Products meeting the search criteria

Tenuta di Arceno Arcanum is made from 74% Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Petit Verdot.

The dark and intense fruit aromas jump out of the glass with ripe plums, blackberries on the vine, and tones of sweet mint. The mouthfeel is full, balanced by gentle acids and rich tannins. Flavors are reminiscent of dark chocolate covered cherries and spicy black pepper. The long finish shows cigar box and cedar spice. A vintage that will age well into the next decade.

Review:

Today covering almost 17 hectares, the estate's Cabernet Franc is subject to a broad as much as a severe selection, which has improved the wines. It was sourced from a single plot in 2008, while this 2016 comes from 10 different plots. The French clones (326 - 327) can be problematic according to winemaker Pierre Seillan: 'With too high yields, too much herbal character is achieved, while with a tight leaf canopy it wouldn't ripen properly'. Cabernet Franc is not new to producing outstanding wines in Tuscany, and Seillant is not new to managing this grape variety in pursuit of excellence. Crimson in colour, it has a super restrained Cab Franc character of cassis and eucalyptus, with an almost citrus flavour in depth and a sweet, toasty finish of milk chocolate, liquorice and cacao powder. This 2016 is sleek and concentrated, with ripe, refined tannins and refreshing acidity. A full and tense wine.

-Decanter 98 Points

Tenuta di Arceno Arcanum is made from 74% Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Petit Verdot.

The dark and intense fruit aromas jump out of the glass with ripe plums, blackberries on the vine, and tones of sweet mint. The mouthfeel is full, balanced by gentle acids and rich tannins. Flavors are reminiscent of dark chocolate covered cherries and spicy black pepper. The long finish shows cigar box and cedar spice. A vintage that will age well into the next decade.

Review:

Lots of blackberries and walnuts on the nose with some violets. Full-bodied, yet lively and agile, with polished tannins that run across the palate and show class and focus. Bright and vivid. Needs three or four years to come together. One of the best I have had from here.

-James Suckling 96 Points

Tenuta di Arceno Strada al Sasso Chianti Classico Gran Selezione.

Strada al Sasso is our flagship Sangiovese and is sourced exclusively from the La Porta vineyard block of our Tuscan estate. This is the most intense, brooding, concentrated and complex of our DOCG wines. While this wine drinks well in its youth, it is built to evolve and improve over the next decade or more. This red wine shows aromas of dark-toned fruit, roasted coffee and violets. On the palate are dried red fruits, baking spice and tobacco. The lingering finish shows minerality, and balanced tannins. This Wine has a Cork closure. Alcohol Content: 14.5% Pair with antipasti, margherita or pepperoni pizza, spaghetti bolognese, and eggplant or chicken parmigiana.

The Strada al Sasso is 100% Sangiovese and comes from a single windswept vineyard block within our prized La Porta vineyard. This exceptional micro-cru features high-density spacing, careful matching of rootstocks and clones to the soils, and low yields. The soils are 38% sandstone, 32% limestone, 30% loam, and galestro. La Porta means “the door” or “the opening.”

The vineyard sits directly in the front of the walled town of San Gusmè, offering the most spectacular view as you drive up to town. The vines were replanted at an altitude of 420-450 meters (1400-1450 feet) above sea level between 1998 and 2001 with nine different clones of Sangiovese, including some Sangiovese Grosso (Brunello) on five different rootstocks. The grapes are hand-picked and cold soaked for four days and fermented on skins for 16-20 days, depending on year and fruit ripeness, then drained directly into barrel for malolactic fermentation.

No fining or additives of any kind are used. Pierre Seillan works closely with winemaker Lawrence Cronin and his Italian team, believing his job is to respect tradition, but also enhance the future.

Review:

The sensory quality imposes a deep and rich matrix of identity in the mixed floral and fruity scents of lavender, violet, agapanthus, magnolia, orange blossom, blue plums, pressed blueberries and warm white stone. Full body, silky tannins, enveloping but not ruffling, it relaxes in a very pleasant bite that from the center of the palate onwards creates length and persistence. What a phenomenon. Impossible to resist it but better from
-WinesCritic.com 97 Points

Review:

Solid and radiant in the glass it shows notes of pink grapefruit, flowering geraniums, pressed blueberries, plums and rosemary. There is more in the background in the brightness of the lemon, lime and bergamot notes. Full body, well-polymerized tannins that are decidedly vibrant and tense at the moment and an impressive long finish that will relax over time. Better from 2024.

