Sourcing immaculate fruit from the cool Adelaide Hills region, Shaw + Smith carry out whole berry fermentation in open-topped steel vats allowing for gentle yet thorough extraction and optimal aromatics. Maturation in French oak allows tannins to soften and aromas to harmonize before bottling under screw cap.
Shaw + Smith own two vineyards in the Adelaide Hills, at Balhannah and Lenswood, totalling 55 hectares. The vineyards are planted to varieties that perform particularly well in the region, namely Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Shiraz.
Hand picked, sorted and fermented as a combination of whole berries and whole bunches in open fermenters, with gentle plunging and minimal working. Aged in French oak for fourteen months, of which one third was new.
Shaw + Smith Shiraz is a medium bodied cool-climate Shiraz, in which balance is more important than power.
Decant and enjoy with slow cooked lamb shoulder.
Review:
Lovely crunchy fruit to this, with spice and dried-meat undertones through the wine, from the nose to the palate. Medium body, fine tannins and a fresh and vivid finish. Tangy and bright. Drink or hold. Screw cap.
-James Suckling 94 Points
Siegel Crucero Collection Carmenere is made from 100 percent Carmenere.
Pre-fermenting maceration at 15ºC for five days. Fermentation between 28º to 30ºC to get more color and structure for our Siegel Crucero Carmenere . Four light pump-over are done daily. Post fermenting maceration for about two weeks. Then the juice was separated from the skins, which were pressed to extract more juice. 100% malolactic fermentation.
Aged 25% in American oak barrels for 3 months.
Fine deep color, with average plus density. A brooding quite intense nose: earthy, prunes and pronounced touch of violets. Entry quite firm and clear cut, with fine acidity and good fruit that adds supleness. Excellent balance. Very good with lots of character.
Pairs well with chicken, pasta, red meats, cheeses
Siegel Special Reserva Sauvignon Blanc Leyda is made from 100 percent Sauvignon Blanc
The grapes for the Gran Reserva wines are the product of a careful selection of Siegel's best vineyards in the Colchagua Valley, harvested by hand, and revealing a strong expression of the land.
The Gran Reserva wines represent the union of tradition and innovation in two generations. The grapes are sourced through careful selection of their best vineyards in the cool coastal Leyda Valley region. Siegel Gran Reserva Sauvignon Blanc offers a pale yellow color with green hues and reveals intense and complex aromas of grapefruit and pear accented by mineral notes. The palate is balanced and juicy with a vibrant acidity and a soft, lingering finish.
Siegel San Elias Sauvignon Blanc is made from 100 percent Sauvignon Blanc
Pale in color with a goosberry bouquet, apple and citrus fruits aromas, and fresh zesty flavor.
Excellent aperitif or with salads, fish and poultry.
Smith Story Cabernet Sauvignon Pickberryis made from 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon.
This wine is an old soul. I feel closer to it than all of the wines we produce, filled with excitement to show off to the world. A rebel of sorts, a Cabernet Sauvignon that is for the curious wine drinker for sure. The 2016 is going to be a showstopper complete with an standing ovation. I can’t wait to see it on stage. Worth the wait.
Ali’s Notes: This was the vineyard I spent the most time in during the 2016 Harvest. There’s a magical view that just pulls me in mixed with an incredible assortment of vineyard rocks popping up throughout the vines. The end of the vineyard rows always had the most gorgeous blooming red roses too. I often sat under the big shade tree on top of the hillside and took it all in. I was there the morning of the pick, the vineyard workers were full of song and hustle. So much TLC was given during harvest.
Eric’s Notes: Steady and mostly uneventful growing season with a bit of midsummer spikes of heat but nothing maddening. A cool slow end of the growing season led to really pretty and balanced fruit. We did get lucky though… we had some rain come in just a few days after picking. Speaking of… the grapes were hand picked. hand sorted, destemmed and fermented in stainless steel with daily manual punch-downs. Wine was then aged in neutral Bordeaux barrels for 22 months before bottling.
