Deep ruby red in colour, this wine has aromas of ripe plum and sour cherry, with notes of tobacco and leather from oak ageing. On the palate, it has great depth of flavour, with juicy fruit and supple tannins giving way to a silky-smooth texture. This Chianti Classico has superb structure and finishes with a fine mineral note.
For Fontodi, the continued rainfall set the region up to thrive in a very hot summer, ensuring vines had sufficient water reserves. Hot days and cool nights allowed for optimal ripening and grapes with lively acidity and elegant and complex aromas. A hard but rewarding vintage that produced excellent quality wines with intricate complexity.
The Famille Perrin wines offer classic examples of the Southern Rhône, expertly crafted by the consistent winemaking of the Perrin family. A combination of vibrant fruit and a strong sense of place underlines the value these wines offer.
For the Luberon Rosé and Luberon Blanc, the Perrin family work closely with their growers to achieve optimal freshness. The fruit is sourced from the Parc Régional de Luberon, situated in the south-east of the Rhône Valley. The combination of cooler climate, an elevation of 300 metres and limestone marl soil gives the wines a lively acidity. The Luberon Rosé blends Cinsault, Grenache and Syrah, offering a subtle floral and red-fruit character. The Luberon Blanc is a blend of Bourboulenc, Grenache Blanc, Ugni Blanc and Roussanne and has vibrant citrus notes complemented by a mineral finish. The Ventoux Rouge hails from the slopes of Mount Ventoux, where high elevations again provide key freshness to this blend of Carignan, Cinsault, Grenache and Syrah. The finished wine is fragrant with juicy red fruit, balanced by soft, ripe tannins.
Château Tour de Capet lies to the south of Saint-Émilion, near Saint-Hippolyte, just below its sister estate Château Capet-Guillier. Since 2009 the property has been run by Antoine Moueix Propriétés, a négociant with over a century’s experience working in Bordeaux’s Right Bank. The wine is made by Christophe Grenier and benefits from the immense experience of renowned winery consultant Stéphane Derenoncourt.
Château Tour de Capet comprises 10 hectares of vines planted on a combination of sand, loam and clay which, combined with the loose structure of the soil, lends itself to a lighter style of Bordeaux. The estate’s vineyards are also farmed using a ‘zero residue’ policy which prohibits the use of herbicides.
The final wine is a blend of 90% Merlot with 10% Malbec fermented in concrete tanks with four to five days of skin maceration, aided by regular punch downs. Aged for 12 months in French oak, around one-third of which is new, Château Tour de Capet perfectly marries dark berry flavours with subtle hints of tobacco and spice, balanced on the palate by vibrant acidity and velvety tannins.
De Loach’s 2022 vintage yielded excellent quality fruit. Following several drought years in California, substantial winter rainfall helped to replenish water reserves. This was followed by a dry March. Spring frosts in April and May reduced yields. The warm late summer and autumn provided excellent ripening conditions and harvest started two weeks ahead of average. Overall, yields were slightly down, but concentration was very good.
This Chardonnay has vibrant aromas of honeysuckle, citrus fruit, and ripe white peach on the nose. The palate is medium-bodied with juicy acidity and creamy mouthfeel. Flavours of ripe pear, lemon curd and vanilla lead to a lively finish.
2020 was an incredibly hot vintage in the Cote d’Or. Winter was mild followed by an early budburst in the spring. The heat continued through the summer with drought being a challenge, as a result verasion also came early. The end of season storms did alleviate some of the troubles and so the grapes produced were of good quality with wines providing surprising freshness considering the heat.
El Coto’s 2022 vintage in Rioja was characterised by a dry winter with little rain, and a summer of equally low rainfall and moderately warm temperatures, with the exception of some stormy weather in June. September proved more problematic, with high levels of rainfall bringing on botrytis in some areas. A dry and warm October, however, brought the perfect conditions for the last stages of ripening and allowed for a slow, staggered harvest.
