Country: | Italy |
Vintage: | 1990 |
Bottle Size: | 900 ml |
All older vintage wines have been purchased from a single collector’s cellar. Pictures can be requested before shipment.
Piron Chenas Quartz is made from 100% Gamay - 60+ years old .
The Chenas Cru is the smallest Beaujolais Cru, not bigger than Côte Rôtie. This is a rare wine. The estate's unique parcel spreads over 22.2 acres of vines on a very steep slope facing East, situated between 310 and 380 meters above sea level. Granitic soils are covered with Quartz crystals and give the wine its own personality.
The vineyard is co-owned by Domnique Piron and Christian Lameloise, whose family owned Lameloise restaurant in Burgundy (3*** Michelin). Decanter classified the wine in the 3 best best bottles of Crus Beaujolais in 2015 (vintage 2013).
Hand harvest, sorting table, part destemming. A first stage of semi carbonic maceration during few days is followed by a more classic Burgundy maceration with « remontages » and « pigeages », for a total of 18-20 days, depending on the vintage.
30% of the wine are aged in recent French oak foundre and oak barrels (no new oak) during 12 months to bring roundness and complexity to the final assemblage.
Pairs well with complex dishes, meats, leaver, and why not a little pigeon with peas and diced bacon.
Review:
"Beautifully attractive violets and red flowers here, carrying a very fresh impression, as well as an exciting and vibrant yet elegant finish. Exceptionally pure and focused. Drink or hold."
- James Suckling (February 2019), 93 pts
SALE!
Hugl Zweigelt Secco Rose is made from 100% Zweigelt
Despite its relative youth, Zweigelt is actually an Austrian classic. This variety was created in 1922, when Dr. Fritz Zweigelt crossed two grapes - St Laurent and Blaufränkisch. Originally, it was intended for the new variety to be called Rotburger, referring to the place where it was born, Klosterneuburg. But this name never took hold, and instead, Zweigelt was named after the man who was the key in its development.
Today, Zweigelt is the most widely planted red variety in Austria, growing in nearly 9% of this country's vineyards. It is a robust grape, highly resistant to dryness, frost and various diseases.
Lively, fruity bouquet of strawberry, cherry and floral aromas. Refreshing and beautifully balanced, this is a great wine to enjoy as an aperitif. This is a Secco for the whole day and the whole night
The wine is made of 100% Zweigelt grapes of 15-35 years old (25 years old in avarage).
The soil is mainly loam and loess.
It is made using the Charmat method and the wine is aged for 3 months on the lees in stainless steel tanks.
The wine is slightly filtered before bottling.
Drink by itself as an aperitif, it is also a great picnic or brunch wine and will be a good pick to celebrate any occasion.
Ilaria De Nardi Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore is made from 60% Corvina, 20% Rondinella, 20% Corvinoni
Intense red color with garnet hints. Almond and fresh walnut aromas. Full-bodied with a good structure.
This is an excellent red wine with a supple body. The techniques used to produce this wine is typical from the area.
Excellent with cold cut, fresh and mature cheeses. Perfect with red meat and game.
Late harvest style Corvina aged on Amarone lees. The must of Amarone remains in the vat and instead of being pressed, it is topped up with high quality Valpolicella before being left to referment for about 10-15 days.
Pairs well with roasted meats.
Maggiolo Chianti Classico D.O.C.G. is a taste of the joyful sunniness of our area. The name of this tasty, rounded wine is based on that of the iris (“giaggiolo”), a typical flower of the Lamole area that dots our vineyards in the month of May (“Maggio”) when it is at the height of its splendor. We can perceive it in the enchanting sensations and the gentle, soothing textures it offers us with every sip.
The grapes are destalked and the berries are passed through an optical selector. After pressing, the must ferments with the skins in stainless steel tanks, where it remains until late in winter, keeping the Sangiovese separate from the must/wine from the international varieties. Follows a period of maturation of around one-year and a half in oak casks for the Sangiovese and in barriques for the Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
This wine goes marvelously with dishes that contain spices or have piquant sensations, or herby recipes. It is also ideal with various types of soups, especially those made from chickpeas, wild peas or lentils and simply seasoned with extra virgin olive oil. Try it too with the meat dishes of Asian or South American cuisines.
Tenuta di Arceno Strada al Sasso Chianti Classico Gran Selezione.
Strada al Sasso is our flagship Sangiovese and is sourced exclusively from the La Porta vineyard block of our Tuscan estate. This is the most intense, brooding, concentrated and complex of our DOCG wines. While this wine drinks well in its youth, it is built to evolve and improve over the next decade or more. This red wine shows aromas of dark-toned fruit, roasted coffee and violets. On the palate are dried red fruits, baking spice and tobacco. The lingering finish shows minerality, and balanced tannins. This Wine has a Cork closure. Alcohol Content: 14.5% Pair with antipasti, margherita or pepperoni pizza, spaghetti bolognese, and eggplant or chicken parmigiana.
The Strada al Sasso is 100% Sangiovese and comes from a single windswept vineyard block within our prized La Porta vineyard. This exceptional micro-cru features high-density spacing, careful matching of rootstocks and clones to the soils, and low yields. The soils are 38% sandstone, 32% limestone, 30% loam, and galestro. La Porta means “the door” or “the opening.”
The vineyard sits directly in the front of the walled town of San Gusmè, offering the most spectacular view as you drive up to town. The vines were replanted at an altitude of 420-450 meters (1400-1450 feet) above sea level between 1998 and 2001 with nine different clones of Sangiovese, including some Sangiovese Grosso (Brunello) on five different rootstocks. The grapes are hand-picked and cold soaked for four days and fermented on skins for 16-20 days, depending on year and fruit ripeness, then drained directly into barrel for malolactic fermentation.
