Morette Bardolino Classico
$25.49
Located just south of Lake Garda, in Peschiera del Garda, Veneto. Le Morette winery produces top-quality Lugana DOC white wines and reds in the Bardolino Classico DOC. Bardolino is similar to Valpolicella, with the same permitted grapes; it has a different terroir and is typically a bit lighter. The winery has about 40 hectares of sustainably farmed vines and has a “Friends of Biodiversity” certificate. It's a blend of 65% Corvina, 30% Rondinella, 5% Molinara, hand-harvested at the end of September. Fermented in stainless steel tanks at a controlled temperature of 26°C, with an 8-day maceration with skin contact. Aged for a further two months in bottle before release.
Jaboulet Crozes Hermitage Nouvelere
$48.99
Philippe and Vincent retained about 32 acres of the family’s vineyards after the parent company was sold, including most notably a parcel of the original Thalabert vineyard, which is situated in the Crozes-Hermitage appellation. The parcel from the Thalabert vineyard that originally belonged to Paul Jaboulet Aîné was renamed Nouvelère, commemorating the ‘new era’. This 100% Syrah is picked from 50+-year-old vines and aged for 24 months in oak, 30% in 25hl barrels (called foudre) and 70% in small 228l oak barrels. Notes of exotic spice and campfire smoke circle the core of black cherry and blueberry fruit along with fine-grained tannins and vibrant acidity.
Le Grand Verdus Reserve 2019
$57.99
In 1973, Philippe Le Grix de la Salle left the Créon cooperative and started up his winery. This was the birth of Grand Verdus as a wine château in the classic Bordeaux mould. Under the courtyard of the 400-year-old structure are the wine cellars. The stainless steel tanks are among the first installed in Gironde. At the same time, some Premiers Grand Crus Classés of the Médoc are also developed. With the help of Emile Peynaud, a famous professor at the Faculty of Oenology of Bordeaux and “mentor” of Philippe Le Grix de la Salle, a modern Bordeaux chateau is born.
Becker Herrenwingert Pinot Noir
$103.99
The Becker family owns more than 30 hectares and produces over 12,000 cases annually. Positioned on the very border with France in the town of Schweigen, the Beckers have witnessed that border shifting throughout history. Today, they have vineyards on both the French and German sides, at the edge of the Palatinate (Pfalz) forest—with 50 percent of their land situated on the French side in Alsace.
The soils in the area are composed of deep layers of shell limestone, with various topsoils, which in combination with the region’s mild climate, provide the ideal growing conditions for Spätburgunder. Hence, the logical focus is on the variety. As one of the pioneers, Fritz Becker Sr. was also one of the first winemakers in the region to mature his Spätburgunder in barriques.
Their most prestigious vineyard is Kammerberg, a steep single vineyard on deep marl and limestone near Wissembourg, recovered by Fritz Sr. in 1967. The old vines are mostly German clones and some French and grow on deep marl lime soils that produce powerful but also refined, mineral-driven Pinot Noirs (it is all about the dirt here!); St. Paul cultivated here in the 14th century by the Cistercians of Wissembourg, which had since become overgrown but the Beckers uprooted trees and bushes in early 2000 and planted Spätburgunder; and Sonnenberg, with poor limestone soils ideal for growing Riesling.
From KWM: We sourced these wines a year ago after reading the rave reviews from numerous publications, in Germany and beyond. The Pinot Noirs are prized and will give Burgundy fans a solid alternative.
Ochoa Gran Reserva Magnum
$91.99
This is a Magnum / 1.5 Litre bottle of the Ochoa Grand Reserva.
"Ochoa Gran Reserva is a reference of our winery and our family. is produced only in exceptional harvest years. Ochoa Gran Reserva is the result of an exhaustive selection of grapes in the vineyard. It’s the best of our best. We only make it in good years and the quantity varies.
It is an elegant, rounded wine with delicious tannins, aged long enough in the cask and in the bottle to become a Gran Reserva.
Made from Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes from vineyards El Secadero, La Milla and Montijo. It ages for 8 years in the winery, where the first 2 years ages in American and French oak barrels of 225 liters and the rest of the time in bottle until it reaches the moment to start drinking it. Of course this wine can still improve in the bottle. We estimate its potential in 10 more years once it is released into the market, so approximately 20 years since its harvest."
Siegel Cabernet Reserva
$22.99
Alberto Siegel and his father founded Viña Siegel (now Siegel Family Wines) in 1980. They started planting vineyards in Colchagua and building the winery in Santa Cruz. When Don Germán died in 1998, Alberto became the owner, together with his family. Initially, Viña Siegel only sold bulk wines to the biggest Chilean wineries, like Concha y Toro, San Pedro and Santa Rita. In 1997, Alberto decided to enter the bottled wine business and made the necessary investments to go ahead with this project.
Usseglio Rose
$25.49
Domaine Raymond Usseglio is a family business, created in 1948 by Françis Usseglio, who originally hailed from Italy. They traditionally develop their range of wines, with many of their vines being more than 65 years of age. Usseglio always performs manual harvesting with selective sorting, and all of their wines are certified biodynamic by Demeter. This rosé, with a dominant blend of Cinsault, captivates with its freshness and aromatic profile of luscious fruit and lovely minerality.
Leeu Passant Cabernet
$59.99
In 2013, husband and wife team Chris and Andrea Mullineux (they own the Mullineux winery in Swartland that they founded in 2007) partnered with Analjit Singh (BAS) and started the Leeu Passant winery on Analjit’s stunning Leeu Estates in Franschhoek. Leeu Passant is focused on expressing the South African landscape and climate as well as celebrating South African winemaking and viticultural heritage by working with some of the Cape’s oldest and most exciting vineyards.
The Mullineuxs set out with a shared vision to create fine wines that reflect the distinct terroir of the area while embracing reasoned, sustainable farming practices and modern minimalist winemaking. This stellar South African Cabernet Sauvignon is harvested from three vineyards in some of the cooler parts of the Stellenbosch region. The wine naturally ferments and is aged for 20 months in 500-litre French oak casks (30% new) before bottling. If you're looking for a substitute for a really good bottle of Napa cab, this fits the bill.
This stellar South African Cabernet Sauvignon is harvested from three vineyards in some of the cooler parts of the Stellenbosch region. The wine naturally ferments and is aged for 20 months in 500-litre French oak casks (30% new) before bottling. Pair with aged Gouda or Cheddar, steak, venison, or lamb.
Durigutti Compuertas Victoria
$89.99
It all began in 2007 with the first five hectares of an old Malbec vineyard that the brothers acquired a few steps from the winery, on Callejón de la Reta. Since then, a path of recovery and revaluation of the history and traditions of an emblematic wine region of Lujan de Cuyo begins: Las Compuertas. Over the years, more hectares were added to the project, today 31, and they baptized this place with the name of their mother, as Finca Victoria. This work seeks to accompany the development of producers in the area who maintain their vineyards with pride in the face of the unstoppable advance of urbanization.