Products meeting the search criteria

Production notes:

Argot Le Rayon Vert Chardonnay is made from 100 percent Chardonnay. 

"Le Rayon Vert", the phenomenon which occurs as the sun dips below the horizon, and a brilliant green flash occurs when sunlight prisms through Earth's atmosphere. Jules Verne wrote "a green which no artist could ever obtain on his palette”, akin to the ethereal, green halo all truly pedigreed Chardonnays radiate from the glass.

Wafting from the glass like a freshly opened stick of Wrigley's gum. Both intense and vibrant, the full-bodied palate delivers Granny Smith apple and stone fruits; confections of custard and sticky vanilla bean; animated by bursts of spearmint and pine forest.

Review:

The 2020 Le Rayon-Vert comes bounding out of the glass with bold notions of lemon meringue pie, fresh apricots, and sea spray, giving way to nuances of struck flint, wet pebbles, and Marcona almonds, plus wafts of lime leaves and mandarin peel. The medium to full-bodied is simply electric, delivering super-intense citrus and mineral layers with a crisp backbone and a very long, chalky finish.

-The Wine Independent 96 Points 

Arzuaga Ribera del Duero La Planta is made from 100% Tempranillo.

Deep violet red. Clean and bright with a range of red fruits (raspberry and cherry) that dominate with a high aromatic intensity, joined by balsamic, cacao, coffee, and roasted tones. Fresh, elegant, easy, and balanced in the mouth with a lightly sweet, toasted, and pleasant aftertaste.

Fried fish, sausage, and white meats such as roasted poultry.

Review:

"A fruit-forward nose with brambly cherries, plums, flowers and some dark spices. Fruity and medium-bodied on the palate showing bright and supple fruit with soft tannins. Quite approachable and pleasing with lots of fruit. Drink now."

- James Suckling (October 2022), 90 pts

Avignonesi Desiderio Merlot Toscana IGT is made from Merlot.

Avignonesi Desiderio Merlot has an explosive olfactory impact. The wide aromatic bouquet ranges from cherry and plum jam to notes of black tea, rhubarb and graphite, with small final notes of fermented tobacco. The entrance is bursting. The palate is invested by the imposing and typical structure of Tuscan Merlot, enveloping and warm. Tastefully in symbiosis with the olfactory notes, the dense and linear tannin accompanies hints of coconut and black pepper in retrolfaction.

Review:

James Suckling 94 Points

B Leighton Petit Verdot is made from 100 percent Petit Verdot.

Dark and brooding. Vibrant, beautiful and tantalizes the senses with violets, black cassis, pipe tobacco and forest floor. Elegant, fresh, deep and refined. It continues with black raspberry, ocean breeze, orange zest and a touch of fresh herbs. Need I say more? Drink up, buttercup.

Review:

Bright ruby-red. Inky blackberry, licorice and menthol on the slightly portiike nase. Dense, sweet and surprisingly supple on the plate but,with a touch of inkiness to its broad blackcurrant, blackberry, licorice and graphite flavors. An element of peppery vinosity contrioutes to the impression of firmness, as do the tight tannins. This very long, savory Wine is stil a bit folded in on itself and will quire patience. Inerestingly, Leighton keeps this wine on its skin for "only" 35 days, which is actually less than many of his other red wines under the B. Leighton, K Vintners and Wines of Substance labels. He also destems this, fruit.

-Stephen Tanzer 92+ Points

Babylons Peak Viognier-Roussanne is made from 60/40 blend of Viognier and Roussanne 

Babylon's Peak winery, situated on the highest weathered granite slopes of the Paardeberg Mountain, is privately owned by the Basson family who has passed down the tradition, passion and art of winemaking over four generations. Predominantly low-yield dryland bushvines are selected to produce these excellent wines with distinctive character.

Complex flavors of flowers, peach, dried pear and apricot with a long, smooth finish on the palate.

Bachelet Bertrand Chassagne Montrachet Rouge is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir. 

The Chassagne-Montrachet appellation is originally better known for its white wines, but also produces high quality red wines. The complexity of the terroir allows both varieties to thrive side by side.

The wine is produced from vineyards located in the villages of Les Lombardes and Les Benoites that benefit from iron rich clay soils. A ruby garnet color, and an expressive nose of spices and red fruits that echo on the palate.

Benjamin Romeo La Cueva del Contador is made from 91% Tempranillo, 9% Garnacha.

Named after the centuries-old caves or “cuevas” carved out of the hillside below the castle of San Vicente in Sonsierra north of the Ebro, this wine is composed of 91 percent Tempranillo and 9 percent Garnacha. The fruit is sourced from eight different plots that yield about 1.2 kg per vine. Fermentation begins after a three-day cold maceration and the wine is aged for nineteen months in 100 percent new French oak and bottled without fining or filtration.

The palate offers flavors of blackberry coulis, Damson plums, Rosemary and well-integrated tannins; this wine is well balanced and youthful with a long powerful finish. Both red and black fruit are pronounced in the nose, but there are also mineral and herbal notes of gravel and lavender.

