Alain Jaume Cotes Du Rhone Rouge Haut de Brun is made from 60% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 10% Cinsault
The colour is purple-tinged garnet.The aromatic range of the nose goes from fresh berries (wild raspberry, blackcurrant, blackberry) to spices.The palate is big and full-flavoured, with silky-smooth tannins and aromas of the fruit already mentioned. The finish introduces touches of liquorice and pepper. A Côtes du Rhône with great complexity for an every day drinking.
A classic Rhône to drink between 1 and 4 years. Best poured at 17°C.
Traditional wine making and ageing is performed in vats only. Bottling after 10-12 months.
Ideal throughout the meal, but particularly with poultry and other white meats, as well as mild cheeses.
Alain Jaume Saint Joseph La Butte d'Or is made from 100 percent Syrah.
The wine comes from vineyards that are sourced from the south of the appellation and located on hillsides that enjoy a east and southeast exposure. On the nose, this wine reveals aromas of pepper and jammy red fruits. In the mouth, it is balanced, ample and intense, offering beautiful tannins on the long lasting finish. A wine of character that can be cellared up to 8 years.
Manual harvest, selection of healthy and ripe grapes. Total destemming. Cold pre-fermentation maceration 5 to 6 days. Aged in oak barrels with 10% new oak.
Review:
"Opaque ruby. Aromas of ripe dark berries, licorice and candied flowers take on a smoky mineral aspect with aeration. Silky, fresh and round on the palate, offering sweet blueberry, cherry and spicecake flavors that open up slowly through the back half. Youthfully firm tannins add grip to a very long, smoke- and spice-tinged finish that strongly echoes the blue fruit and spice notes. (made with de-stemmed fruit and raised in oak barrels, 10% of them new) - Josh Raynolds"
- Antonio Galloni's Vinous (April 2020), 92 pts
Alexandre Monmousseau Gaudrelle Vouvray Reserve Personelle is made from 100 percent Chenin Blanc
Fine Chenin Blanc typicity, with aromas of ripe apples and honeyed notes. Rich, smooth, rounded palate with great structure and weight. Has the acidity to support ageing for 10 years.
Ancien Chardonnay Carneros is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
Chardonnay Carneros owes its style, depth, and structure to intensely flavored, low yielding, heirloom clones growing in two Carneros vineyards: on the Napa side, the Toyon Farm and on the Sonoma side, the Sangiacomo Vella Ranch. Ancien Wines hand-selected the cuttings themselves, from older vineyards in the Carneros area. These cuttings are reputed to have origins tracing to Paul Masson who imported them from Burgundy in the early 1940’s, from Louis Latour's renowned Corton Charlemagne vineyard. These selections are often referred to as “Old Wente”or “Robert Young,”denoting the sourced mother blocks in the 1960s.
Notes of ripe apple and honeydew melon greet and are delicately perfumed by notes of freesia and citrus blossom. Brighter notes of lime and Meyer lemon match the refreshing acidity of this wine, balanced by a creamy palate and leading to a finish that will continue to lengthen in the coming months. A wonderfully textured and vibrant Chardonnay displaying the best of Carneros.
Chardonnay Carneros is guided toward a layered, complex, and expressive style that develops gracefully in the bottle and shows enticing minerality, vivacious fruit, length and structure. The watchword is balance. Grapes were pressed as whole clusters, settled and fermented entirely in French oak from four different coopers, chosen for their unique synergism and support of the fruit on the palate. One third of the barrels were new. A variety of yeasts were used, including native strains, and fermentation proceeded evenly and slowly, averaging a cool 55°F. The wine was aged on its yeast lees, which were stirred weekly through the spring.
Ancien Pinot Noir Carmel Valley River Ranch is made from 100% Pinot Noir.
River Ranch Vineyard from suitcase clone of famous vineyard, mother block to the Pisoni clone as well.
Spice, tea, and plum and blackberry aromas dance atop currants and boysenberry pie. The opulence continues with secondary notes of chocolate and black tea that lead to satisfying elegant finish revealing jasmine. The finish is mouthwatering and long with presenting umami, soy, and Asian spice. Planted to the same special cuttings as our block at the Toyon Farm in Carneros, they are a joy tasting side by side, illustrating the profound influence of terroir.
