last for minutes. Fresh herbs, such as bay leaf and lemon grass highlight the dark fruit. The quality of tannin is exquisite with wonderful polish and refinement. Lasts for minutes. So wonderful to taste now, but better after 2026. (99) JAMES SUCKLING

Very deep garnet-purple in color, the 2018 Opus One soars out of the glass with bright, bold boysenberries, warm cassis and ripe, juicy black plums notes, plus emerging nuances of lilacs, oolong tea, cinnamon stick, tilled soil and black truffles. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is packed with tightly wound layers of crunchy black fruits, supported by firm, grainy tannins and fantastic freshness, finishing with lifted fruitiness and on a lingering mineral note. (98) WINE ADVOCATE

Power and concentration from the start but with a lovely vein of cool blue fruits and an invigoratingly fresh core. Dark chocolate, coffee, blueberries and pomegranate combine to give a seductive nose and follow through on the palate with an immediate burst of juicy acidity and plush tannins. Layered and nuanced, the texture is striking, elegant and precise with juice that his the side of the mouth supported by oak spice that gently frames the overall feeling giving balance. Abundant in a sense but also reigned in making you want another glass straight away. 80% wild yeast fermentation for the first time as of the 2018 vintage. (98) DECANTER

The 2010 Opus One is on another level and is a deep, concentrated, full-bodied, flawlessly balanced beauty. From a cooler vintage that saw significant heat spikes later in the year, it has incredible purity in its cassis and darker fruits as well as leafy tobacco, flowers, and background oak. With a great mid-palate, ripe, building tannins, and full-bodied richness on the palate, it’s a brilliant wine that has another two decades or more of prime drinking. (98) JEB DUNNUCK – TASTED 2023

Bright dark ruby. Initially reticent nose opened in the glass to reveal wonderfully complex scents of black- and redcurrant, blackberry, minerals, licorice, loam and tobacco leaf, plus a whiff of leather. Seamless, savory and classy on entry if a bit subdued, then delivers lovely restrained sweetness and a complicating wildness in the middle palate that still calls for more bottle aging. Old World in its classic dryness, this highly concentrated Opus One really shines on its vibrant, slowly building back end, where the broad, dusty tannins caress and saturate the palate and allow the fruits and minerals to build. A wine of outstanding depth, clarity, finesse of grain and class; it's hard to imagine that this site could give more. (97) STEPHEN TANZER – tasted 2020

The 2010 Opus One bursts from the glass with an exotic melange of black and blue fruits, menthol, cloves and licorice. Today the 2010 is much more overt, racy and intense than it was just a few months ago. The tannins have begun to soften, releasing the aromas and flavors in an opulent, full-bodied Opus One supported by veins of precise minerality. The 2010 is very, very young, but is also striking in its beauty. (97) ANTONIO GALLONI

Fresh and racy, with inviting violet perfume elements. Bright, with chalky-fine mineral underpinnings and serious graphite-edged energy. Graceful and pure, with high-toned floral accents through the racy, focused finish. KRISTEN BIELER, Wine Spectator

The personality of the maker - generous and jovial - is on full display via black and red fruits while blue florals and the liquorice that jumps out of the glass, give the wine it's aromatic swagger. On the palate too, it's direct; big on flavour and impact with that same red and black fruited attack laying the groundwork for a more complex array of mineral, hung meat, liquorice, dried herbs and smoke. Pretty much like falling head first into a hypothetical vat the Southern Rhone itself. Medium to full bodied with plenty of structure to cope with anything from the bbq to the one-pot wonder.

It's one of the most authentic things I drink each year, capturing  the ethos of the fading French country wine in a glass. Rustic, reassuring and ultimately flat out delicious. MICHAEL MCNAMARA, PWS

STAFF 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, 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!