Carmo Vinhos Madeira Malmsey 10 Yr is richest style of Madeira. With a deep amber color, this intense wine has a complex flavor of walnuts, dried fruits, coffee and caramel. Full body hiding the acidity and a very long finish. An excellent accompaniment to coffee.

Carmo Vinhos Madeira Sercial 10 Yr is the driest style of Madeira, a light bodied wine with a distinctive nutty nose. An excellent apertif. The concentration at this age has produced a very attractive and interesting wine, with a long finish.

Castelmaure Corbieres Vin-Gris (Rose) is made from 80% Grenache, 10% Carignan, 10% Cinsault.
Pale pink rose color, a classic gris de gris wine with salmon hues. Delicate strawberry nose, seamless and fine pointed.

Chakana is the name of the Southern Cross constellation. Its rotation in the sky throughout the year made it an effective agricultural calendar for the ancient Andean people.

Estate Chardonnay is from Chakana's Altamira vineyard (3,200 ft elevation).

Segries Tavel Rose is made from 50% Grenache, 30% Cinsault, 15% Clairette, 5% Syrah. The age of the vines is 30 years. Traditional vinification at low temperature, "vin de saignée" with a maceration during one night in cement vat.

This is large for a Rose...structured and focused, with the color of dark ruby. The nose is loaded up with fresh fruit. Strawberry, blackcurrant, and raspberry beam from the glass. On the palate, the mouth-feel is ripe and succulent. It has strength, but maintains its fresh and crisp expression. The finish is filled with Asian spice and slight hints of smoke. Drink this juice now or over the next year or two.

Clos du Val Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 5% Malbec and 1% each Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

This fresh and vibrant Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is brimming with aromas of blackberry, mulberry, cassis, and violet. On the palate, bright flavors of cranberry, red plum, cherry, and lavender are intertwined with supple tannins, balanced acidity, and a long, smooth finish.

Review:

"Sleek tannins, guided by sweet earth, slate, purple plum and black olive. Savory notes of fig, toasted cedar, and black tea meld with blackberries. Well structured and impeccably balanced."

-Tasting Panel 96 Points

This wine is one of the absolute benchmarks for fine Priorat, and a reference in Spain. Sourced from 3 small vineyards in the Gratallops, this blend of Grenache and Syrah undergoes strict berry selection and is fermented and aged for 20 months in barrels and amphorae. It is all about dense fruit, exotic spice and licorella minerality, with a freshness and elegance are truly singular, even among the top wines of the appellation.

IMPORTER SALE!

Blend: Colmant Brut Reserve NV is a blend of Pinot Noir 52%, Chardonnay 48% (Franschhoek, Robertson, Elgin, Somerset-West and Stellenbosch). 10% of the blend is made of reserve wine from the previous vintage and 12% of the base wine is barrel fermented.
Ageing: 28 months minimum on the lees at steady 13°C temperature.
Tasting: A subtle pale gold color with a very clean and elegant nose. The aroma has a gentle spicy toastiness with a lemon / yeasty perfume followed by more mature fruit. Plenty of freshness on the palate, with a good acidity which perfectly balances the yeasty depth, bready flavors and ample structure. Long smooth finish. Will develop nicely over the years.
Drinking tips: Divine as an aperitif and loyal as a party buddy, it also goes perfectly with oysters, sushis or any delicate seafood.

Reviews:

"The Brut Reserve (disgorged April 2018) was 10% fermented in French oak barrel and includes 20% reserve vintages. It spent 30 months on the lees. The well-defined, focused nose features bright citrus lemon and hints of baked bread. The palate is well balanced with a taut, crisp, citric entry. This is vivacious, very pretty and graced with lovely apricot hints on the finish. A superb MCC from Colmant. - Neal Martin"

- Vinous (August 28th 2018), 91 pts

"Fresh with leesy notes, a fine mousse and delicate palate of minerals and green citrus zest, this is a first class New World sparkler. It’s rich enough to enjoy on its own or with white meats. It’s a 50/50 blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay aged on the lees for 30 months and 25% reserve wines from earlier vintages."
-International Wine Review, 91 pts

