Fine Wine Club Archive
Explore your previous cases here in The Archive, with downloadable tasting notes from the winemakers behind your bottles. Plus catch up on live tastings.
Your case & tasting notes - July 2020
We buy our fine wines to order for club members so sometimes there's only enough for one bottle per person. Shop our in stock bottles here.
Edgard Carter Vigno 2018
Country
Chile
Region
Maule
Grape
Carignan
Market Price
£29.99
Angel Price
£20.99
Edgard Carter Vigno 2018
By Edgard CarterEdgard Carter introduces his old vine Carignan and explains the benefits of cool climate viticulture in Chile
VIGNO means “vino” with a G from Carignan and was born as a collective Appellation concept for the “Secano Interior” of Maule that rescues the heritage of ancient traditions and dry-farmed old vines of Carignan.
This Secano area in Chile, should be the region that has the biggest concentration of dry-farmed, ungrafted and old vines in the world. Carignan is at the heart of this region, and although it is not the most planted grape in Chile and in the region of Maule, we think that through it we can show the great potential of the appellation. It is distributed throughout the “Secano Interior” (Dry Inlands) from warmer areas (70 Kms from the Pacific) to cooler areas such as this Truquilemu vineyard. This is our freshest Carignan, a place that gives a unique perfume to the wines, fresh red berries and floral notes that define the wine and that do not appear in other areas of the Maule. It is a wine driven by subtlety, freshness and finesse.
The Truquilemu vineyard is part of the Empedrado geographical origin, which in turn belongs to the “Secano Interior” (Dry Inlands) and is only 38 kms in a straight line from the Pacific Ocean. The plot is at the bottom of a small valley, planted in 1950 over granitic soil on its own feet (without rootstocks) thanks to Chile special isolation regarding phylloxera, the devastating soil epidemic that in the late 19th century destroyed most of the vineyards for wine grapes in Europe and most of viticultural regions in the world. The vines are head pruned (like littles trees, with no trellis) and managed in a dry farming condition, which means the vines survive just with the rainwater that is received mainly in winter and spring. Although we vinify another Carignan that is closer to the Pacific - Ciénaga de Name vineyard - this Truquilemu parcel represents our “coldest” Carignan. Comparing both plots, Truquilemu vineyard is 70 meters higher but what most determines its freshness, is that in this area the hills of the Cordillera de la Costa are lower (around 400 meters high) than other areas and, therefore, allow the maritime freshness to enter more easily. As a result, this parcel is harvested the third week of April (7 weeks later than the Carignan of Ciénaga de Name) and consistently year after year has more difficulty to mature. Waldo Orellana is the winegrower and still performs the traditional work of ploughing the land with horses in spring, which allows incorporating the added organic nutrition, controlling the weeds and “sealing” the soil to preserve the winter humidity to the maximum, this condition is very important in this dry farming condition. This vineyard is organically grown.
In our opinion, the 2018 harvest is the best of the last decade and, therefore, of our project that began in 2014. Specifically for this wine, we are talking about its first harvest, so we believe it will be a debut with the right foot in that regard. Truquilemu is essentially a cold place and the cool 2018 vintage accentuated it (the kind of vintages we like), making it very difficult to reach optimum maturity, which was achieved on April 12, a very late date for Carignan in Maule. The grapes were picked by hand by hand and taken to our winery in 10 kilo boxes. The vinification was made with 100% destemmed grapes in a stainless steel zaranda. We like it this way because is gentle and more sustainable since there is no use of electricity. Fermentation occurred spontaneously in open vats, without usage of sulphites before fermentation nor during ageing, that lasted for 16 months in 3-year-old french 225 liters barrels.
Bottling: 1,419 bottles were filled on October 17, 2019. With no clarifications nor filtrations. A small addition of sulphites is used before bottling.
