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 - December 2023
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.
DRG Daryl Groom Barossa Shiraz 2021
Tasting notes:
The Barossa Valley is recognized as Australia’s premier wine region for world class shiraz, and it’s here that I spent many years as Senior Red Winemaker at Penfolds Grange. After leaving Penfolds, I wanted to make a red wine of the same high quality but more approachable in style.
Country
Australia
Region
Barossa Valley
Grape
Syrah | Shiraz
Market Price
£34.99
Angel Price
£17.99
DRG Daryl Groom Barossa Shiraz 2021
By Daryl GroomTasting notes: The 2021 is bold, juicy and vibrant. The colour is dark and enticing, typical of this wonderful grape variety. The nose oozes black fruits, licorice, mocha and vanilla. The new oak influence is subtle but adds some caramel and smokiness to the aroma. The palate is pure shiraz, silky, sexy, beckoning you for that second glass.
Drinking window: While this will age incredibly well and will reward those who cellar it,it’s also made to enjoy now.
Serving suggestion: Open/decant 1 hour before serving.
Food pairing: Australians love to pair their shiraz wines with lamb. The spiciness of the variety generally holds up well to the gaminess of lamb. A great rib-eye or other nice steak cut is another recommendation.
Notes from the winemaker: The Barossa Valley is recognized as Australia's premier wine region for world class shiraz, and it’s here that I spent many years as Senior Red Winemaker at Penfolds Grange. After leaving Penfolds, I wanted to make a red wine of the same high quality but more approachable in style.
Quality starts in the vineyard. Rather than buying grapes from growers, I set about finding the best land I could find to plant my shiraz, partnering with my brother-in-law David Marschall, a 3rd generation Barossa grape grower. No surprise that we chose the vacant land next to the source of Penfolds Grange to plant our grapes.
This 2021 vintage comes from those first vines we planted in 1998. David sadly passed away 10 years ago from a nasty brain tumour, and although he is not physically here, he is always a part of the wines our vineyard produces. This wine garnered 95 points from Australia's most recognized wine writer James Halliday, scoring it as one of Australia's top wines. This is all thanks to the foundation David laid.
I hope our Naked family enjoys this quintessential Barossa shiraz. Thanks for your support!
Carl Loewen Riesling Alte Reben 2022
by Christopher and Karl-Josef Loewen
Tasting notes:
We are a very small family winery in the Mosel, one of the most northerly winemaking areas in Europe. We only work with one employee and are totally immersed in the production of our wines. Every day of the summer is spent outside amongst the vines and every day of the winter in the cellar.
Country
Germany
Region
Mosel
Grape
Riesling
Market Price
£22.99
Angel Price
£17.99
Carl Loewen Riesling Alte Reben 2022
By Christopher and Karl-Josef LoewenTasting notes: The Riesling Alte Reben offers stone fruit and wild herb aromas with a fascinating hint of smokiness. Impressive power in the mid palate plus excellent vitality and precision from the 2022 vintage. Stunning slatey minerality at the very long and complete finish.
Drinking window: Drink now to 2027.
Serving suggestion: Best served at 7-9°C.
Food pairing: We love to serve our Riesling Alte Reben with trout straight from the Mosel river, enjoyed with sweet potato and a freshly made spinach salad from our winery garden.
Notes from the winemaker: We are a very small family winery in the Mosel, one of the most northerly winemaking areas in Europe. We only work with one employee and are totally immersed in the production of our wines. Every day of the summer is spent outside amongst the vines and every day of the winter in the cellar.
Mosel is renowned for its poor slate soil which works perfectly with the Riesling grape, which has become the most prolific variety in the area, perfectly showcasing Mosel’s signature juiciness and elegance.
We believe in very traditional, low intervention winemaking and viticulture - we don’t use fertiliser in the vineyards, no cooling or heating in the cellar, and all wines are fermented exclusively with natural yeast - and that’s pretty much it!
The Alte Reben comes from 50 to 70 year old vines, which gives it a nice depth and complexity from naturally low yields. The roots of the old vines go deep into the soil, so even in driest of Summers the grapes reach a perfect level of ripeness.