"Disgorged February 2011, the Non-vintage Brut Reserve is a blend of 52% Pinot Noir and 48% Chardonnay based on the 2008 vintages blended with reserve wines from 2007 and 2006 (25% of the blend), aged for 30 months on the lees. It has a very fine pettillance in the glass. The nose is very well defined with crushed stone, oyster shell and the subtle perfume of fine lees coming through with aeration. The palate is very crisp and lively on the entry with vibrant acidity, a citrus thread from start to finish, and though it is not a powerful Cap Classique, it is wonderfully poised with great persistence on the fresh lime and Granny Smith-tinged finish.
There are many alternatives to Champagne, and South Africa is no exception with some fine “Method Cap Classique.” Jean-Philippe Colmant hired winemaker Nicolas Follet to create a small range of impressive sparkling wines; they eschew malolactic fermentation and practice extended lees aging."
- eRobertParker.com  , 92 pts

Our Hunt for Colmant:

 It was day 6 in South Africa and we find ourselves outside of beautiful Cape Town, in the country near the Riebeek Kasteel area in Swartland.  Let's talk a little about my accommodations before I tell you about this amazing bubbly. We arrive at the one and only hotel in Riebeek to find out that there were not enough rooms open for all. 

We reached out to our contact at Riebeek cellars, who we will refer to as "Point Break" from now on. For those of you that have not seen the movie Point Break, this guy looked and sounded like a blonde Keanu Reeves with a Dutch accent. Anyway, Point Break tells me that they have secured a small bed and breakfast that we could use for the overflow. Sounded nice...so I opted for it. 

Upon arrival, the home was beautiful on the outside with a catchy French name, "Shades of Provence". After Point Break fiddled with the skeleton key and lock for a good 35 minutes in the rain, we finally get to see the inside of our new home. The door opened straight into the kitchen where the first thing I noticed was the mouse sh*t all over the place. It was winter there and the mice were trying to stay warm, I'm sure. Little did they know this damn place had no heat.

Besides myself and my fiancee Sylvia, there were 3 other people and a total of four rooms. At this point I knew I better drag both our suitcases up those steps and get to the best room before everyone else. At stroke-causing speed, I skipped up the steps nearly knocking Point Break on his back and went through the rooms. I settled for a nice corner room with the least amount of dirt on the concrete floor and with only one or two spider webs on the wrought iron bed post.

For dinner that night, we returned to the hotel restaurant to join the rest of our group. The 5 of us forced to stay in the bed and breakfast were in a far worse mood than everyone around us. Arriving late, we sat at the end of the dinning table and hoarded as much wine as possible to try and drink ourselves to a point where we could sleep in that disgrace of a French country side home that Point Break secured for us.

 That night, I slept with the lights on, all my clothes on, and on top of the sheets hoping to avoid spider bites. I awoke that morning to Sylvia standing over me holding what looked like a hot water knob off of the shower. "It wasn't even attached.", she said. Sylvia proceeds to take a "whore-bath" in the sink using her own packed sock as a wash cloth. It was the only thing she deemed clean. To top it off, in a brief moment of happiness she finds a hair dryer in a cabinet. She pulled it out in triumph only to realize that there was a used condom stuck to the side of it. Obviously, this is her last trip to South Africa.

Domaine de la Janasse Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvee Vieilles Vignes is made from 65% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre, 10% Syrah, 5% divers.

In contrast to Chaupin, which is made from old-vine Grenache on sandy soils, the cuvée Vieilles Vignes is from old vines of Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah along with smaller percentages of other permitted varieties that are grown in these old vineyards. The wine is sourced from 4 terroirs: pebbly clay, sand, gravelly red clay and sandy limestone. Vieilles Vignes is always the most powerful and concentrated Châteauneuf-du-Pape cuvée made at Domaine de la Janasse.

Review:

The 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Vieilles Vignes also saw some stems (the estate started keeping some stems with the 2016 vintage) and was 75% destemmed, with the blend being 70% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre, and the rest Syrah, Cinsault, and Terret Noir. As usual, it’s a more powerful, black-fruited wine comparted to the Cuvée Chaupin and has lots of crème de cassis, liquid violet, crushed stone, woodsmoke, and peppery herbs. It displays the vintage’s purity and freshness yet brings the concentration as well as the structure. I’ll be shocked if it’s not in the handful of top wines in the vintage.
-Jeb Dunnuck 96-98 Points

Domaine La Maionnette Rose Cotes de Provence is made from 60% Syrah, 20% Cinsault and 20% Grenache.

The plots of Domaine de la Maïonnette benefit from a clay-limestone soil and are located on a plateau surrounded by hundred-year-old oaks. Bordered by the Provencal scrubland, the vineyard enjoys a dry climate typical of the region.

An emblematic cuvée of the estate, this Cotes de Provence rosé reveals concentrated aromas of citrus fruits and white flowers, and a beautiful structure. The fresh palate brings out sweet candy notes, gooseberry and litchi, and delivers bright acidity and ample length on the finish.

