Filippino Elio Barbaresco San Cristoforo Riserva
Made from 100% manual harvest Nebbiolo, the wine comes from the hillsides of San Cristoforo hill in Neive enjoying a south-southwest exposure. The fruity bouquet offers subtle notes of violet and raspberries, combining with spicy hints of cinnamon, cocoa and leather. Full, enchanting and elegant taste, intense with a good body.
The best grapes are delicately pressed and the stalks are removed. The must ferments in stainless steel vats at a controlled temperature of 26°C with a maceration of 20 to 25 days. After racking, the new wine is put into 25 e 30 H Slavonian oak casks for long months. Next, it is bottled and left to age for at least an additional 24 months.
Figgins Estate Red Wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot & Merlot
Dark to the rim, with signature aromatic notes of ripe red and blue fruits, tanned leather, black olive, and lilac. The nose simply brings a smile. On the palate, if I had to describe the wine in one word it would be precision. The way the sweet fruit and dramatic length are braced by lively acidity and tannins aligns so perfectly that the wine is, quite simply, delicious.
Review:
Inviting aromas of vivid red fruit, fresh herbs and paprika. Full-bodied with juicy, fruit-soaked, fine tannins. Delightful. So much happening here. The fruit is plentiful and full of charming spice and herbal complexity. Very well balanced and long. Fresh. A blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and petit verdot. Best after 2024 but attractive now.
-James Suckling 96 Points
Figaro Tinto Calatayud is 100% Garnacha, made from a selection of the best grapes grown in the oldest vineyards. While not truly an "oaked wine", a short stay in oak barrels provides a nice spicy flavor boost.
Tasting notes: Bright violet. Dark berry and cherry aromas show a jammy aspect. Supple and gently sweet, with good lift to its black raspberry and boysenberry flavors. Smooth and broad on the finish, leaving behind a hint of spiciness. Extremely easy to drink and an excellent value.
Ferren Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
100% native fermentation (primary and secondary), long cool fermentations often lasting up to a full year, minimal lees stirring, no additions of any kind (commercial yeast, water, acid, enzymes, etc., never any fining or filtration). Aged 18 months in 15% new French oak (Francois Freres, Vosges, Troncais Forrests)
Review:
A lovely and balanced wine that is pleasurable and complex. Spices, cherries, dried cranberries, mixed berries, bramble fruit, black truffles and forest floor. Salty minerality and orange zest in the finish. Medium body. Drink now.
-James Suckling 94 Points
The Sonoma Coast bottling is a blend of barrels from Ferren's single vineyard offerings; Lancel Creek, Silver Eagle, Volpert, and Frei Road Vineyards. The wine is always somewhat more approachable early in its life as less new oak is used in the blend. Pure and translucent fruit is the hallmark of this cuvée. Citrus, quince, sea spray, and minerals are buoyed by refreshing acidity and a seamless finish.
12 months in barrel, then 6 months in stainless steel15% new, 85% neutral
Tronçais and Vosges forests
100% 4-year air dry stave wood
100% 228 liter François Frères French oak barrels
Review:
"Succulent and fleshy, with notes of apricot pastry, grilled peach and salted butterscotch, along with fresh acidity, plus details of lemon zest, tangerine and lime sorbet. Fresh ginger and white tea linger on the long, expressive finish alongside a touch of chewy dried mango. Drink now.—M.W.” - Wine Spectator (May 2025), 93 pts
Ferren Chardonnay Volpert Vineyard is 100 percent Chardonnay.
At the end of Taylor Lane outside of the coastal village of Occidental lies Volpert Vineyard. With the Pacific Ocean in sight, this vineyard resides at the far western edge of the West Sonoma Coast AVA. As such, this may be the source of our most high-toned and mineral laden wines. Owned by the Volpert family and farmed organically by Greg Adams, these five acres of heritage clone Pinot noir and Chardonnay are at the absolute cutting edge of Sonoma Coast viticulture.
Review:
Aromatic and distinctive, with a hint of smoked sea salt up front. Offers flavors of pear, yellow apple and peach at the core, with lime zest and herbal accents of lemon verbena, lemon balm and honeysuckle, plus a touch of fresh ginger. All of the flavors reverberate with fresh acidity and cardamom details on the finish. Drink now through 2038.—M.W."
- Wine Spectator (May 2025), 95 pts
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.
Review:
"Smoky bacon, bay leaf and olive brine. This is very fine for a whole-bunch style, with lovely tannic finesse and texture. Powerful, tannic and cleansing, yet compact, with driving acidity, a dry, savoury finish and perfect balance. A good vintage, for what is a reliably good-value southern Rhône pick. Vineyards in conversion to organic; fruit is whole-bunch fermented.- Matt WALLS"
- Decanter (October 1st 2024), 94 pts
Guy Bernard Cote Rotie Cote Rozier is made from 100 percent Syrah.
A deep color, an intense nose where we can easily recognize the notes of small red and black fruits (crushed strawberry, blackcurrant), the spices (licorice, cinnamon) come to complete this already very complex nose. On the palate, this wine surprises by its amplitude, the notes of black cherries, toast and caramel are very pleasant and announce a big potential of ageing. Powerful and delicate, this Côte Rôtie is already pleasant and promises a good potential to cellar 5 to 15 years.
With red meats, big game, lamb or roasts. To be served between 16 and 18°C.