Drinking window: 2020 2028
Food pairing: Rabbit stew with onions and carrots in mustard sauce
Madone Bio 2018
Country
France
Region
Beaujolais
Grape
Gamay
Market Price
£17.99
Angel Price
£14.99
Madone Bio 2018
By Bruno BererdOrganic winemaker, Bruno Bererd, gives a fresh view of the wine region of Beaujolais.
After years of mass production of wine style focused on Beaujolais Nouveau, many vintners try to change the region. This new generation has traveled around France, Europe and overseas to improve their skills. It starts to be closer to the origin of the ‘appellations’ : Reducing the yield and working in an organic way. Picking very ripe grapes with a full potential of fine aromas and soft tannins is very important. Using a gentle winemaking process to produce juicy wines.
The most important is giving pleasure to the customers
I think it is especially important to improve every year the vineyard management, then this easier to produce the wines I like to provide. I take great care about canopy management, high trellising without hedging to improve the balance of the vine
I am focused on wine balance: silky tannins and long aftertaste are in my mind every day during winemaking; complexity of the aromas is significant as well : I do severe sorting and low intervention winemaking to keep all the best of the berries
We are lucky to grow grapes on ‘ granit rose ‘ soils which are well suited for Gamay Noir grapes; I like this black cherry character with some layers of fine spice ( never forget Gamay Noir is a son of Pinot Noir ). I think Beaujolais wines especially MADONE wines are particularly good value, pleasure/price ratio is incredible, you have the pleasure of a Burgundy wine for 3 time less
It’s best to drink the wine at cool temperature ( 16°C to 18°C ) to enjoy my wine. Open the bottle 30 mn before pouring the wine: it needs some air after resting months in the bottle
The color is ruby and bright. It smells of cherry and black fruit, rose, fine spice; overly complex. The balance of this wine is outstanding: silky tannins, juicy fruit ( cherry and black fruit ), elegant spices and very long aftertaste
The fine tannins and elegant fruit enables the wine to match very well with Western food and Asian food (Japanese, Chinese and Vietnamese); food with fine spice even with vegetables are better with our wine. I made some trials many times for wine dinners in Asia, food and MADONE wine matching is just gorgeous The classical food match: our wine is perfect for food like pork, poultry and goat cheese
My wine is design for pleasure, do not forget to share it in all circumstances
This wine is tailored for ageing up to 10 years, in the coming years the complexity and spiciness will increase in the way of the best Burgundy wines, after 10 years the great potential of this fine wine is at his peak, we are today drinking 2009 that’s so fine, so silky, gorgeous !!
But the silky tannins and the fruity characters allow the wine to be drunk easy when young, this is another tasting but this is mine, I like young wine with a lot of energy !
Gilo Barossa Shiraz 2019
Country
Australia
Region
Barossa Valley
Grape
Syrah | Shiraz
Market Price
£19.99
Angel Price
£16.99
Gilo Barossa Shiraz 2019
By Giles CookeGiles (Gilo) Cooke MW introduces the Barossa and the wine he makes there.
For many people, the Barossa is Australian wine. Such is the love for the region and its wines that fine Australian wine and the Barossa are synonymous. The rich, powerful, brooding red wines are those of legend and their appeal has endured, even though tastes may have evolved towards slightly fresher styles of red.
The Barossa was established after George Fife Angas assisted the creation of an entire European settlement, predominantly made up of German speaking people from Silesia. They set about clearing the land for farming, built houses and churches while establishing “vine gardens”. To this day, the German speaking heritage of the region is clear to see in the road names, grape growers’ surnames and the delicious fatty foods sold in the numerous bakeries that dot the region!
Within the Barossa region, there is the Barossa Valley and the Eden Valley, which is not really a valley at all but an elevated plateau that sits above the Barossa Valley. The region is famous for its deep, iron-rich soils but as you climb into the Eden Valley these soils become more meagre, liberally scattered with ironstone and quartz – the vineyards literally hewn from rock!