Best regards from Mosel Valley.
Sebastian San Martin Antuen Organic Cabernet Franc 2021
Tasting notes:
During the last decade Cabernet Franc has become one of the most interesting varieties after Malbec in Argentina.
Country
Argentina
Region
Mendoza
Grape
Cabernet Franc Blend
Market Price
£24.99
Angel Price
£18.99
Sebastian San Martin Antuen Organic Cabernet Franc 2021
By Sebastian San MartinTasting notes: The wine is a deep red, almost violet in colour. On the nose it’s complex and pure with ripe black and red fruit, and delicate hints of spicy black pepper and grilled sweet red peppers. As it was aged in a mixture of new and old French barrels, you’ll notice a mixture of vanilla, clove and tobacco aromas. The palate has signature Argentinian richness and complexity at its heart, with a delightful long, textured finish.
Drinking window: This wine is ready to drink now and has an excellent ageing potential of up to 5 years.
Serving suggestion: Open/decant 30 minutes before serving.
Food pairing: I would recommend pairing this wine with meats, pastas and mature cheeses.
Notes from the winemaker: During the last decade the Cabernet Franc has become one of the most interesting varieties after Malbec in Argentina.
This variety has some challenges in terms of viticulture and winemaking. It’s naturally rich in tannins, but also needs an extremely long growing cycle to achieve a good level of maturity - otherwise the tannins could be aggressive with an overly green aromatic character. However, if you are able to create the perfect balance between the vines’ roots and canopy, if the soil has a good draining system and a low level of nutrients, the berries ripen more slowly which significantly decreases this risk.
One definite benefit of Cab Franc, is its strong skin, which allows the berries to ripen all the way through to May, by which point the fruit is incredibly concentrated, with great texture, complexity and a rich, aromatic profile.
The fruit comes from a premium vineyard that has been biodynamically farmed for 14 years. As a result the vines are perfectly balanced, so we barely need to intervene at all!
Mas Amiel Organic Pur Schiste 2019
Tasting notes:
At Mas Amiel, we own 150 hectares of organic and biodynamic vineyards stretched across a 4km radius. All of which are defined by what we like to think of as our ‘X Factor’: calcoschiste soils.
Country
France
Region
Roussillon
Grape
Grenache Blend
Market Price
£24.99
Angel Price
£16.99
Mas Amiel Organic Pur Schiste 2019
By Nicolas RaffyTasting notes: Dense and profound, this powerful red wine boasts a herbal character with notes of red berries, black cherries and plums. The palate has plenty of elegant tannins, underscored by fresh juice and a hint of stronger black berry flavours. This is followed by a tight minerality and a long, fresh and slightly spicy finish.
Drinking window: Drink now to 2030.
Serving suggestion: Open 15 minutes before serving at around 15°C.
Food pairing: I suggest trying out a few of our favourite local dishes; Boles de picolat, Paella de Muntanya, Catalan sausage and Boudin Noir a la parrilla.
Notes from the winemaker: At Mas Amiel, we own 150 hectares of organic and biodynamic vineyards stretched across a 4km radius. All of which are defined by what we like to think of as our ‘X Factor’: calcoschiste soils!
French Catalunya is the sunniest and driest part of France - this is great as sun, drought, and poor soils make for tons of concentration whilst our ‘X Factor’ provides the fruit with its distinctly fresh and elegant southern character.
Despite the small dimension of the area, we enjoy a huge diversity of terroir, expressed in the different facets of calcoshiste soils. Some areas are clay, others with granite - there’s so much complexity!
We selected 17 very specific plots for Pur Schiste, mostly on the slopes of the Mas Amiel and La Deveze with a clear focus on middle age calcoschist and some presence of clay. Most of these plots are Grenache, which is our most important local grape. The freshness of our soil creates a silky, smooth texture, lots of finesse and juiciness, which is the real definition of Mas Amiel Grenache. Carignan and Syrah are almost just as important in Pur Schiste’s profile - the first brings subtlety and the second brings spiciness.