-Raffaele Vecchione - WinesCritic.com 96 Points

Poggio San Polo Podernovi Brunello di Montalcino is made from Sangiovese. 

Intense ruby red in color with garnet hues, clear and glossy. The bouquet exhibits typical aromas of violets and small red berries. Subtle nuances of forest undergrowth, aromatic wood, a touch of vanilla and jammy mixed fruit then give way to subtle hints of coffee. This Brunello is intense, persistent, broad and heady. Full-bodied and warm on the palate, with a densely-woven texture and robust body, it has a persistent finish with well-rounded tannins. The particular features of the terroir at San Polo produce a Brunello with a capacity for lengthy aging, while patient cellaring enhances the wine during ageing in the bottle.

Review:

Lovely purity of fruit with ultra fine tannins and depth, finesse and complexity. Black cherries, cedar and some flowers. It’s full-bodied with very fine tannins that drive the finish. Give it a year or two to open more, but already so enticing. Drink or hold.

-James Suckling 96 Points

The San Polo 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva (with 8,000 bottles produced) is a textured wine with hearty fruit and touches of smoked meat and spice. At its core, the wine offers dark fruit, blackberry and ripe plum. The rich fruitiness of the wine cedes to campfire ash, mahogany and furniture wax. These results are sultry and even a bit flashy, with distant background tones of teriyaki and plum sauce. The wine is fermented in cylindrical oak fermenters and aged in oak for three years. We'll see this bottle hitting the market sometime after February 2021.

-Wine Advocate 95 Points

Hickinbotham Peake Cabernet Shiraz is made from 60 percent Cabernet and 40 percent Shiraz. 

Named after the late Mr. Edward John Peake who established the first vineyard and orchard at Clarendon circa 1850. Blending Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz is a famous part of Australian winemaking history and whilst the individual components of this wine are mighty, the sum of The Peake’s parts is magnificent. The Cabernet shines aromatically with notes of blackberry pie and dark chocolate, while the Shiraz fills the mid-palate with black plum and toasty oak. Fine tannins and balanced acidity contribute to an incredibly long finish. The Peake continues to honor the legacy of this iconic Australian blend.

Review:

Hickinbotham's 2017 The Peake Cabernet Shiraz is a 60-40 blend of the varieties, aged in a healthy proportion of new French oak. As a barrel selection, it stands above the other wines in the lineup, being more complex and complete than either the Brooks Road Shiraz or the Trueman Cabernet. Cassis leads the way, rounded out by ripe cherries and joined by shadings of cedar and vanilla. It's full-bodied and concentrated in the mouth, rich, supple and almost creamy in texture and boasts a long, silky finish. While nearly drinkable already, it should easily age for a decade or more.

-Wine Advocate 96 Points

Castello di Bossi Gran Selezione is made from 100% Sangiovese.

Gran Selezione is the newest quality designation to have been added to the DOCG classification system in Chianti Classico. Gran Selezione takes quality controls a step further than Riserva-- which previously occupied the top tier-- by banning the use of any purchased, or non-estate-grown fruit, in the inclusion of a wine labeled Gran Selezione. This coupled with longer aging requirements (30 months minimum) and minimum levels of alcohol set to 13% designates a band of wines from Chianti Classico producers representative of the appellation's highest quality potential with often limited availability.

Review:

There’s purity to the cherry, strawberry, rose, mineral and herb aromas and flavors in this solidly built red, which shows excellent balance and length. The muscular finish begs for more time for the beautiful fruit to assimilate. Best from 2025 through 2042.

-Wine Spectator 96 Points

Domaine Nico le Paradis Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir. 

The cool climate vineyard that belongs to Laura and her sister Adrianna Catena feels like paradise itself to Laura. It is lined by trees and fruit orchards, with majestic views of the Andes. Inside the 12 Hectare vineyard, there is a little house with two tiny bedrooms and a kitchen, where Laura dreams of spending a whole month reading books-Laura's version of paradise. The little house is affectionately named Chateau Laura. About the Vineyard The tiny parcel where Le Paradis is grown was planted in 2011 with Dijon 667 Clones over two acres. Wine Production The grapes from this small parcel were elaborated in 15 separate microvinifications.