I am so lucky to work with some of the best grape growers in Australia and I love working with them to preserve their vineyards, coax out the best in their fruit and transmit the beauty of their sites into my wines. They've quickly discovered that I spend more time in their vineyards during vintage than they do! When the adrenaline of vintage is coursing, there's nothing better than sitting on top of a hill in Barossa's Eden Valley and watching the sun rise.
I start with great fruit. And then I spend a lot of time in the vineyard understanding the fruit profile and ripening pattern. I like to create wines with freshness and energy and so it's really important to pick the grapes as they are on their way up rather than their way down. I want the fruit to arrive in the winery embued with energy from the site. My approach in the winery is to coax the fruit along rather than bludgeon it into shape. Spontaneous fermentations and varying amounts of whole bunch inclusion ensures that the wines have a gentle polish and drinkability.
The 2019 Gilo Shiraz employs many of these techniques. The wine is composed primarily of fruit from the Ebenezer sub-region in the north of the Barossa Valley and from an incredible site in the Eden Valley, high up on a hill. Ebenezer is relatively flat but the soils here are classic Barossa, with plenty of ironstone and some limestone outcrops. The vineyard I work with there has a proven track record of producing awesome fruit and I’ve worked with Andy, the grower, for many years. The other main fruit source is Joel Mattschoss’ site in Mengler Hill, Eden Valley. This is a spectacular site at approx. 600 metres and the ground here is hard and unyielding – the fruit from this site has real energy and brightness which helps balance the rich, concentration of the Ebenezer site. Both parcels are handled similarly – a proportion of whole bunches help retain structure while the wild ferment gives me more variables and I hope aids the transmission of the terroir to bottle.
Once fermented ( a pretty gentle regime of twice daily plunges of the cap) the wine is pressed and goes to fine French oak to age for 10-12 months. I prefer to use French oak as it is more subtle and spicy, giving the wine more precision and structure than sheer weight.
By historic standards, Gilo Shiraz is more balanced than blockbuster – I think it has a brightness and vitality that makes me want to drink more of it. I hope you feel the same…
Drinking Window: The wine is made in an elegant, textured style and as such is approachable and enjoyable now but will continue to develop and improve over the next 2-5 years.
Food Matching: The rich, red/black fruits with lifted aromatics work well with warm, exotic spices so think about a slow roast shoulder of Moroccan lamb or a root vegetable tagine. Equally at home with grilled rib-eye where the bright, energetic palate will counter and compliment the richness of the meat
Olivier Cazenave Franc de Bel Bordeaux
Country
France
Region
Bordeaux
Grape
Cabernet Franc
Market Price
£22.99
Angel Price
£17.99
Olivier Cazenave Franc de Bel Bordeaux
By Olivier CazenaveOlivier is one of those young pioneers that I more often associate with the young, forward thinking winemakers that we work with in the Languedoc than Bordeaux. In deciding to adopt a completely holistic approach to wine making and farming he embraced organic principles from the outset, moving to biodynamics in 2016. From humble beginnings Olivier has grown the property slowly and carefully to include wines from Pomerol and Saint Emilion in addition to his Bordeaux and Bordeaux Superieur. Not afraid of experimenting and breaking rules Olivier has quickly found a loyal following in France and in export markets.
The vineyards of Chateau de Bel are located on a gentle sloping plateaux on the edge of the Dordogne river, where the soils are composed of well drained sandy clay overlying beds of gravel. Vineyards have been planted here since at least the 17th century and the reputation of the site for good wines has long been acknowledged.
When Olivier Cazenave and his wife Anne bought the site in 2003 there were only 4,5ha which surrounded the property composed of 90% Merlot and some old Cabernet Franc. With the help of his father in law he was able to increase the holding to 8ha by buying a parcel next door. Although still small by Bordeaux standards it was enough for Olivier to be able to develop the vineyards and his cellar. From 2005 onwards he started to replant the least interesting parcels of over-productive Merlot which dated from the 1960s and 70s, and replanted with low yielding clones of Merlot, and of Cabernet Franc a variety which he adores. His aim in using Cabernet Franc is to make wines which are fresh, drinkable and by nature lighter in alcohol. Equally he has been experimenting with Malbec and Chenin Blanc, two varieties which historically were planted in Bordeaux.