No fining or additives of any kind are used. Pierre Seillan works closely with winemaker Lawrence Cronin and his Italian team, believing his job is to respect tradition, but also enhance the future.
Review:
The sensory quality imposes a deep and rich matrix of identity in the mixed floral and fruity scents of lavender, violet, agapanthus, magnolia, orange blossom, blue plums, pressed blueberries and warm white stone. Full body, silky tannins, enveloping but not ruffling, it relaxes in a very pleasant bite that from the center of the palate onwards creates length and persistence. What a phenomenon. Impossible to resist it but better from
-WinesCritic.com 97 Points
All older vintage wines have been purchased from a single collectors cellar. Pictures can be requested before shipment.
Castello di Bossi Gran Selezione is made from 100% Sangiovese.
Gran Selezione is the newest quality designation to have been added to the DOCG classification system in Chianti Classico. Gran Selezione takes quality controls a step further than Riserva-- which previously occupied the top tier-- by banning the use of any purchased, or non-estate-grown fruit, in the inclusion of a wine labeled Gran Selezione. This coupled with longer aging requirements (30 months minimum) and minimum levels of alcohol set to 13% designates a band of wines from Chianti Classico producers representative of the appellation's highest quality potential with often limited availability.
Review:
There’s purity to the cherry, strawberry, rose, mineral and herb aromas and flavors in this solidly built red, which shows excellent balance and length. The muscular finish begs for more time for the beautiful fruit to assimilate. Best from 2025 through 2042.
-Wine Spectator 96 Points
Gambellara Soave I Basalti is made from 100 percent Garganega
Soave DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata)
Production area: Soave hills
Vineyard training system: Open pergola
Vinification: Destemming, maceration of the grapes in the must for 12 hours, racking and long fermentation at 18 °C
The color is a brilliant straw yellow with a fresh fruit perfumes, especially apple and pear, and floral notes such as elder and bloom. The taste is very fresh and light, with a very interesting acidity. There is an important presence of mineral salts due to the volcanic origin of the soil. Ideal as aperitif, light main courses such as pasta and risotto, shell fish and fish, soups and vegetables.
SALE!
Thorn Clarke Shotfire Shiraz is made from 100% Shiraz.
Striking deep red-purple in color. A rich, voluptuous wine with aromas of blackcurrant and mulberries accompanied by notes of smokey oak and hints of cloves. The palate is filled with dark fruits and chocolate backed up by taut tannins and lingering oak.
Review:
This is an attractively spicy wine on the nose with red, blue and black berries all in play, as well as an earthy edge and tarry elements. Some perfume, too. The palate has quite a deep-set, blue and black-fruit core with a long, sturdy palate that holds flavor and focus well. Drink or hold. Screw cap."
- James Suckling (November 2021), 92 pts
"Destemmed, pressed approximately 7 days later, 14 months in American oak (40% new). Rich, layered, mocha/chocolate overtones to the black berry fruits are obvious."
- Halliday Wine Companion (August 2020), 92 pts
Story:
When the Clarke forebearers discovered gold in 1870 at the Lady Alice mine in the Barossa goldfields, so began a family dynasty intrigued by geology. A fine legacy that is reflected today in the terroir of our vineyards. The Shotfire range immortalizes the Shotfirer's hazardous job of setting and lighting the charges in the mines.
Fran shares his story on how he discovered Thorn-Clarke:
"It was October 2001 and I was searching for and sourcing for Australian wines, as it was clear that Australia was going to become the "next big thing." After tasting about 100 assorted wines, I decided I liked the style of Barossa, Shiraz best - chocolate, cherries, mint and eucalyptus - so I started focusing on Barossa growers (years later, Barossa Shiraz would develop its reputation as the Icon Shiraz for Australia).
Late on a Thursday afternoon, the carrier delivered a beat-up box of 12 bottles from Australia, 10 of which were leaking. The box was from a guy named Steve Machin, who had just left Hardy's and was beginning work with the Clarke family on setting up a possible new brand. The samples were sticky and messy, but I popped the corks anyway ..... and I was glad that I did. The wine inside tasted like Christmas - mint, eucalyptus, camphor, and evergreen aromas. Great acidity, color, flavor and length of finish - very tasty. These samples were so good and so exciting, especially compared to what I had tasted prior, that I immediately called the number on the card. I didn't realize that it was a Perth number (Western Australia) and it was actually 3:00 in the morning. It turned out I was calling the residence of David and Cheryl Clarke, where a sleepy Cheryl answered the phone. I told her, you don't know who I am, but we are going to be doing business together very soon, and lots of it! After a few months of talking, faxing (yes, faxing) and sorting out the details, I began importing their wines.
That super-star wine from the busted box of samples is the wine we know today as Shotfire Shiraz. It was originally called Stone Jar, but fortunately we came up with a better name. Many years and vintages later, I'm still glad to be importing Shotfire Shiraz and other Thorn-Clarke selections .... and I'm still glad that Cheryl Clarke woke up for that phone call."
Aromatically the wine lifts from the glass with a combination of perfectly ripened red and black fruits, with a graphite smokiness and a hint of mulling spices. On the palate, their is a youthful tannic structure and a floral flavors alongside the fruity notes.
Spicy cologne lifts from the 2021 Pinot Noir Paul Gerrie Vineyard, with both high-toned and darker notes of sage, menthol, bergamot, and cranberry cocktail. Medium to full-bodied, it’s tightly coiled, with tremendous length, gripping ripe tannins, a bright spine of acidity, and mouthwatering salinity that lasts long on the finish. It offers up great mineral texture and will need 3-5 more years in bottle.
- Jeb Dunnuck 96 Points