Viejo Isaias Malbec Reserva is made from 100 percent Malbec.
Story Of The Rose:
Viejo Isaias, meaning "old Isaac" is the grandfather of the winemaker, Rodrigo. When Rodrigo was a boy, Isaac would take him on long walks throughout their vineyard in Mendoza. On these walks Isaac would keep a watch over the health of the vines, but more importantly he would keep a watch for the first rose of the year. Every year for 40 years, he would find the first flowered rose and bring it back to his wife, Juana. The rose on the label is a symbol of their love for each other and for the culture of Argentine wine.
Don Isaías Hernández - a man with calloused hands and tanned by the work effort. With his example he taught me that nothing is achieved without sacrifice, that is why I want to keep his spirit alive in this reserva wine. This Malbec is the fruit of a dedicated winemaking, carefully crafted from the harvest to the palate of every single wine lover.
Intense touch of blueberries and plums, highlighted with vanilla and white chocolate from the oak aging. A nice wine with a good body, full of sweet tannins with good concentration and long persistence.
100% Malolactic fermentation Viejo Isaias is 100% oak aged, with 10 months American oak, 6 months in the bottle.
Vineyard site : Perdriel, Luján de Cuyo, upper area of Mendoza River.
Altitude: 950 meters above sea level
Soil: sandy loam
Vineyard planted in 2000.
Density per hectare: 3,500.
Production per vine plant: 2 x750 ml bottles on average.
Franz Prager, co-founder of the Vinea Wachau, had already earned a reputation for his wines when Toni Bodenstein married into the family. Bodenstein’s passion for biodiversity and old terraces, coupled with brilliant winemaking, places Prager in the highest echelon of Austrian producers.
Smaragd is a designation of ripeness for dry wines used exclusively by members of the Vinea Wachau. The wines must have minimum alcohol of 12.5%. The grapes are hand-harvested, typically in October and November, and are sent directly to press where they spontaneously ferment in stainless-steel tanks.
Zwerithaler is a sub-site of Buschenberg and sits to the east of Weißenkirchen. The name Zwerithaler, meaning "nestled between the valleys," is a near monopole of Weingut Prager. It has a complex soil of paragneiss with alternating layers of dark and calcareous rock. Zwerithaler Kammergut is a 0.34-hectare parcel planted before WWI. The wine from these ungrafted, 100-year-old vines was bottled separately by Prager for the first time in 2015.
Light greenish yellow, silver reflections. Fine savory, delicate nuances of anise, tobacco notes, delicate yellow fruit, a touch of mango and honey blossom. Full-bodied, juicy white apple fruit, well-integrated, silky acidity structure, finesse and long persistence, saline finish, lingers for minutes, Veltliner at its best.
-Falstaff 99 Points
"The aromas of this old-vine gruner veltliner leap out and shake you to the core. Full-bodied and full of weighty and balanced layers of papayas, mangoes, nectarines, chives, white tea and oranges. Fantastic concentration, giving so much pleasure already, but it will keep blossoming if you give it time. From vines planted in 1907. Sustainable. Drink or hold."
-James Suckling 98 Points
Honeyed style, rich minerality and luscious creaminess. Flavors of baked pineapple and pear. Fresh and juicy on the finish.
From the famous Erbacher Honigberg vineyard. Average of the vines is 20 years old.
Cool fermentation, matured on the lees for 2 months before bottling, with a slight filtration.
Riesling Rheingau Erbacher Honigberg Spatlese goes well with Indian Curry and blue Cheese
Zaccagnini Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi 100% Verdicchio.
Verdicchio is an historic wine that has been made since the 1400’s. There is an ancient bond between the Verdicchio vine and the region of Le Marche, a seaside province on the Adriatic sea, which stems from a cherished relationship with the Benedictine, and later the Camaldolese, Monks. The monks helped spread Verdicchio vines – which had been present for centuries – as well as viticultural-oenological techniques throughout the Marche region. The efforts of the monks, along with improvements in the quality of the vines & vinification methods, have allowed Verdicchio to thrive for centuries. At one time, Verdicchio measured 65,000 hectares (158,080 acres) of grapes throughout Italy.