Review:

 I found cleaner aromas and a fresher quality and finer tannins in the 2019 La Cueva del Contador, a quite complete wine with elegance and finesse combined with power and concentration. The oak is still noticeable after 18 months in new barriques, and I'd wait a little longer before pulling the cork. It has the perfume of La Cueva in the background. It should resurface with a little more time in bottle. 10,000 bottles produced.

-Wine Advocate 95 Points

Benjamin Romeo Predicador Tinto is made from 96 percent Tempranillo, 2 percent Garnacha, 1 percent Graciano and 1 percent Mazuelo.

Predicador, or “Preacher,” named after Clint Eastwood’s everyman character in the 1985 film Pale Rider, is composed of 96 percent Tempranillo, 2 percent Garnacha, 1 percent Graciano and 1 percent Mazuelo. The grapes are sourced from 15 different plots within San Vicente and Briones in Rioja Alta which on average yield less than 2 kg per vine. The wine is fermented in oak and stainless steel with a two-day cold maceration and aged for sixteen months in new French oak. The wine was filtered but not fined. This vintage some La Cueva del Contador, Contador and La Vina de Andres were added for concentration and balance.

The aromatics open up with crushed red cherries, balsamic notes and the sweet baking spices of cinnamon and clove. The fruity and spicy characteristics found in the nose follow through on the palate, along with dried cranberry, black cherry and elegant fine-grained tannin supporting the tart red fruit and adding to its length and depth.

 Review:

The red 2021 Predicador has notes of ripe black fruit and dark spices and is a little earthy, powerful, concentrated and generously oaked but balanced and integrated. A modern, powerful red Rioja produced with Tempranillo and complemented with 3% each Graciano and Mazuelo and 2% Garnacha, it has a juicy palate with plenty of power and abundant, fine-grained tannins. It's ripe without excess at 14.7% alcohol. 90,000 bottles produced. It was bottled after spending 19 months in used French oak barrels.

-Robert Parker 93 Points

Colour ,cherry, purple rim. Aroma ,fruit expression, floral, spicy, red berry notes, black fruit, complex. Flavour ,flavourful, fruity, good acidity, long.

-Guia Penin 93 Points

Bernardins Beaumes de Venise Rouge Cru Cotes du Rhone is made from 65% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 5% Mourvedre and 5% Grenache Blanc.

Bright ruby color with cherry tinges. Complex black fruit aromas on the nose enhanced by spicy notes. Rounded palate with good length.

The wine is drinking well right now and can be kept for another 10 years.

Situation
Spreads out over the south-east side of the Dentelles de Montmirail hills, in Beaumes de Venise in the southern part of the Rhone valley.

Terroir
 On a poor sandy, hungry and arid soil consisting of tender limestone and gritty zones of sandy mollasse.

In the vineyard
The vineyards and their terroir are the essence of our wines. This is where everything starts and where we focus our efforts throughout the year. You can’t make great wine without great grapes.

The viticulture is essentially done by hand. Five people work full-time in the vineyards. They are supplemented by seasonal employees who work during bunch thinning and the harvest in order to bring out the very best in our vines. Working by hand and the attention each vine gets are fundamental. Pruning, de-budding, trellising, leaf removal and picking are thus carried out by hand with the utmost care.

We prepare the soil by using good old-fashioned ploughing. Organic compost is made from grape marc (the discarded stalks and skins).

As a way of protecting the plants, we only use phytosanitary products when necessary and within strict guidelines by staggering the treatments appropriately, to minimise the amount of chemicals used. We prefer to use as much as possible manual and organic techniques . Leaving natural grass cover, removing buds and leaves from the vines, preserving biodiversity around the vineyard: olive, almond and cypress trees, wild rosemary and capers.

Winemaking
We make two red wines at the estate. Terroir wines shaped by the two classic Côtes du Rhône varieties: Grenache and Syrah. We don’t follow any winemaking recipe but are constantly searching for the perfect expression of terroir and each vintage’s particular characteristics. We don’t go for overripe grapes and over-extraction, as we think the wine has to stay refreshing and balanced.

Leaving the wine for 15 days in concrete vats, we try to gently extract the tannins and anthocyanins essential for the wine’s structure and colour. The wine doesn’t come into any contact with wood during ageing. This way the characteristics of our terroir can fully express

Serve with a meal especially red meat, game and cheese.

Bertani Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore Catullo is made from 70% Corvina Veronese, 20% Corvinone, 10% Rondinella.  Valpolicella Classica, Tenuta Novare Estate in Arbizzano di Negrar.

Wine of medium structure with elegant spicy notes of vanilla and chocolate accompanied by typical notes of cherry, sour cherry and white pepper. The palate offers the easy drinkability typical of Valpolicella and, at the same time, silky tannic structure and intense, prolonged aromatic persistence. The finish is fresh, soft and savory. A wine in the classic style, elegant, balanced, harmonious.

Review:

If I was forced to choose a number of wines that can steer the anachronistic Ripasso category into a brighter future, this would be among a very few. A mid-weighted, streamlined expression with just enough fruit on the bones. Think strawberries, lilacs, Asian plums, cloves and a hint of licorice. A noble, almost alpine bitterness lifts the finish. Brilliant. Drink or hold.