This is not your typical wine coming from Bordeaux.
100% Cabernet Franc grape, non vintage because it’s a blend of 7 different vintages …quite unusual in Bordeaux !
From a clay and limestone terroir, this pure Cabernet franc planted on Riparia (quality rootstock) is the result of a vinification in 500 litres open-top barrels, the must (unfermented juice) is punched down to soak the grapes and extract the colour mainly by hand, before further ageing in barrels. Each new vintage is added to the blend of previous vintages once a year. This happens at the same time as the same volume of wine is removed from the tank to make space for it, called soutirage.
A part of that soutirage is for bottling and the other part is blended with the new vintage and refilled in barrels “like an enjoyable wind of freedom!” Even the shape of the bottle and the label is coming from elsewhere.
Aging : this cuvee is nice to open today and can be kept for at least 10 years.
Food : Very interesting with spicy food like curry and Tajines (sweet ones) and also the inevitable pairing with red and white meat like “entrecotes” or “Côtes de boeuf” and “roti de Porc” !
3 Monos Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
Country
Chile
Region
Maipo Valley
Grape
Cabernet Sauvignon Blend
Market Price
£22.99
Angel Price
£15.99
3 Monos Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
By Cristián AliagaCristian Aliaga introduces the project he and his two friends put together in Chile.
The Maipo Valley is one of the most recognized places to produce Cabernet Sauvignon in Chile, even more so when the vineyards are in height very close to the Andes mountain range.
We are Vinos3monos, three winemaker-friends who started this project in 2013. We make 3 wines on a small scale, not something industrial, but on a human scale, taking care of the details and delivering a high quality product. We are involved in all the processes of the vineyard, the winemaking, storage, packaging and sale, putting all our passion and dedication in each bottle.
We select special places worrying that they are well-worked vineyards together with the producers and we choose grapes from places where the characteristics of each variety are enhanced, for this reason we wanted to make a Cabernet Sauvignon from Maipo in height, where the austere, stony and good soil Drainage delivers high quality grapes.
This vineyard is 540 meters above sea level, in alluvial soils, where there is a natural restriction to produce very balanced vines that manage to mature very well with good structure, fresh acidity and balance. The vineyard was planted in 1990 with a trellis, it was planted without rootstocks, since there is no phylloxera in Chile, which is an advantage compared to most Cabernet Sauvignon producing countries.
In order to reflect these characteristics in the wine, the least possible intervention is made, it is fermented with wild yeasts and there are no additions of products during its production and aging, except for the adjustments of sulphites to protect the wines from oxidations during their storage period in French oak barrels, where malolactic fermentation takes place, the aging takes 14 months, to achieve smoothness in the mouth and greater complexity of the wine, with power and good structure, thus the wine shows in a better way all the quality potential of the grapes produced in these vineyards of High Maipo.
It is a wine that shows aromas of spices, black pepper, bay leaf, black and red fruits, with a fresh acidity in the mouth, ripe and round tannins, friendly on the palate.
The 2015 vintage was a hot and dry summer, conditions that made harvesting somewhat earlier than other years, but with very good health.
Our Cabernet goes very well in lunch time during weekends or dinner. To me, it is a nice paring with homemade food, even like meat stew, Beef Wellington or Yorkshire pudding, also much very good with Italian food based on pasta with any meat versions.
This wine for its storage time, which is at least two winters, does not need a clarification or very thick filtration, only a slight filtration and it is bottled, to keep it for 12 more months in the bottle before release. I hope you can enjoy our wine with your friends and loved ones and can feel a piece of Chile in your glass, Salud.!
