Roland Champion Champagne Brut Rose Grand Cru NV is the blend of 33% Chardonnay, 33% Pinot Meunier and 33% Pinot Noir.

The Champagne rose shows an orange salmon color coming from the red wine base. The pinot meunier brings red fruit aromas of strawberry and raspberry with hints of spices. The palate is juicy and harmonious with good depth and minerality. A delicate balance between Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir.
It is a blend of 93% White juice (made from 33% Chardonnay, 33% Pinot Meunier and 33% Pinot Noir) and 7% Pinot Noir red wine. The grapes used to produce the Coteaux Champenois red wine are coming from their vineyards near the Village of Verneuil.

 

Rubus Special Edition Barossa Shiraz is made from 100 percent 

The Rubus Project was created by Fran Kysela as a way to source & sell incredible wines at value prices. All wines in this international project are hand-selected by Fran Kysela. Rubus wines are fruit driven, true-to-type values that over deliver - a true representation of quality for the consumer at an excellent price.

Deep red with a slight purple hue on release. The wine has a rich mix of dark chocolate infused with coffee bean and black liquorice, then scents of tar, aniseed, raw (pure) soy and black olive on the nose. The palate is expansive, and yet balanced and finessed. An amalgam of dark berried flavors and textural sensations. The 100% new oak is completely absorbed, meshed with ripe tannins, completing a palate of impressive length and youthfulness.

Sourced from Thorn-Clarke’s St Kitts vineyard (Block 7) in the far north of the Barossa, the Rubus Reserve demonstrates both the strengths of the region and the unique characters of the vineyard. 

A thin layer of topsoil over weathered marble, schist and shale mean the vines work hard to source water and nutrients. The result is naturally low yields concentrating the power and density of the fruit.  Diurnal temperature variation is another important aspect of St. Kitts.  Warm daytime temperatures are followed by cool nights with variations of up to 30°C (55°F) from the peak during the day into the cool night minimums.

Review:

“Earthy detail develops in this sleek and juicy shiraz, a tarry streak under fresh plum and bruised strawberry. The tannins have gravity and precision, their bracing intensity and concentration integrated into what panelist David Hawkins described as “a big, powerful wine with great liveliness.” While suited to aging, this is accessible now if you’re grilling meats to serve with it.”
- Wine & Spirits (February 2023), 94 pts

"Made by Thorn-Clarke for the US market, this has a rich and vivid nose with blueberry, violet, dark plum and subtle oak spice in play. The palate has a succulent feel with plenty of rich, open-knit blackberry and blueberry flavor. Smoothly delivered tannins carry long and even. Drink over the next decade."
- James Suckling (November 2021), 94 pts

Michel Thomas Sancerre Blanc Silex is 100 percent Sauvignon Blanc.

Intensely aromatic and concentrated Sauvignon from the Silex soils, this is a wine of great concentration and excellent balance. Aromas of fresh herbs, with flavors of citrus, ripe gooseberry, apple and a hint of gunflint. A delicious apéritif and the classic match for goat cheese or asparagus.

The special bottling "Silex" is limited each year to between 400-500 cases. They grow grapes on three soil types: 40% Terre Blanche-Argilo-Calcaire, 40% Caillottes-calcaire, 20% Le Roc-Silex. This wine come from the hardest stone soil on the vineyard giving it pleasant notes of fruit and a very dry flavor: This wine is bottled using traditional methods without filtration, allowing for a authentic and natural taste to the wine.

A delicious apéritif and the classic match for goat cheese or asparagus.

Xavier Vignon Chateauneuf du Pape XV Rouge is made from 50% Grenache, 45% Mourvèdre and 5% Syrah. From 100 year old vines. 

It shows a bit of toasty oak up front but balances that with ample black cherry fruit and soft, dusty tannins. Long and harmonious on the finish, it should drink well on release in 2019 and for a decade or more after that.

Pairs with beef with mustard sauce - Pork tenderloin with winter vegetables - Roasted duck - Malaysian pork chop and spice tea.

Review:

Checking in as equal parts Syrah and Mourvèdre, the 2018 Châteauneuf Du Pape XV will certainly be an outstanding wine. It sports a deep purple color as well as lots of black and blue fruits, leafy herbs, cracked pepper, and a touch of minerality. Medium to full-bodied, it has good balance, terrific purity, and outstanding length.

-Jeb Dunnuck 90-93 Points

Showcasing spectacular concentration and complexity, this wine offers remarkable depth and richness, with aromas of sun-drenched blackberry, briarberry, espresso, dark chocolate, cedar, and graphite. On the palate, the wine is framed by firm, mouth-filling tannins, and excellent structure that underscore opulent flavors of dark berry and spice.

Sitting just above the fog line, sheltered from the valley breezes, this distinct vineyard retains the heat from the early morning sun throughout the day and the additional warmth, paired with the vineyard’s shallow iron-rich soils, combine to create a distinctive flavor profile that is concentrated, complex and classically structured.

The Opus One 2018 offers profuse aromas of blackberry, cassis, and black cherry. Elegant notes of violets, white pepper and rose petals follow and together they deliver a very seductive bouquet. The seamlessly layered flavors build to a crescendo of fresh and juicy black-fruit, accented with hints of orange zest, licorice and dark chocolate. Beautifully balanced, the smooth round tannins and fresh acidity combine to create a soft, creamy mouthfeel and extend the flavors into a long persistent finish.