Georges Cartier Champagne Brut Tradition NV is made from 65% Pinot Meunier, 25% Pinot Noir, and 10% Chardonnay.

This champagne was made to reflect the potential of each grape growing areas of the Champagne region.

The grapes for Georges Cartier Brut Tradition have been carefully selected from the 3 emblematic areas of Champagne. Chardonnay is sourced from the Côte des Blancs, Pinot Noir from Montagne de Reims and Pinot Meunier from the Marne Valley.

Each grape variety brings its own character and specific quality to the wine: Pinot Meunier brings fruit and roundness, Pinot Noir brings character, power, structure and balance, while Chardonnay contributes to the finesse, minerality and elegance of the result wine.

The blend in 2022 will be 70% 2018 vintage and 30% of reserve wines (consisting of 2014, 2015 and 2016 vintages).

It will be RD (meaning "Recently Disgorged") to keep freshness, fruitiness, minerality and elegance. 

Review:

"A blend of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, and Chardonnay. Lemon drop and buttercup combine with lime sorbet. Bubbles burst with ease and the wine’s mineral tone keeps the palate cleansed."

- The Tasting Panel (May/June 20022), 93 pts

Ibizkus White Tierra Ibiza is made from 90% Malvasia and 10% of other grape varietals (Macabeo, Muscat and Chardonnay).

With the Malvasia grape as the protagonist, Ibizkus white is an intense wine with its own personality. A straw yellow color with golden hus, it is medium-bodied, smooth, creamy and aromatic with citrus fruit, stone fruit and smoked fragrances. Silky on the palate with balanced acidity..

Vineyards on the west of the island bring density and fullness to the wine while the Cala Mastella vineyards add freshness.

Malvasia is grown on calcareous clay terraces in the San Mateo region and limestone rock slopes on a vineyard close to the sea at 180-metre altitude.

Review:

"Fragrant wine with a pot-pourri of flavors: apricot, hop flowers, cucumber skin and jasmine. Slightly spritzy. Would really shine with food perhaps.

- Decanter World Wine Awards, Silver Medal - 90 pts

La Despensa Boutique Cinsault is made from 100% Cinsault.

A genuinely unique wine - they are the only producers of Cinsault in Colchagua! From a new vineyard planted in 2017, the team at La Despensa thinks they’ve hit the jackpot with this variety in this valley. Much more structure, color and intensity than the typical Chilean Cinsaults from further south, this is an easy drinking but serious version of this wonderfully fruity variety!

Chablis achieves its highly distinctive mineral character due to its cool northerly climate and its highly calcareous soil. The Domaine Louis Moreau Chablis Valmur Grand Cru is robust and powerful, vinified in the style of Côte de Beaune with some oak aging.

Review:

"A combination of fruit from the two sides of the Valmur valley, there is a lot of wine in this wine. It is engaging, sophisticated and has good heft with equally solid refreshment. Tasting of nectarines and pear core with a touch of earthiness, there's a gentle, dry tug on the lingering finish. This will certainly compensate the patient wine lover."

-Tim Atkins 95 Points

Luis XIV Fondillon Oro 50 years NV is made from 100 percent 100% Monastrell (Mourvedre). Only 24 9 liter cases produced.

The wine is produced in the village of Cañada, in the subarea of Alto Vinalopó in the province of Alicante. Made from 100% Monastrell planted on traditional dry land as bush vines, at 550-580 meters above sea leval and enjoying a Mediterranean climate with great marine influence due to the easterly winds.

Fondillon 50 years is mahogany in color with orange tile rim, medium layer and great density. On the nose, it has a very deep aroma of old wood, black tea and carob. In the mouth, it has a sweet entry balanced by a rich high acidity. Its aromas are long, almost eternal and very intense. It tastes like old mahogany, a very old barrel and bygone times.

Bottled in December 2019.

AGEING:
CASK NAME: Saboners.
AGEING: Aged more than 50 years (single barrel).
TYPE OF WOOD: 19th-century American oak barrels
CASK SIZE: 70 “cántaros valencianos” (805 litros).

ANALYSIS:
GLUCOSE AND FRUCTOSE: 34 gr/litre.
VOLATILE ACIDITY: 1.35 gr/l.
ALCOHOL: 16.2º (NO ADDED ALCOHOL).
FREE SULFITES: less than 10 mg/litre.
TOTAL SULFITES: 76 mg/litre.