Kruger Family Walker Bay Chardonnay 2018
Country
South Africa
Region
Western Cape
Grape
Chardonnay
Market Price
£18.99
Angel Price
£15.99
Kruger Family Walker Bay Chardonnay 2018
By Johan KrugerChardonnay lover Johan Kruger walks us through the source of grapes for his Walker Bay Chardonnay.
As you might well know I am a huge fan of Chardonnay – to me no other variety has the ability to translate terroir as good as Chardonnay. Which brings me to our 2018 Kruger Family Wines Walkerbay Chardonnay, where, when you have the opportunity to do so, when you taste this wine on site, in the vineyard, it makes so much sense, as the French call it, this wine has typicity. Typicity is a term in wine tasting used to describe the degree to which a wine reflects its varietal origins and thus demonstrates the signature characteristics of the grape from which it was produced. It’s a term for wine I really love and which sums up the character of our KFW 2018 Walkerbay Chardonnay.
During the end of 2016 I came across this very special site for Chardonnay and could not resist my eagerness to make a wine from it for the upcoming 2017 vintage, which was around the corner. The grapes for this wine are situated on the Cape South Coast, on the other side of Hermanus, where some of you might have gone whale watching. The vineyard grows on 200 meters above sea level, 2.5 kilometers from the ocean, as the crow flies, on decomposed granite soils The close proximity to the ocean brings cooler daytime temperatures and more moderate evenings, which is perfect for cool climate Chardonnay, like this one. The soil is very special, granite gives a natural higher acidity, which along with the cooler climate give a very fresh mineral acidity and good length to this wine. The fresh ocean breeze, cooling the vineyard most afternoons, adds a savory character to the wine, a kind of oyster shell salinity, which I find very attractive on our KFW 2018 Walkerbay Chardonnay. One fairly big challenge with this vineyard is the summer rains and mist, which can be very challenging, knowing that Chardonnay can be quite susceptible for downy and powdery mildew, so we have a very close working relationship with the grower, to prevent this with as much of a natural approach in the vineyard as possible.
Now to the winery – having visited Burgundy several times, I acknowledge that we are in South Africa and not in Burgundy, however the terrior might not be so different between these two places, but with the same traditional winemaking one does in Burgundy, we can get the best out of our unique site, as explained above. The grapes are harvested early in the morning, after which it travels for about two hours to our winery to be cooled down before we press the grapes, to preserve all the delicate flavors. We do traditional whole bunch pressing, followed by a light settling of the juice overnight. When we rack the clear juice from the lees the following morning, we take a bit of the fluff ( smaller particles of the sediment on the top of the lees ) along with the clean juice so the soon to be fermenting juice is more cloudy – this aids the natural fermentation and adds weight and complexity during the natural fermentation. Once the juice starts to ferment in the stainless steel tank, we cool it and take it to French Oak barrels, which is only 10% new, the rest second, third and fourth fill (use) barrels. Fermentation is slow and cool to aid the formation of complex fruit, mineral elements. To keep the linearity and focus on this Walkerbay Chardonnay, we prevent malolactic fermentation, which converts malic acid (green apple sharp) to lactic acid (milky/creamy/softer), but we do stir up the less every month, which is called battonage. Battonage keeps the lees in suspension, which adds palate weight and also acts as natural preservative, as the suspended lees binds with any potential oxygen, which could potentially oxidize this wine.
The result is a lively, energetic Chardonnay with complex citrus, stone fruit, mineral and saline nuances on the nose, which repeats on the palette with a great drive and good length.
One recent review from our Platter Wine Guide2020:" Delicacy and precision hallmarks of sophisticated 2018 Walkerbay Chardonnay - (93 points ) - Natural ferment, mainly older oak ( 10% new) augment gentle citrus, saline notes. Sense of lively tension, cool ripeness rather than overt fruit, complimentary dry, long tail "
Best to drink 2021 to 2025.
Food matching: seafood, sushi, shellfish, scallops specifically!
I truly hope you have as much enjoyment in appreciating our KFW 2018 Walkerbay Chardonnay, as we have had in making it.