Verdicchio means “little green one”, in reference to the grape and the color of the resulting wine. The Verdicchio grape – which also goes by Giallo and Turbiana (Lake Garda) – is grown across Italy, and it is closely related to Trebbiano and Greco. The grape is subject to mutations.
The wine is refreshing, exhibiting lemon citrus flavors, aromas of flowers and apples, with herbaceous qualities.
Bachelet Bertrand Santenay Blanc is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
Tasting Notes:
The Santenay Blanc comes from a parcel that is 1.2 hectares in size (3 acres) in the village called “En Charron”, at around 300 meters above sea level, with excellent sunshine and thin limestone soil, guaranteeing great aromatic finesse.
The wine shows a beautiful golden color, a fresh and slightly roasted nose combining lemon and lime aromas with a hint of vanilla. On the palate, almond and toasted hazelnut flavors, along with notes of white flowers and vanilla nuances.
Florence Cholet Auxey-Duresses Rouge is made from 100% Pinot Noir.
Auxey-Duresses exhibits intense and juicy aromas of cherries, raspberries, and spices. This is a charming wine that has harmonious and delicate tannins, and a fine texture in the mouth. Medium-bodied, elegant and complex with great concentration and structure.
Mollydooker Carnival of Love Shiraz is made from 100 percent Shiraz.
WHAT IS THE CARNIVAL OF LOVE?
This is as life should be – a Carnival of Love. A place where everyone wants to be, and no one wants to leave.
TASTING NOTES:
Intense in colour, flavour and aroma, our 2021 Carnival of Love Shiraz captivates the palate from the first sip. Powerful yet delicate, lifted aromas of red cherry, blackberry and turkish delight evolve, while subtle hints of mocha linger. Infectious chocolate cherry, fresh plum and liquorice add to the complexity, while creating a seamless structure and lingering finish.
TECHNICAL NOTES:
The grapes were grown on the Gateway vineyard in McLaren Vale. Barrel fermented and matured in 100% American oak, using 100% new barrels. The required Marquis Fruit Weight™ for the Love Series is 85% – 95%. The Actual Fruit Weight for 2021 Carnival of Love 88%.
Alcohol: 16.5%
pH: 3.66
Reviews:
Another sensational edition of the Mollydooker ‘Carnival of Love’ Shiraz from 2021 — and I am not the least surprised. I’ve had every edition of this wine for more than a decade. This bottling was as usual aged in all new American oak. On the nose this takes on dense black currant jelly, cigar box and shades of creosote with Arabica bean. The palate is soft and inviting with its plush texture and seamless mouthfeel as this effortlessly glides throughout the drinking experience. A joy to drink now so young, this will easily cellar for another ten years and potentially more. But why wait?
- Owen Bargreen 96 Points
Pago de Carraovejas Cuesta Liebres is made from 100% Tinto Fino. The plot is located on a terraced hillside located at 900 m above sea level with slopes that range between inclines of 30% and 40%. Red cherry color with purple hues. Ripe fruit aromas, vanilla notes. Suave and unctuous in the mouth. A strong and noble character.
The harvest is carried out by hand using small crates and after passing through a refrigerated container it is transferred into tanks via gravity. The alcoholic and malolatic fermentation is carried out in small French “Haute Futaie” Oak casks with unique and original local yeasts and fermenting bacteria from the vineyard itself, to bring out the very best of the terroir, respecting the uniqueness of each and every vintage. Clarified with egg whites and bottled by gravity with natural cork stoppers.
Review:
"From the vineyard of the same name, the 2021 Cuesta De Las Liebres is a knockout, from a hillside vineyard of terraced vines. Aged 24 months in French oak, the first year in new, the second in second-use, all fine-grained, and bottled in June 2024, the tannins are well-integrated and dusty, nearly chalky. It’s truly a beautiful expression of variety, vintage, and site, reaching perfection in its fine-tuned, full-bodied layers of rich cassis, oak spice, and even a touch of garrigue. There’s lovely acidity throughout that brightens the palate, with beguiling notes of violet that never fade away. It’s a seamless, polished, gorgeous wine that will be hard to resist, though aging will continue to see it melt into one over the next 15-18 years. - Virginie BOONE"
- Jeb DUNNUCK (August 2025), 100 pts