Pair with Asian, pork with hoisin sauce, savory foods.
Review:
"Sourced from a vineyard of imported Burgundian cuttings planted back in 1982, this is a complex Pinot Noir, offering concentrated aromas of blueberry, palo santo and warm vanilla on the nose. The palate is joyous in cherry and baking-spice flavors, then picks up an herbaceous eucalyptus leaf kick before dropping into a spicy, Sichuan peppercorn-laced finish. - M.K."
- Wine Enthusiast (February/March 2024), 95 points + Editor's Choice
Tenuta di Arceno is a 2,500 acre estate nestled in the rolling hills of the Chianti Classico region in Tuscany.
Once an ancient Etruscan settlement, the estate has 220 acres planted under vine, leaving the rest of the land
to rolling hills of olive groves, open fields, and forests inhabited by wild boar and truffles. Arcanum La Porta
is composed entirely of Sangiovese sourced from the estate’s prized La Porta Vineyard. This single variety,
single vineyard wine holds its head high as a worthy homage to the great tradition of wine in Tuscany.
TASTING NOTES
The nose has floral tones reminiscent of rose petals, sweet plums and a hint of
cassis and vanilla. On the palate, the entrance is soft but defined by firm fresh
acidity with flavors of raspberries and our trademark flavor of the La Porta
Vineyard, candied orange peel. The finale is long with notes of cinnamon spice,
and mild cedar on the finish.
FOOD PAIRINGS
Aged Parmigiano Reggiano, Pasta Bolognese, Rack of Lamb
SERVE
Decant one to two hours before enjoying with family, friends and food
WINE STATISTICS
composition: 100% Sangiovese
alcohol: 14.0%
aging: French oak - 12 months
total acidity: 5.1 g/l
ph: 3.59 g/l
bottles produced: 19,464 (3,244 six packs)
Cellar Release
All older vintage wines have been purchased from a single collectors cellar. Pictures can be requested before shipment.
In 1992 the Hill-Smith family counted themselves amongst those fortunate enough to own a vineyard upon the famous Coonawarra terra rossa soil over limestone. Experimentation, innovation, minimalist intervention and small batch winemaking has resulted in The Menzies’ reputation as a wine of longevity, elegance and structure.
Situated in the heart of Coonawarra’s terra rossa strip, The Menzies Estate vineyard lies on a flat plain, approximately 70km from the coast. Given the terrain and influence of the cooling Bonney upwelling, Coonawarra is an ideal location to grow premium Cabernet Sauvignon. Our soil is red sandy loam over limestone, which is classic Cabernet Sauvignon country. The grapes for The Menzies 2017 are from vines planted in 1994 and 1996. Bunches are usually small with small berries, giving concentration via an ideal skin to juice ratio favouring the making of fullbodied reds.
Experimentation, innovation, minimalist intervention, and small batch winemaking has resulted in The Menzies' reputation as a wine of longevity, elegance, and structure.
Aromas of fresh rosemary, mulberry, violets and exotic spices. Take a sip and you will feel the poise and tension for which great Cabernet is renowned. A wine of great complexity with flavors of blackcurrant, bitter chocolate, and mulberries, wrapped in divine tannins and a lovely sweet, dark fruit finish. With decanting in its youth, it is enjoyable as an elegant full-bodied red wine.
Review:
The 2018 The Menzies Cabernet Sauvignon is luscious and velvety in the mouth, with a lustrous core of shimmering purple Cabernet fruit. The tannins are typical of Coonawarra in that they are firm, yet they are seamlessly inlaid into the fruit, which feels as if it spills over the edge of the glass. Seductive but rigid, it will have a long life in front of it, make no mistake. You get cassis, resin, licorice, raspberry, gravel/iodine, bay leaf, dark chocolate, after dinner mints (the only brand to be had is the After Eight mints, of course), and notions of cedar spice. Brilliant. 14% alcohol, sealed under cork.
-Wine Spectator 95 Points