SonVida Alegria Red Blend 2015

SonVida Malbec is made from 95% Malbec and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon

SonVida Malbec is a single vineyard wine, the supreme expression of the award-winning zone of Altamira, in Argentina's Uco Valley. Altamira's smooth tannins shine through, and the combination of acidity and minerality lead the wine to a long, integrated finish.

"The wine is proud to be ripe and generous. Aromas dominated by smokey mulberry and blueberry. It's plush and coats the palate with bramble, blueberry and liquorice and the scent of vanilla. Immediately muscular and broad-shouldered in the glass, with a savory note, perhaps tapenade, running through the dense palate with mint and dried herbs on the finish. The oak will integrate over time, mixing its spice with the warm spice of fruit. - Joe Fattorini - The Wine Show"

Sunny Summer with moderate nighttime temperatures, followed by an early Fall.
Grapes come from the Mendoza region, in the Paraje Altamira area.

YIELD: 35 Hl/HA
MACERATION: Total 25 days, first cold-soaked 5 days, 14 days fermentation at 24° C, plus 7 additional days. No filtration.

SonVida Malbec can be enjoyed on its own, and matches perfectly with meats, chicken, turkey and hard cheeses. It is enjoyed best in good company. ‘Would you like another glass?’ The answer, almost always, is ‘yes’.

Review:

"Former diplomat and journalist David Smith doesn’t make much wine, alas, but the quality is extremely good indeed. Subtle, refreshing and marked by the chalky terroir of Paraje Altamira, it’s a nuanced, skilfully oaked Malbec with precision, focus and impressive palate length. 2020-25"
- Tim Atkin, Argentina Special Report 2018), 93 pts

"A gorgeously rustic, complex wine packed with blossom, dark fruits and Christmas spices. Rich and satisfyingly rounded with soft tannins."- Decanter World Wine Awards 2018, 93 pts - SILVER MEDAL

"The 2015 Malbec has an old-world style in its balance, elegance and smoothness but with the chalky texture of the Altamira soils. It's very harmonious and young, as classic as it gets, medium-bodied and very drinkable. It has developed some extra complexity in the bottle and comes through as complex and layered. Terrific right now. 4,800 bottles were filled in 2017. - Luis Gutiérrez" - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (Issue #245, October 2019), 92 pts

SALE!

Thorn Clarke Shotfire Shiraz is made from 100% Shiraz. 

Striking deep red-purple in color. A rich, voluptuous wine with aromas of blackcurrant and mulberries accompanied by notes of smokey oak and hints of cloves. The palate is filled with dark fruits and chocolate backed up by taut tannins and lingering oak.

Review:

"Destemmed, pressed approximately 7 days later, 14 months in American oak (40% new). Rich, layered, mocha/chocolate overtones to the black berry fruits are obvious."
-  Halliday Wine Companion (August 2020), 92 pts

Story:

When the Clarke forebearers discovered gold in 1870 at the Lady Alice mine in the Barossa goldfields, so began a family dynasty intrigued by geology. A fine legacy that is reflected today in the terroir of our vineyards. The Shotfire range immortalizes the Shotfirer's hazardous job of setting and lighting the charges in the mines.

Fran shares his story on how he discovered Thorn-Clarke:
     "It was October 2001 and I was searching for and sourcing for Australian wines, as it was clear that Australia was going to become the "next big thing." After tasting about 100 assorted wines, I decided I liked the style of Barossa, Shiraz best - chocolate, cherries, mint and eucalyptus - so I started focusing on Barossa growers (years later, Barossa Shiraz would develop its reputation as the Icon Shiraz for Australia).
     Late on a Thursday afternoon, the carrier delivered a beat-up box of 12 bottles from Australia, 10 of which were leaking. The box was from a guy named Steve Machin, who had just left Hardy's and was beginning work with the Clarke family on setting up a possible new brand. The samples were sticky and messy, but I popped the corks anyway ..... and I was glad that I did. The wine inside tasted like Christmas - mint, eucalyptus, camphor, and evergreen aromas. Great acidity, color, flavor and length of finish - very tasty. These samples were so good and so exciting, especially compared to what I had tasted prior, that I immediately called the number on the card. I didn't realize that it was a Perth number (Western Australia) and it was actually 3:00 in the morning. It turned out I was calling the residence of David and Cheryl Clarke, where a sleepy Cheryl answered the phone. I told her, you don't know who I am, but we are going to be doing business together very soon, and lots of it! After a few months of talking, faxing (yes, faxing) and sorting out the details, I began importing their wines.
     That super-star wine from the busted box of samples is the wine we know today as Shotfire Shiraz. It was originally called Stone Jar, but fortunately we came up with a better name. Many years and vintages later, I'm still glad to be importing Shotfire Shiraz and other Thorn-Clarke selections .... and I'm still glad that Cheryl Clarke woke up for that phone call."

Importer Sale!

Burgo Viejo Rioja Crianza is made from 90% Tempranillo & 10% Graciano.

Red ruby colored wine with violet tones; well-balanced, black fruit, vanilla and coconut flavors. Powerful, complex and silky smooth...classic old style Rioja at a bargain price.