-James Suckling 95 Points

Le Bihan Touraine Chenonceaux Sauvignon Blanc is made from 100 percent Sauvignon Blanc. 

Touraine Chenonceaux "Revelation" is a limpid and brilliant colored wine with pale gold highlights. The nose is intense and expressive, full of floral aromas. It is dry and harmonious on the palate, with a tangy edge and a lively finish.

To drink as Aperitif, or with white meat, Loire asparagus and seafood.

Bihan Le Touraine Sauvignon Blanc is made from 100 percent Sauvignon Blanc. 

Olfactory aspect : Limpid and brilliant with a pale gold
Nose: pronounced white floral bouquet
Palate : Dry, harmonious tangy edge with a lively finish

Deep cherry red in color with a garnet rim. On the nose, it is intense and elegant, with a base of ripe fruits that blends with the subtle tertiary aromas of sweet spices and cocoa. On the palate, it is balanced, full-bodied but with sweet and pleasant tannins, with a long and very persistent aftertaste.

Review:

Boeira Tawny 50 Year Port is produced from Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca and Tinto Cao.

Brownish color with strong coppery reflections. Toasted almonds and dried fruit stand out on the nose, with a delicate sweetness. Intense flavors on the plate, but a refinement and elegance that reflects its level of ageing. A very long evolving finish. 

Boeira 50 Years Old Port is excellent as a digestive.

pH : 3.57TA : 9.48 g/L
RS : 152g/L
Then, it is aged for 50 years in 550 liter French oak barrels.
Traditional Porto winemaking with skin contact maceration and short alcoholic fermentation in stainless steel tanks followed by fortification.

Booker Vertigo Red Blend is made from 7% Syrah, 32% Mourverde, 9% Grenache, 7% Petite Syrah, 5% Tannat.

Vertigo is our Syrah-heavy "G-S-M".  It is spicy, structured, and always performs.  The name is a nod to the steepness of the hillside on our estate where we grow the fruit for this wine. Starts with aromas of spice, dark chocolate and soft purple fruits on the nose. The palate surprises you with a touch of cayenne amongst juicy ripe fruit. We recommend making this your BBQ staple. Pair with pork ribs, bourbon chicken, or “bring on the bacon” to quote our tasting room team!

Review:

 Deep and brooding nose with dark cherries, grilled meat. Slightly reductive, with flinty crushed stones, sweet dark cherries, cocoa powder. Crunchy, bright and juicy palate full of blue and black berries. Really tight but caressing. Drink now or hold. 

- James Suckling 95 Points

Bourdieu Blaye Cotes de Bordeaux is made from 87% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Cabernet Franc.

Chateau Bourdieu Blaye Cotes de Bordeaux offers a beautiful red ruby color deep and intense. It exhales red fruits and blackcurrant aromas, completed by notes of redcurrant. The mouthfeel is round and juicy, with a smooth, well integrated tannins that offers a nice structure and a long finish. 

Perfect with a magret de canard (duck breast) or a filet of beef. 

Boussey Bourgogne Blanc Chardonnay Vieilles Vignes is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.

The grapes for Bourgogne Blanc Chardonnay Vieilles Vignes are grown on a parcel located within the city of Meursault. 

The wine displays a refreshing nose of lime, citrus fruits, flint, honey and a touch of dried fruit. The palate is full of flavors, with honeysuckle, citrus and some salinity with an excellent balance between acidity and roundness. 

Pair with cheese, seafood, nems, Spanish tapas and apple tart.

Boussey Meursault Les Meurgers is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.

The grapes for Meursault Les Meurgers are coming from the parcel located on the route to Auxey Duresses, in a horseshoe shape ravine. The grapes always reach ripeness quite early in the season. The name of this village comes from the efforts undertaken by man to plant vines in extremely stony soils. Stones that were thrown formed piles, that are called "murger".

Rich and luxurious wine, well balanced and structured in the mouth. Beautiful golden yellow in color with green highlights. It boasts aromas of toasted nuts, ripe fruit and a very delicate oak aroma. On the palate it is dry and mellow with a lingering smooth finish.

Pair with foie gras, lobster, seafood, poultry and fruit tart.

Boussey Meursault Vieilles Vignes is made from 100 percent Chardonnay. 

The grapes for Meursault Vieilles Vignes come from the parcels located in Meursault. They were planted in 1960 and 1970. 

The wine has a beautiful golden-green color. The nose displays aromas of almond, hazelnut with an elegant oaky touch. In the palate, it is full-bodied with good length. Long and intense acidity. Great finesse, purity and elegance.

The Meursault Vieilles Vignes goes well with Foie gras, Fish in creamy sauce, Lobster or also by itself as an aperitif.

Boussey Monthelie Blanc is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.

The name Monthelie comes from Mont Lyoei, mountain of Bacchus. 

The Boussey Monthelie Blanc has a nice pale yellow color with green reflections.  Aromas of white flowers, fresh almonds, lemon and minerality.  The finish is long with a very good balance between the acidity and the ripeness. 

Goes well with poultry, fish and crab cakes.