Blend: 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot, 5% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 1% Malbec

Reviews:

Extremely perfumed and floral with lavender, lilacs and violets to the sweet, ripe berries, such as blackberries and blackcurrants. Some slate and graphite, too. It’s full-bodied, yet ever so balanced and refined, with super fine tannins that last for minutes. Fresh herbs, such as bay leaf and lemon grass highlight the dark fruit. The quality of tannin is exquisite with wonderful polish and refinement. Lasts for minutes. So wonderful to taste now, but better after 2026.

99 Points James Suckling

Opus One is made from 78% cabernet sauvignon, 8% merlot, 7% petit verdot, 6% cabernet franc and 1% malbec .

The Opus One is remarkably elegant and bright offering sumptuous aromas of fresh red and blue fruit, baking spices and vanilla, and a delicate fragrance of spring florals. The initial bouquet is augmented by more nuanced notes of sage, rosemary, and black olive. Juicy flavors of black cherry, blackberry and cassis flood the palate and creamy, fine-grained tannins deliver a delightfully round structure. Harmonious and lively, the flavors linger to create an enduring finish with touches of dark chocolate and espresso.

Of the great European wine families, the Rothschilds are perhaps the best known. And Baron Philippe de Rothschild is perhaps the best known of this great family. At the age of 20, Baron Philippe took on the management of Château Mouton Rothschild from his father Baron Henri. Philippe’s vision changed the world of wine: he invented Château bottling, commissioned great artists to illustrate his wine labels – and, in partnership with Robert Mondavi in 1979, created Opus One.In the 1980s, after her father’s death, Baroness Philippine de Rothschild left a stage career that included the Comédie Française and the Renault-Barrault Theatre Company, bringing her own exquisite style and creativity to the design, construction, and operation of Opus One.Among great New World wine pioneers, Robert Mondavi is an international icon. Bringing a passion for excellence to everything he did, Robert Mondavi led a renaissance in California fine wine for over six decades. Among other accomplishments, he introduced temperature-controlled fermentation, French oak barrel aging, and high-density viticulture to a fledgling American wine industry. But life was not only wine for Robert Mondavi: he broadened the American cultural palate by marrying fine wine to food, music, and the arts. One of few Americans to have received the French medal of the Legion of Honor, Robert Mondavi showed extraordinary vision as co-founder of Opus One.

Review:

The purity of fruit is really something else here, with currants and fresh flowers, such as violets and roses. Flower stems as well. Fantastic length and structure to the wine, with tightness and focus. Wonderful fruit. Graceful. A blend of 78% cabernet sauvignon, 8% merlot, 7% petit verdot, 6% cabernet franc and 1% malbec. Try after 2028.

-James Suckling 99 Points

Winemaking

100% single block Cabernet Sauvignon. Aged 20 months in 100% new French oak.

Place

This beautiful block sits on the lower section of the Red Mountain side of the vineyard. Featuring a perfect southwest aspect, it gets the maximum sun exposure for depth and concentration. The land itself is wind-blown loess covering an alluvial floodplain, dotted with indigenous sage.

Winemaker's Notes

Explosively and exotically nuanced aromas of crème de cassis, Himalayan blackberry, black roses, dried violets, pencil shavings, crushed volcanic rock, and liquefied river minerals. While extremely dense and concentrated, this wine has a lot of grace and poise on the palate. The finish of inky deep black fruits, richly refined oak tones, and exotic floral notes, is utterly bewitching. Leave it for 5-7 years if you can or decant well before drinking. This is a 30-year wine in the making.

Review:

Lastly, and a wine that stopped me in my tracks, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Block 47 might be the wine of the vintage. Revealing a dense purple hue as well as incredible aromatics of caramelized red and blue fruits, classy oak, lead pencil shavings, and a Latour-like sense of minerality, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, building tannins, a stacked mid-palate, and a great, great finish. I love its balance and purity, but I suspect it’s going to demand bottle age.

-Jeb Dunnuck 97-99 Points

Belle Glos Clark and Telephone Vineyard Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir. 

Deep ruby red in color with scarlet highlights, Clark & Telephone opens with bountiful aromas of red fruits of cranberry and raspberry jam, laced with clove, cedar, and holiday baking spices. Bold and complex flavors of crushed ripe cherry, cranberry and blueberry pie linger on the palate. The texture is rich and lively, and leads into a warm and structured finish.

Paul Hobbs Coombsville Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon

Since our inaugural release last year, this wine has quickly become one of the most compelling in their portfolio. Offering a gorgeous deep purple hue, our 2019 captivates with a bouquet of crushed blueberry, summer savory spice, and a delicate tobacco leaf note. The palate is remarkably balanced with well-integrated

tannins and fresh acidity that wraps around boysenberry and black fig along subtle notes of rosemary and a crush rock minerality, which lends tension through the long finish.

Review:

With an attention- getting purple-black hue, this astound- ing red is silky but manages to eke out teeth-grabbing, dusty black-tea tannins. A host of flavors, among them graphite, black raspberry, violets, and Worces- tershire, sends a message of intensity. Earth and soil notes are apparent, sur- rounding a mineral component within the wine's deep core.

-Tasting Panel 98 Points