South African Mixed Case
A mixed case of 6 South African wines – 3 reds and 3 white
- Sauvignon Blanc ‘Enita’, Niel Joubert, Paarl
- Grenache Blanc, Piekenierskloof, Swartland
- Chenin Blanc ‘Moment of Silence’, Blankbottle, Wellington
- Pinotage, Du Plevaux, Stellenbosch
- Red Secateurs, Badenhorst, Swartland
- Cabernet Franc, Raats, Stellenbosch
Syrah Fleur de Charlotte, Vin de Pays, France
Along with the help of Floris Lemstra at Chateau Canet, we have successfully developed the ‘Fleur de Charlotte’ selection of wines that we believe offer excellent value for money. Floris and his team are best known for their Minervois production and in this case, they have utilised the same approach, based on attention to detail, in order to produce a range of fresh, clean and easy-drinking wines that offer excellent varietal examples
Cabernet Sauvignon, Cartlidge & Browne, North Coast USA
In 1980, the same year Ronald Reagan came to power and JR was shot in ‘Dallas’, with no money to buy vineyards and seeing no reason to, Tony Cartlidge started his winery in an undistinguished Napa Valley garage.
Possibly the original Californian ‘garagiste’ he set out to source the best possible grapes to handcraft his wines in this unassuming home. Nearly 40 years later, still sourcing from vineyards as wide ranging as Sonoma to the Sierra foothills, continuing to produce high quality wines, Cartlidge & Browne has become a byword for varietally pure Californian wines, whilst sticking to their garagiste roots of taking a different path.
Malbec Reserve, Domaine Bousquet, Mendoza, Argentina
The Bousquet family hail from the city of Carcassonne, in the South of France and are 4th generation winemakers. In 1990, they began to explore the idea of leaving behind their vineyard in France to travel and explore opportunities further afield. On one particular trip to Argentina, they fell in love with Mendoza, intrigued by combination of soil variation, altitude and terroir on offer.
In 1997, they took the decision to permanently relocate, buying a parcel of land in the Gualtallary Valley in Tupungato, in the foothills of the Andes. The site is defined by its altitude, with the majority of the vines at around 1,200 metres!
The key objective of the Bousquet family was to unite their tradition of European wine with these unique conditions and produce wines that speak of their terroirs.
Syrah Solevari Reserve, Viile Timisului, Romania
The Cramele Recas Estate, owned by Englishman, Philip Cox and his Romanian wife Elvira, have put in a huge amount of work into transforming their slice of grape growing history into a contemporary winemaking haven.
The immaculate vineyards are a combination of evolved plantings from 1447 and much more recent plantings too. With recent investments into modernising and improving their winery, they regularly host world class flying winemakers, vintage to vintage, to work with their team. This enables them to create top quality wines and constantly challenge themselves push innovations and approach winemaking with an open mind.
Velvet, Pittnauer, Burgenland, Austria
Gerhard Pittnauer is undoubtedly one of the stars of the Austrian winemaking scene, producing a host of powerful reds which showcase the quality of Austria’s indigenous grape varieties. His base in the town of Gols is located in the Burgenland region, famed for the amount of sunlight it receives each year. As a result, Gerhard is able to fashion supple, modern wines that all display his signature, silky soft tannins.
Terre des Olivettes Rouge, Vin de Pays, Languedoc, France
The Caves d’Alignan is a co-operative in the Languedoc region that has a very good reputation for producing quality wines utilising modern techniques. In the past few years, Alignan has augmented its winery with the addition of modern equipment that ensures that all their wines are of a consistently high quality. Situated in the Côtes de Thongue area, the vineyards benefit from the Mediterranean climate, giving their grapes a real feel of ripeness, yet also are exposed to a northern prevailing wind.
Chanzy, Maranges, 1er Cru La Fussier, Cotes de Beaune, Burgundy, France
Maison Chanzy is a highly respected Burgundian producer, their wines are a classical demonstration of premium vineyard sites in Côte Chalonnaise, Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits.
Their range has been carefully engineered by winemaker Max Blondelle, whose primary task is to create wines that eloquently communicate their respective terroir, whilst remaining hands-off in his approach. As such, Chanzy are one of the few Burgundy producers to achieve Haute Valeur Environnementale level 3; the most highly regarded certification for agriculture in France.
Secateurs, Shiraz
One often hears wine merchants saying that winemakers like to let the wines speak for themselves. Well, Adi’s wines would be lucky to get a word in edgeways! He is a fast-talking, quick-witted, warm-hearted kind of guy who aims to produce wines with bags of personality. If you want to drink wines with soul that were made using gut feel rather than technical recipes, then this is definitely where you should be focusing your attention.
Today, Swartland is among the most exciting up-and-coming wine regions in the world – it’s extremely old bush vines attracting the attention of some of South Africa’s most pioneering winemakers. Adi took over this ancient winery in the Paardeberg district, utilising his 35 hectares of mature, dryfarmed bush vines to produce a range of grapes.
Zinfandel, Dancing Crow Vineyards, Lake County, California, USA
Example of ‘cool-climate’ California – British winemaker – excellent value for money
Owned by Londoner Tony Cartlidge and his wife Sarah, Dancing Crow is an exciting addition to our growing American portfolio. Tony has worked in the Napa Valley since the late 1970s and his latest project sees a return to a more focussed production than his previous projects, as he and his team fashion only a handful of key cuvées.
Merlot, Costa Vera Indomita, Central Valley
The dynamic winemaking team at Indómita skillfully craft wines from their vineyards in two of Chile’s very best regions. Indómita produce superb, expressive wines that are both beautiful and stunning value for money. From selected vineyard sites across Chile’s Central Valley. The cooling influences of the Andes and the Humboldt current together with the diurnal temperature difference here allows for slow ripening so that the grapes develop maximum flavour.
Beaujolais, Domaine de la Couvette, Rouge
Gautier Marion is the fifth generation of the family to manage Domaine de la Couvette, tucked into the gently undulating countryside of Southern Beaujolais. If you could picture what a quintessentially small french producer should look like then Gautier’s property would come very close. He takes great pride in making wines in the traditional carbonic macerated style using his trusty, old concrete vats, which he uses to age the wines as well. Respecting not only the winemaking traditions, but also their 11 hectares of land and the vines that are up to 50 years old, they demonstrate their commitment by making a fully organic Beaujolais – which is full of ripe red fruit, spicy, earthy notes and a lovely smooth minerality.