Crazy Wines Triangle 2021
Tasting notes:
We made a pure Carignan in 2010 and we loved it! Powerful and complex with great ageing potential. We wanted to make one again but the right opportunity never presented itself. That was until 2022 when we finally had the opportunity to harvest another Carignan from a different vineyard.
Country
Chile
Region
Central Valley
Grape
Carignan Blend
Market Price
£24.99
Angel Price
£16.99
Crazy Wines Triangle 2021
By Jean Pascal LacazeTasting notes: This wine has a very attractive nose of ripe berries, crème de cassis, slight minty accents and soft spices. It offers a vibrant medium body with integrated tannins. The finish brings loads of spicy berries and promises of more complexity in the years to come.
Drinking window: Drink now to 2030.
Serving suggestion: It’s important to allow this wine to breathe for around an hour before serving at 16-17°C.
Food pairing: This is wine that can be enjoyed by itself, with spicy light dishes or Asian food. The only essential is that you enjoy it with the best of company! In terms of a local recipe, I would suggest an "empanada" filled with a mix of lamb, ratatouille and olive tapenade.
Notes from the Winemaker: We made a pure Carignan in 2010 and we loved it! Powerful and complex with great ageing potential. We wanted to make one again but the right opportunity never presented itself. That was until 2021 when we finally had the opportunity to harvest another Carignan from a different vineyard.
We fell more and more in love with it day after day. It had something really catchy and totally distinctive about it. Since we also had lots of Marselan that we felt just as excited about, we fell upon the idea of combining the two. Then it was just a question of carefully blending to create balance and complexity whilst preserving the distinctive personality of the Carignan. We also added some Cabernet for more structure, but we’ve kept it really subtle.
This wine has a very attractive nose of ripe berries, crème de cassis, slight minty accents and soft spices. It offers a vibrant medium body with integrated tannins. The finish brings loads of spicy berries and promises of more complexity in the years to come.
It’s been wonderful to create something quite different. I hope you have fun drinking it - enjoy!
Cantine Bruni Marteto Morellino di Scansano DOCG 2022
Tasting notes:
Morellino di Scansano is a DOCG appellation from the Southern part of Tuscany, in an area called Maremma, near the seaside in Grosseto province.
Country
Italy
Region
Tuscany
Grape
Sangiovese Blend
Market Price
£17.99
Angel Price
£17.99
Cantine Bruni Marteto Morellino di Scansano DOCG 2022
By Marco & Moreno BruniTasting notes: A blend of 85% Sangiovese, 10% Syrah and 5% Alicante, it’s a beautifully deep ruby red colour, with fresh hints of red fruits and wild berry all wrapped in smooth vanilla. On the palate it’s rich and sleek with a pleasantly vibrant acidity.
Drinking window: Drink now to 2034.
Serving suggestion: Best served at 15-18°C.
Food pairing: This is a wine that matches all kinds of food. Ideal with roasted meats (perhaps turkey, given the season…), but also with pasta with wild boar ragu sauce. We usually drink Morellino di Scansano with our Tortelli Maremmani: a fresh pasta filled with Ricotta cheese and Spinach, with butter and sage on top.
Notes from the Winemaker: Morellino di Scansano is a DOCG appellation from the Southern part of Tuscany, in an area called Maremma, near the seaside in Grosseto province.
Maremma is a popular holiday spot, with its beaches, beautiful natural parks and good food. The inner part of Maremma however, is wilder and more hilly. This is the land of Morellino di Scansano, a Sangiovese based wine that’s totally unique to the area.
Scansano is the village in the hilly side of the appellation where the Sangiovese is distinctively fruity in comparison to the Sangiovese of Chianti or Brunello di Montalcino, and probably a little bit rustic in style.
The combination of the seaside influence and the sandy clay soils of our hills, produce a wine with a unique character: easy and pleasant but with a good structure. Our Marteto Morellino di Scansano takes its name from the ‘La Marta’, the site of our main vineyard and winery where everything started almost 60 years ago.
Morellino di Scansano is our flagship wine, and we feel that it best represents our home.