Review:

"A tight red with a dense palate of dark berries and chocolate. Full and reserved, yet polished and energetic. Give it two years to soften. Drink in 2020."
- James Suckling (August 2nd 2018), 92 pts

"Well priced and very appealing, this is part of a line up of really enjoyable, harmoniously oaked wines from Burgo Viejo, made from Tempranillo and 5% Graciano. Pepper spicy and refined, with clean, modern, textured blackberry fruit and a fresh, tangy finish. 2019-24."
- TIM ATKIN RIOJA 2019 SPECIAL REPORT, February 2019, 91 pts

SALE!

Burgo Viejo Rioja Reserva is made from 85% Tempranillo, 10% Garnacha & 5% Carignan.

Burgo Viejo Rioja Reserva presents with red ruby color; black pepper and vanilla flavors and some mature black fruit taste too. Well-balanced, well-structured and elegant in mouth displaying some splendid taste of fruit and bouquet too.

Burgo Viejo Reserva Wine vinification has occurred blending different grape varieties to produce an aged wine that will surely keep maturity and fullness from the vineyard until the very moment of uncorking.

VINIFICATION: Alcoholic fermentation in stainless steel vats at controlled temperature; aged in American and French oak barrels -50% each- for 18 months.

Enjoy it with red meat and game.

Review:

"Sweet, ripe, plummy nose followed by notes of rosemary and thyme. Enlivening wine with a long and complex aftertaste." Decanter 90 Points

"(raised in a 50/50 combination of new and used French and American oak barrels for 18 months) Vivid ruby-red. An expansive, highly perfumed bouquet evokes ripe black and blue fruits, cola, incense and toasty oak, with a sexy floral overtone. Silky and broad on the palate, offering concentrated black raspberry, cherry-vanilla and coconut flavors that become spicier with aeration. In an emphatically fruity style, showing solid closing thrust, strong persistence and gently gripping tannins. - Josh Raynolds"
- Antionio Galloni's Vinous (February 2019), 91 pts

"A small step up in price, the 2014 Reserva (85% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano, and 5% Mazuelo) has a similar elegance and purity, with classic vanilla-laced notes of spice, garrigue, cedar, and both cherry and darker currant-like fruits. It’s balanced, has fine tannins, and is an outstanding wine. I like it today, but I suspect it’s capable of keeping for a decade."
- Jeb Dunnuck (March 2019), 90 pts

Licenciado Rioja Reserva  is made from 100% Tempranillo

This single vineyard wine is always produced from the same vineyard that is also used to make the Gran Reserva wine.

Licenciado shows a ruby red color and outstanding aromas of wild berries, vanilla and spice. The palate is well-balanced, rounded and elegant, and offers black pepper, ripe black fruits and vanilla flavors. Its freshness, oak ageing and high extraction guarantee a longevity of at least 10 years after the year of harvest.

Best enjoyed with red meat and game

Review:

"Bodegas Burgo Viejo is the property of six farming families and comprises more than 200ha of vineyards in the Rioja Oriental region, from where the more full-bodied styles of Rioja are produced. Sarah Jane Evans MW: Distinctly pure, vivid reserva, precise style: limpid fruit, brisk acidity, notable but well balanced oak. Classic. Simon Field MW: Intense color, powerful aromas of tar and blue fruit; minty savory, rich, lifted and long; an impressive reserva statement of intent. Pierre Mansour: Classy, spicy black fruit, full, round, generous – depth yet beautifully balanced, very classy, effortless."
- Decanter (Affordable Rioja, March 2020), 95 pts

Luis Canas Rioja Reserva is made from 100 percent 95% Tempranillo and 5% Graciano

A classic style Rioja Reserva from one of the regions most enduring family run wineries. The hillside terraced vineyards are sheltered by the Sierra Cantabria Mountains to the north from harsh weather extremes. Small plot production is utilized in this region of infertile chalky clay soil to produce clusters of excellent quality. Almost 900 plots are needed to complete the approximately 400 hectares of estate-owned or cellar-controlled vineyards, some with vines more than 100 years in age.

Tasting notes
Rich color. Very pleasant on the nose, subtle and elegant, complex, with aromas of fine wood, ripe fruit, coffee. Thick, unctuous and round on the palate with solid structure and juicy tannins. The second nose shows spiced nuances and black ripe fruit aromas.

Winemaking and aging

Upon entering the bodega, bunches undergo a manual selection and then individual grapes are sorted based on their weight. Following this double selection process, they are de-stemmed and crushed before undergoing fermentation and then aceration in stainless steel tanks for a total of 8 days, obtaining better color extraction as well as much more complex and tannic wines, suitable for prolonged aging.
After its primary fermentation, the wine is placed in barrels where it undergoes malolactic fermentation and is aged for 18 months in French (70%) and American (30%) oak barrels, then aged minimum 18 months in bottle before release.
Total acidity: 5 g./l. Volatile acidity: 0,6 g./l. PH: 3,59 Free SO2: 25 mg./l. Residual sugar: 1,9 g./l.

Excellent with red or white meats, all types of game, roasts, oily fish, rice with meat and cheese. Within Rioja cuisine it is perfection accompanying peppers stuffed with cod, artichokes with ham, migas pastoriles and trotters

Reviews:

"The oak might be a bit too much for some, combining second use French and 40% American wood, but this blend of Tempranillo with 5% Graciano is unapologetically modern, with plenty of dark, chewy fruit, savoury tannins and supporting acidity. 2021-24."

- TIM ATKIN RIOJA 2020 SPECIAL REPORT, February 2020, 90 pts