All the microvinifications were fermented with indigenous yeast. 20% of the microvinifications were fermented with 100% whole clusters in oak roll-fermentor of 600L and low temp (22 Celcius degrees). 40% were fermented with 20% whole cluster in small vats of 800L and 40% fermented in small vats of 800L without sulfites until 4%V/V of alcohol.

Review:

From soils rich in calcium carbonate and sand, in a vineyard 1,600 meters above sea level, this wine comes from a selection of 2.7 hectares that produced very little fruit in 2016, just barely enough to fill 800 bottles. But watch out for this white, with its edge, its minerality, those saline notes that are so characteristic of chardonnay from the chalky Gualtallary soils. The wine was aged for a year in used barrels, and it has some of the toast, but here it’s the deep minerality that dominates.

Patricio Tapia - Descorchados 96 Points

Fonseca Vintage Port 1966 has been pulled from a Gentleman's cellar, all wines from this cellar have been purchased by the owner either from the importer or direct from winery. They stayed in his cellar until being moved to the Timeless Wines warehouse. 

G.D. Vajra Barolo Coste di Rose is made from 100 percent Nebbiolo. 

The Coste di Rose is a very seductive wine right out of the gate. Cherries and roses burst on the nose, with hints of amarena, red hard candy, wild berries, wet stone, mint and thyme. The palate is radiant and expressive, with all of the signature elements of Coste di Rose in nice evi-dence: the ethereal character, the saline, up-front tannic structure, and further whiffles of roses and cherries in the finish.

Review:

This wine shows a darker and more savory profile than Vajra’s Costa di Rose, its black-cherry flavors tinged with notes of licorice and tobacco. Scents of lavender and violet lend a delicate touch to the wine, which continued to gain verve and freshness with time in the glass.

-Wine & Spirits 96 Points

Grahams, Vintage Port - selected by Grants of St. James, LTD. (English bottling - London) has been pulled from a Gentleman's cellar, all wines from this cellar have been purchased by the owner either from the importer or direct from winery. They stayed in his cellar until being moved to the Timeless Wines warehouse. 

This is an intense wine with a bright scarlet colour. Pure grapey aromas are complimented by red spices, herbs and lavender. The palate has a gentle entry with subtle spicy fruit flavours filling the mid palate. The tight structure gives the wine a succulent dry finish with lingering flavours of red fruit, anise, liquorice and a mineral saltiness.

All grapes used in producing our wines are grown on Keermont Vineyards. Small parcels of grapes are selected according to optimal ripeness and harvested by hand. The grapes are vinified gently and naturally following traditional techniques.

Review:

"Topside is all made with the 470 clone and hails from a single vineyard with a westerly aspect that sees very little sunshine in the mornings. Denser and firmer than its stablemate Steepside, this a dark, inky, brooding Syrah with fig, damson and Asian spice flavours and lots of stony grip. 2025-35"

- Tim Atkin (South Africa 2022 Report), 96 pts

Kershaw Chardonnay Deconstructed Lake District Cartref CY96 is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.

Sourced from the western part of Elgin, known as the Lake District, this clone produces wines that are nervous, aromatic, elegant and sharp with slightly lower alcohol and finely balanced, the fruit profile being subtle with hints of citrus/orange peel and peach blossom and with time, some nutty elements. The Cartref soils, a mixture of decomposed granite, pebbles and quartz, adds delicacy and heightens the fruit intensity.

The inspiration for my Deconstructed Chardonnay stems from my belief that the Elgin region boasts credentials that make it world-class. To bolster these regional credentials, I have set out to prove that Elgin has both a signature grape, as well as specific ‘terroirs’ (meso-climates) that reflect intra-regional distinctions. To fully comprehend this, it is necessary to dig deeper into the DNA that make up our region. To elucidate this, I have decided to make these 3 Chardonnay wines, each selected from a specific vineyard and an individual clone. Importantly, this is an ongoing story that will unfold over the coming years.

Vintage notes:

Whilst 2017 experienced a cool winter to enable good vine dormancy, the rainfall was low and followed similar conditions felt in 2015 and 2016. Budbreak took place in ideal warm sunny conditions whilst flowering was a touch earlier than normal; strong blustery winds meant pollination took longer to complete. As a result, berry set was uneven leading to some smaller berries that despite a lower yield did have good concentration of flavours. Despite expecting an
early harvest an unusually cool December slowed down ripening whilst some January rain during veraison helped nourish the soils and more importantly, helped the vine focus on grape ripening rather than foliage & root growth. Harvest took place under blue skies in
mid-March. The net result of the drier year is that the grapes had decent natural acidity, achieved steady phenolic ripeness and plenty of intense fruit flavors.