It’s wildly similar to our 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon. If opening right away, decant a few hours. The wine is a little tight out of the gates but showing nice herb and pepper notes - the salty minerality shows up on the back end of the palate as it airs.
LIBRARY WINE/ LIMITED AVAILABILITY: A Cabernet Sauvignon, without question on the nose. A Cabernet true to the Smith Smith story style; cooler and dancing aromatic while having density and layers of texture. Lots of spicy red fruits up front while fresh bramble fruits bounce around the palate which is rounded out by a savory, almost cinnamon-bark spice mouthfiling finish and pretty tannin structure.
Review:
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Pickberry Vineyard is the most convincing and complete of these wines from Smith Story. Deep and inky, yet very much medium in body, the 2016 has a lot to offer. Blueberry, menthol, licorice, lavender and spice meld in this supple, racy Cabernet Sauvignon. The balance of fruit, structure and freshness is terrific. This classically rendered Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon needs bottle age to truly blossom; give it a few years to be at its best. - Vinous 93 Points
La Spinona Barbaresco Secondine is made from 100 percent Nebbiolo.
This single-vineyard Barbaresco comes from his 3.5 hectares on the cru of Secondine. It is the commune of Barbaresco below the zone of Rabaja Basa and Paje and is where Gaja’s San Lorenzo is located. It is 230 meters above sea level with a southern exposure.
Excellent with game, red meats, truffle dishes and aged cheeses.
Color: Deep ruby red with a hint of garnet in the reflections.
Bouquet: Bright bouquet full of cherries, raspberries, licorice and floral notes.
Taste: Elegant and refined with delicate, soft tannins. It is fresh, velvety and extremely well balanced.
Review:
-James Suckling 94 Points
W & J Graham's Vintage Port is made from 35% Touriga Nacional, 47% Touriga Franca and various others.
It is with great pleasure that Graham's announces the declaration of the 2000 Vintage, a wine that has been deemed to meet our very exacting standards, and one that shows every promise of living up to the reputation of the very best Vintage ports that the Twentieth Century provided.
This is a landmark wine for Graham's, not only being the first Vintage of a new millennium, but being the first Vintage wine to enjoy the extraordinary results achieved by the new robotic 'lagares' at Malvedos in the inaugural year of our remodelled winery. Significant also has been the decision to include a rather larger proportion of mature Touriga Francesa and Touriga Nacional from Vila Velha, a classic riverside Quinta a short distance downstream from Malvedos, and some spectacular old vine lots from Vale de Malhadas in the Upper Douro. These wines each from family-owned Quintas have been used to reinforce the predominant component from Malvedos and the traditional excellence of the Rio Torto lots from Lages, to produce a rounded and even blend in the hallmark rich Graham style.
Picking began at Malvedos on September 22nd and the last lagar was run off on October 10th, an unusually short and compact Vintage. Fruit arrived in good condition although yields were less than three quarters of a kilogram per vine, and the juice to skin ratio well below normal. 2000 was a year noted for a very low average yield across the Douro, and with the grapes unusually lacking in liquid, the extra amount of treading work required made it an ideal time to employ our new, tireless, mechanical treaders alongside the two original 1890 stone lagares still worked by human feet. It was evident early on in the Vintage from the colour and aroma of the fermenting musts that we were looking at a spectacular year, and after the usual waiting period of sixteen months or so to see how the lots would develop, we have now made our final selection and assembled the final blend.
The blend displays many of the typical Graham aromas of ripe plum and 'esteva' (gum cistus) and is pleasantly smooth on the palate despite its youth. It is full and rich in the mouth with fresh blackberry and red plum notes. Despite the hallmark Graham sweetness in the mouth the finish is long and clean.
As with all Graham Vintages, this is a wine made to last for years and the patience of laying down the wine for fifteen to twenty years will certainly be rewarded.
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