The grapes for this Chardonnay are sourced from El Coto’s Finca Carbonera estate, at 875 metres above sea level, making it the highest vineyard in Rioja and ideal for the new white grape varieties approved by the Rioja Regulatory Board. A wide diurnal range aids the slow, steady ripening of the grapes, ensuring they retain fresh acidity and perfumes. The vineyard sits on a glacis – a sloping bank beneath an old fortress – with stony top soils that provide good drainage and aid in the health and maturation of the grapes.
For Château Moulin Riche, 2017 is known as the year of the frost, luckily vineyards in Saint-Julien were largely unaffected. Winter was slightly warmer than average, and the conditions were balmy until a large drop in temperature in late April. May brought sunshine and warmth, and the summer months remained warm until August. The cooler weather allowed the grapes to maintain their acidity and bright aromatics. Early September saw some rains prior to harvest which gave the vines a boost to complete the final stages of ripening.
Château de Beaucastel’s 2021 vintage is one marked by freshness, similar to vintages of the eighties and nineties. Human intervention and care to the vines was essential in the success of this vintage. There were many climatic events including a frost in April, and an interrupted harvest due to rain. This required constant investment from the vineyard teams. The team’s attention to detail and commitment to the fruit has created a vintage of exceptional freshness and great balance.
Château Le Crock’s 2017 vintage in Saint-Estèphe was miraculous for its avoidance of the frosts that affected the rest of Bordeaux. Following a very dry autumn and winter, mild temperatures in February sparked an early bud-burst that began towards the end of March. The vines were fortunately spared the effects of the late April frosts thanks to their proximity to the Gironde river. Rainfall in June and good weather throughout the summer meant that fruit set was good, and veraison occurred eight to ten days earlier than usual. The harvest was also one of the earliest on record, producing richly coloured, well-balanced wines of great flavour intensity and acidity.
David Moret’s 2022 vintage in the Côte de Beaune was characterised by abundance and excellence. The growing season began with a cold, wet winter, which resulted in a slower start to the growing season and delayed budburst, saving the vines from the worst of the spring frosts. The winter rains also replenished soil water reserves and sustained the vines through four heatwaves during the summer. Harvest was earlier than usual, but the quality of the fruit harvested was excellent, with vibrant aromatics and balancing acidity.
David Moret is a micro-négociant making wines in his small cellar in Beaune. Despite first studying oenology, he went on to sell winemaking supplies before finally deciding to make wines himself. With no family-owned vines, David bought grapes and purchased his first barrels in the late 1980s, starting his own, eponymous label in 2000. Since then, he has continued to buy small parcels of grapes from top growers and ferments using indigenous yeasts. His wines are bottled without fining or filtration, after being naturally settled while ageing in oak. David uses 20% new oak for his Villages wines and up to 40% new oak for his Premier and Grand Crus.
Nine popes average winter and spring rainfall set the vineyard up for a great season. Warm and dry conditions in late spring and early summer encouraged early ripening and harvest began in the first week of February.
Charlie Melton was among the first to recognise the value and tradition of Barossa Valley’s old-vine Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvèdre (Mataro). While others were grubbing up Shiraz to plant more fashionable varieties, Charlie and a small band of Barossa winemakers convinced farmers to keep their historic vineyards. These wines were initially styled on those from the Rhône but are now considered leading examples in their own right.
Giant Steps 2023 vintage saw cool and wet conditions throughout the entire growing season, delaying both the ignition and the commencement of this tough vintage. Spring was often wet in the Yarra Valley, with record volumes of rain from September until December. The frequent downpours elevated disease pressure but also made access to the vineyards an arduous task from waterlogged earth. A small stretch of warmer conditions dried out the vineyards, followed by well timed rainfall rolling into summer. Much credit of this vintage goes to the appearance of sun in the critical weeks of flowering, allowing a healthy berry set and abundant pristine fruit. The 2023 wines of Giant Step are light and expressive, with varietal typicality shining through.
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The villagers are out there with a vengeance to get that Frankenstein
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