Winemaking: 

Grapes were hand-picked in the early autumnal mornings, placed into small lug baskets and tipped directly into a press before being gently whole-bunch pressed up to a maximum of 0.6 bar or until a low juice recovery of 580 litres per ton was obtained. The juice gravity-flowed directly to barrel (no pumps were used at all) without settling. The unclarified juice had no enzymes or yeast added to it and therefore underwent spontaneous fermentation until dry, with malolactic discouraged. The wine rested in barrel for 4 months prior to judicious sulphuring and a further 7 months’ maturation in barrel before racking and bottling.

Review:

"A single clone (96) grown on a single parcel from a single vineyard of Cartref soils (decomposed granite and quartz). Roasted grain, wet stones, and lemon peel aromas. Precise and tightly coiled with an intense mineral character and yellow fruit and citrus zest flavors finishing with a smoky gunflint note. Matured in 50% new oak."

- International Wine Review (Richard Kershaw Lifts Elgin To New Heights, February 2019), 93 pts

Marchesi Di Gresy Barbaresco Martinenga Camp Gros Riserva is made from 100 percent Nebbiolo. 

Review:

Gorgeous scents of cherry, raspberry, rose hip and white pepper are augmented by leather, tobacco and chalky, mineral flavors in this detailed, complex red, which starts out fresh and inviting, before the dense matrix of tannins puts a lock on the finish. Nonetheless, this has length, harmony and stellar potential. Best from 2025 through 2043. 663 cases made, 50 cases imported.

-Wine Spectator 96 Points

Aalto P.S. Pagos Seleccionados Tinto  is made from 100 percent Tempranillo.

Climatic conditions

The farming year began with a mild autumn and little precipitation. A very dry winter started with -9ºC reaching at the end higher temperatures than normal for that time of the year. Spring and summer characterized by little rain, only some rain showers in July and late August avoided the hydric stress of the vines. The vegetative cycle of the vine developed with big variations of temperatures, alternating warm and atypical low temperatures of 4ºC for mid-June. The ripening of the grapes happened under very good conditions and the harvest started on 24th September 2019.  

Grape origin

100% Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) primarily from very old vines – 60 to 90 years old – from selected plots in La Horra and La Aguilera. The harvest was done by hand, in small boxes of 15 kilos that are thoroughly inspected, bunch by bunch, on the selection table.  

Tasting notes

Review:

Lots of depth here, with ripe blackberries and some nicely baked black cherries, roasted herbs, incense, dark spices, mussels and a balsamic tinge. An admirably fine dollop of tannins on the palate, which are immaculate and juicy, as they thoroughly dunk into the black fruit, melting into a persistent finish that lasts for over a minute. Very impressive. Drink or hold.

-James Suckling 96 Points

Boekenhoutskloof Syrah Swartland is made from 100 percent Syrah. 

Grapes for our Boekenhoutskloof Syrah are picked from selected parcels of the finest Syrah, grown at our Swartland farms, namely Porseleinberg and Goldmine, close to the small town of Riebeek-Kasteel. These vineyards were planted on the rocky bedrock of decomposed Mica-Schist, a unique terroir, finding its expression in our concentrated and structured wines made from this Rhône grape.

The nose is perfumed, forthcoming and fresh, offering an array of rich dark fruits with a spicy, floral, even feral character, derived from complex aromas of dark berries, plums, violets, black olives, star anise and potting soil. The black fruits and earthy character of the nose follow through onto a dark, brooding palate with flavours of wild berries, brambles, liquorice, tobacco, cloves and black cardamom. The mid-palate is concentrated, deep, dense and slightly dusty, with dry, very fine cocoa-powdery tannins lending structure. The wine is very precise, with a medium to full body, a tight, grainy texture and vibrant acidity to balance. Blackberries, blueberries and notes of garrigue and dark chocolate linger on a savoury finish.

Review:

Using fruit from two exceptional Swartland sources – Goldmine and mostly Porseleinberg – this foudre-aged Syrah is fresh, subtle and intensely aromatic, as schist Syrahs often tend to be. Complex, floral and refined with remarkable freshness and palate length. Drink: 2020-2028.
 – Tim Atkin MW, 95/100

Domaine de la Janasse Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvee Vieilles Vignes is made from 65% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre, 10% Syrah, 5% divers.