Review:

Dark mahogany color, candied fruit aromas, fruit liqueur notes, spicy, varnish, acetaldehyde, bakery, complex. Fine solera notes, bitter flavors."

- Penin 2022, 99 pts

"The NV Fondillón Luis XIV has the subtitle Edad Superior a 50 años (over 50 years old), and it's a dark mahogany, bottled from a single barrel that has the specific profile of a very old wine greatly concentrated by age, which tends to make it similar to other very old and concentrated wines, be it a Mediterranean rancio or a very old Moscatel. It has notes of bitter chocolate, coconut and iodine, carob beans (algarroba) and some bittersweet sensations. It's dense and concentrated, and the palate is pungent, with very intense flavors and a bitter twist in the finish. This has 16.3% alcohol, 6.45 grams of acidity and 34 grams of sugar, but it comes through as very dry. The wine is long and extraordinary, but it just doesn't have any Fondillón character after decades of concentration by evaporation. The price is ludicrous. Only 435 half-liter bottles were filled in December 2019. - Luis GUTIERREZ

- Wine Advocate (September 2020), 95 pts

"Fondillón is an extraordinary treasure of Alicante, a rare product, made from late harvest, non-botrytised grapes, unfortified, but with a final alcohol of no less than 16%. Intense, aged, but not sweet (deliciously not more than 45g/l). Fab with cheese or dark chocolate. The wines have to be a minimum of 10 years; this release is more than 25 years. The project is a revival by David Carbonell of Vins del Comtat and two local families. Very limited quantities. - Sarah Jane Evans MW"

- Decanter (December 2021, My top 10 Spanish fine wines of 2021), 95 pts

Maranones 30.000 Maravedies Vinos de Madrid Sierra Gredos is made from 90% Garnacha and 10% local grape varietals called Morenillo (Morate).

“The first of our red wines would be 30,000 maravedíes, which is our Comarca wine, a regional wine, village wine.

30,000 maravedíes is the coming together of all soils, orientations, dominantly Garnacha at 90 percent with a remaining 10 percent of local grapes. 

The name also reflects the union between history, the winery, the structure and the place. Álvaro de Luna paid 30,000 maravedíes to buy the whole region from the monks who fostered the cultivation of the vine. It is a historical name. It refers to what was paid for the Valley and pays homage to the Valley. It also evokes what the monks had developed. This history is part of our heritage and we continue it.

This village wine wants to tell you the whole history of the Valley. At the end it delivers a structure tending towards the mineral, the floral, length, fruitiness and ease of drinking.”

30-70 year-old vines produce a vibrant, fresh wine that boasts juicy red berry, wild herb, flower and balsamic flavors with hints of sweet spice. Smooth tannins provide finesse and longevity.

Marquis d'Alesme Margaux is made from 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc.

Morlet Family Vineyards Ma Douce Chardonnay is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.

The cool maritime breeze and mild and sunny mountain climate create ideal conditions for this hillside vineyard located on the second ridge from the Pacific Ocean. Handcrafted using classical Burgundian winemaking techniques, this wine is dedicated to Jodie Morlet. It is ‘My Sweet’ or ‘Ma Douce.’

Full yellow color. Aromas of lemon drop, Crème Brulée and orange zest intermixed with strong notes of minerality (wet stones) and fresh hazelnut. Full-bodied, mineral driven, this wine displays a creamy texture and very long mineral finish. Built to age gracefully for a decade, this wine is already very approachable.

Propietary Name Ma Douce

Name Meaning My Sweet “Douce brize” from the Ocean

Varietal composition Chardonnay

Type of wine Vineyard designated

Appellation Fort Ross-Seaview

Vineyard singularity On the second ridge off Ocean High elevation Goldridge soil

Typical harvest date End of October

Picking Manual, small lugs, refer truck

Sorting Cluster by cluster

Fermentation In barrel through native yeast 100% Malolactic

Upbringing Sur lies with bâtonnage

French oak from selected coopers

Bottling Unfiltered

Cellaring time 5-10 years

Serving Slightly below room temperature Decanted when served young

Review:

"Lots of white peach, quince, white flower, and green almond notes emerge from the 2020 Chardonnay Ma Douce, a full-bodied barrel sample with beautiful depth as well as freshness."96 Points Jeb Dunnuck: 

Pearmund Cellars Petit Verdot is made from 100 percent Petit Verdot.

Blackberry aromas with rich plum flavors. Well-rounded tannins and a smooth finish. Earthy, rustic, and warm. Limited production.