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.
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.
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.
Pinot Noir, Iona, Mr P, Elgin
At 420m above sea-level, set high above the picturesque Elgin Valley Andrew Gunn founded Iona. It is here overlooking the Atlantic ocean that he has secured some of the coolest vineyards in the Cape.
In a country where cool climate vineyards are like gold dust, these vineyards are veritable nuggets. There is an extremely long growing season, allowing Andrew to create wines with complex flavours and a fresh, elegant style. The approach is hands off and the land is farmed according to organic and biodynamic practices with a particular focus on ensuring the health of the soils whilst pests are kept under control by the resident flock of geese that roam the vineyards.
Mr P, is a “Pinot for the people”, showing all the characteristics of classic, high quality Pinot Noir at an affordable price, making use of younger vines and older barrels with careful and dedicated wine making.
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.
Chateauneuf-du-Pape ‘Les Safres’ Caillou, S Rhone, France
The Clos du Caillou was founded in 1895 when Elie Dussaud settled there and created an old cellar. It started as a hunting retreat and it has a remarkable history which explains its exclusion from the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation upon its creation in the 1930’s. When government experts arrived at the Clos in 1936 to survey the land for its inclusion in the new appellation, they were met with armed resistance to prevent them entering the property as the secretive owners didn’t want their estate to be analysed. This is the reason for the seemingly inexplicable blank spot in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation map. As a result, the Clos du Caillou is home to some of the most spectacular terroir classified as simply Côtes-du-Rhône. The estate was purchased in the mid-1950s by the Pouzin family who decided to plant vines on the land that had traditionally been designated for hunting. They also acquired a 9 hectare plot within the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation itself. In 1995, Sylvie Pouzin took on the estate from her father and began the process of converting the vineyard to biodynamic practices. They gained their official organic certification in 2010 and since then have gone on to grow their reputation for the production of outstandingly well-balanced wines with their signature, soft velvety tannins.
Cotes du Rhone, Domaine Roche-Audran, Southern Rhone, France
Vincent Rochette comes from a long line of grape growers rather than winemakers. In 1998, he bucked that trend by investing in a cellar and the necessary equipment to allow him to vinify his own grapes, which for five generations had been sold to other winemakers in the area. Vincent is an ardent believer in the benefits of biodynamics, fully converting his estate to follow that philosophy in 2006. He uses only natural products in the vineyard and carries out all his work in keeping with the cosmic cycles of the earth, not only among the vines but also in the cellar
Montsablé Pinot Noir, IGP d’Oc
Wines inspired by the spirit of place – ‘L’esprit de lieu’. The wines of Terres Fidèles are created in the Roussillon and surrounding regions, a place of remarkable stories where layers of history and cultures are embedded in the raw and wild landscape. Authentic, crafted small batch wines. Wines of the wilds. Old vine Grenache, Carignan, Malbec, Cinsault, Viognier and more. Wines to share…, some of which, namely Felicette, Mont Rocher and Montsablé we have been proudly producing for some time.
Rioja, Bodegas Manzanos, Finca Manzanos Crianza, DOCa, Spain
On the border between Rioja and Navarra, Victor Manzanos carries on the work of the four generations before him.
With over 250ha of owned vineyards at his disposal, including some of the oldest vines in Rioja, Bodegas Manzanos is fortunately placed to put both the sub-region of Rioja Oriental and the name Manzanos firmly on the map as one of the most important areas and producers in Rioja. This range of wines is a modern take on the traditional landscape of Rioja, championing the native grape varieties, Tempranillo, Viura and Garnacha. The team is the youngest in the region, a talented a group of people with the sole purpose of making wines that people will enjoy.
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.
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
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.