In contrast to Chaupin, which is made from old-vine Grenache on sandy soils, the cuvée Vieilles Vignes is from old vines of Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah along with smaller percentages of other permitted varieties that are grown in these old vineyards. The wine is sourced from 4 terroirs: pebbly clay, sand, gravelly red clay and sandy limestone. Vieilles Vignes is always the most powerful and concentrated Châteauneuf-du-Pape cuvée made at Domaine de la Janasse.

Review:

The 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Vieilles Vignes also saw some stems (the estate started keeping some stems with the 2016 vintage) and was 75% destemmed, with the blend being 70% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre, and the rest Syrah, Cinsault, and Terret Noir. As usual, it’s a more powerful, black-fruited wine comparted to the Cuvée Chaupin and has lots of crème de cassis, liquid violet, crushed stone, woodsmoke, and peppery herbs. It displays the vintage’s purity and freshness yet brings the concentration as well as the structure. I’ll be shocked if it’s not in the handful of top wines in the vintage.
-Jeb Dunnuck 96-98 Points

Gaja Costa Russi Nebbiolo is made from 100 percent Nebbiolo.

Costa (Italian for the side of the hill facing the sun) Russi (the nickname of the former owner) is ruby red in color, with a captivating aroma of blackberries, violets and roasted coffee beans. The purity of the palate is layered with dark fruit flavors and complex tannins.

STYLE: Complex, Elegant

FLAVOR: Blackberry, Violet, Roasted Coffee Beans

Review:

The 2016 Barbaresco Costa Russi is a more floral, sappy Barbaresco, offering textbook notes of black cherries, rose petals, sappy herbs, and violets. It's one of the more vibrant, juicy, and perfumed wines in the lineup and has medium to full body, bright yet integrated acidity, and the same incredibly polished yet certainly present tannins found in all these 2016s. This is another elegant 2016 that never puts a foot wrong. 

-Jeb Dunnuck 98+ Points

The 2016 Barbaresco Costa Russi is ripe, creamy and enveloping, as it so often is, and yet also preserves the super classic sense of structure that runs through all these wines. In 2016, Costa Russi has an extra touch of mid-palate sweetness that gives the wine its sense of immediacy. Succulent red cherry, rosewater, kirsch, mint and dried flowers meld together in the glass. Soft and sensual, with tons of allure, Costa Russi is another winner from Gaja. Time in the glass brings out the wine's density and tannins, both of which it has in spades.

- Antonio Galloni 98 

This delicate red features floral, strawberry, cherry, currant and loamy earth aromas and flavors, showing terrific balance. A line of firm tannins adds support, and the finish is long and expansive. Best from 2023 through 2045. 175 cases imported. 

 -Wine Spectator 97 Points

Justin Vineyards & Winery Isosceles Reserve is made from 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 3% Malbec and 1% Petit Verdot

Dark, ruby/purple core with a medium intensity rim and moderately stained tears. Complex and very aromatic with black cherry, cassis, toasty vanilla, cinnamon, cedar, graphite, oak, dusty leaf notes, star anise and red licorice. Full bodied, with ripe black fruit of cherry, currant and berry with baking spice on entry. The mid-palate features sustained fruit with sweet tobacco, leather, vanilla and licorice, and mouth coating tannins that balance its full fruit character through a very long, fresh and beautifully balanced finish that evolves with a complex mix of fruit, spice and savory elements.

The 2016 ISOSCELES Reserve is a bold, but balanced wine that pairs nicely with rich meat dishes like slow cooked stews and braises, but shines beautifully with a simple grilled ribeye steak.

Review:

Clean lines of blackberry jam, charred toast and crushed slate make for a focused nose in this reserve blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 3% Malbec and 1% Petit Verdot. It is very dense and thick on the palate, where mocha, caramel, loamy earth and dark berry flavors align into an lusciously rich yet elegantly dry experience.

-Wine Enthusiast 95 Points

K Vintners Rockgarden Syrah is made from 100 percent Syrah.

Black plum, Asian five spice, warm turned river stone and taut with tension. Seamless Syrah that persists with black olive, high-polished black shoe leather and beef jerky that keeps going and never gives in.

Review:

Iodine and licorice with crushed-stone and dark-berry character. Full-bodied with chewy tannins that are structured and intense. Flavorful and polished at the end with just a hint of coffee. Drink or hold.

-James Suckling 96 Points