Fine Wine

"This is the embodiment of elegance, sweeping you through its colour (bright, not dense), bouquet (raspberry, plum and wild blackberry) and palate (a bowl of sombre fruit) held in the arms of tannins with no chance of fading in the next 30 years." 97 Points. James Halliday. "There's a certain amount of hype surrounding the release of Henschke’s revered Hill of Grace. For collectors and wine aficionados, anyway. The fuss is merited. This is the 59th vintage (55th release) and buzzes with energy. The nose is fresh, fragrant, and beckons... "drink me". Make like Alice and oblige, tumbling through an Eden Valley Wonderland of plush dark fruit and playful red berries. Such elegance. It is a deep and meaningful in a glass." Katie Spain, The Advertiser, May 9th 2021 Comes in a presentation box.

Australia's most iconic wine. James Suckling.com 100/100 'A collector’s dream". Decanter 98.James Halliday 99 160 year old vines, a ‘fairy-tale vintage’. Great investment. James Suckling.com100/100 A significant vintage for Hill of Grace, as the last 2015 red to leave the Henschke cellar, and a wine that delivers on every ounce of its promise and then some. The nose is so complex and fragrant with trademark brown spices taking centre stage, amid light espresso, sage leaves, blackberries, cinnamon, anise, orange peel, ripe dark plums, pepper, gun smoke and a gentle, dried-rose edge. The palate has such impressive layers of fine tannin that make an instantly seamless, powerful and focused impression. It has architectural style with clean lines that build and ascend out of the finish. Long, spiced blackberries and dark plums are extruded in formation with such finesse and power. The acidity holds a torch to the rich, ripe plums and blackberries, illuminating freshness at the finish. A wine that will develop in a very consistent manner and likely to be at its best some 20 years from now. A collector’s dream. Vinolok closure. James Halliday, Wine Companion, May 2020 99 points Henschke says the '15 vintage provided stunning and elegant Eden Valley shiraz with extraordinary flavours, purity of fruit and acid balance. And indeed that's a fair description of this medium-bodied Hill of Grace. The colour is still bright, clear crimson-purple, and the beautifully balanced fruit flavours are vibrantly fresh. It would be easy to underestimate the likely longevity of this wine. One of the all-time greats. Comes in a presentationbox.

Le Clos Saint-Hilaire is an exceptional champagne which is named after the patron saint of the village Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, the home of Champagne Billecart-Salmon. Made exclusively from Pinot Noir and vinified in oak casks, it develops an outstanding purity. For each vintage, there is a limited release of between 3,500 to 6,750 individually numbered bottles. "The palate is creamy and has a wonderful spine of freshness that only helps to underscore the generosity and roundness. Exquisite." 97/100 - Anne Krebiehl MW "A staggeringly serious vintage for Le Clos Saint-Hilaire." 19.5+/20 - Matthew Jukes

Vega Sicilia - Spain's most prestigious wine producer. Unico is their flagship wine, making this the crème de la crème of Spanish wines. Unico is aged for 10 years before release, and is predominantly made with Termpranillo, with some Cabernet Sauvignon. 96/100 from RobertParker.com

Decanter 92/100 "The first Riserva released since 2010, Il Palazzone’s 2015 is ethereal and subtle in fragrances with pretty blossoms, herbs and wafts of tea. Midweight, it exhibits Sangiovese’s delightful ability to remain buoyant. Orange and pomegranate grace the palate, which is sprinkled with powdery tannins, while a crunchy, mouth-cleansing cranberry note brings this to a close. It isn’t necessarily the most profound Riserva but it's very easy to like and sports a refreshingly balanced 13.5% alcohol. It begs for pappardelle with duck ragù."

We're very excited about this stunning new release from our friends at Il Palazzone. Please see below notes from their site: "2020 sees the release of a small bottling of 2000 liters of Brunello made from fruit exclusively from this special vineyard. Vintage 2015 is the first Le Due Porte Brunello. 2000 liters represents under half of the wine made from these 1.24 hectares (3 acres). Le Due Porte is 540 metres above sea level. Budbreak is later here, often avoiding issues with late frosts and snow. Ripening is slow and constant. The soil profile preserves humidity; important when making a wine such as Brunello that does not contemplate irrigation. Alberese has high levels of calcium carbonate which favors acidity, aided and abetted by the slower ripening and later harvest due to the exposition and altitude. We generally pick Le Due Porte as much as two weeks after our vineyards in Castelnuovo dell’Abate and are often amongst the last in Montalcino to harvest. The grapes develop organoleptic complexity from that extra hang-time and from the pronounced difference between day and night temperatures. In fact the altitude guarantees extreme thermal excursion even in hotter years which is wonderful for aromatic development. Over the last two decades we have seen, year after year, a pronounced character emerge in the fruit from this vineyard, a wine that maintains the typical structure of a Brunello vecchio stampo and epitomises finesse and elegance."

17.5/20 Jancis Robinson "ome purity and density. Lots of dry tannin stacked up for the future but luscious charm for now and massive concentration. Spice and ink with a cool finish. Complete and glamorous."

Fantastic, luscious wine, it seems like this wine never stop maturing. Extremely expressive aromas on the nose ( baking spices, walnut, dried prunes,figs.) the palate is living up to the notes the nose; very concentrated with a good acidity and never ending aftertaste

A great wine from a great vintage, and in magnum to boot.

Vincent Girardin is excellent. This is a benchmark Cote de Beaune in my book and one of the best Chardonnays in the world. The nose has baked apple, creme brulee, toasted brioche, flint, and lemon curd. The palate has cream and lemon peel, with exceptional crushed stone minerality. Paired with comte, this took on a rich white chocolate note that was just amazing. Amazing intensity, complexity, and length, with perfect balance.

Jancis Robinson JancisRobinson.com | 17.5/20 “Brilliant pale coppery colour. Mmmm! So concentrated and heady with a huge array of aromas including, amazingly, coconut – but not in a tarty way. Masses of tense lime fruit aromas. Very dense nose. Lifted and refreshing and this seems much more youthful than12 years old. It does rather remind me of Dom Perignon with its concentration and density but I don’t suppose that comment will necessarily be welcome with the winemaker. It’s just so electric in texture. Truly an exciting, luxurious champagne.. ”

Superstar wine from superstar winemaker Peter Sissek. Old vine Tempranillo, very limited availability.

Jancis Robinson MW 18.5/20 "Electrically reverberant... Very complex and uncompromising...Dense and savoury. Intellectual wine! " Wine Advocate 97/100 showing superbly, wafting from the glass with a complex bouquet that mingles confit citrus, peach and dried papaya with nuances of iodine, brioche and honeycomb. On the palate, it's full-bodied, broad and vinous, with a rich and layered core that's underpinned by serious structure and tension, concluding with a long and precise finish. This is one of the finest wines Billecart has released in the last decade, and it is well worth seeking out.

A new cuvee debuting in 2019 form the Le Mollard leu-dit which is elegant, refined and with Burgundian in style. Very fine wine indeed. For those that love lifted Syrah with real class and elegance. Bravo Xavier!

England's top winery's top wine. Named after their entry in the Domesday Book in 1086. Easily the equal to the best of luxury cuvee Champagne.

The 2009 has the highest percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon (90%) ever included in a Calon-Segur (the rest is Merlot and Petit Verdot). Completely different from its St.-Estephe brethren, it is more backward and structured with a dense purple color, lots of black cherry, black currant, loamy earth, forest floor and spice notes, excruciatingly high levels of tannin, and a wonderful inner core of sweetness and concentration

Decanter 92/100 "The first Riserva released since 2010, Il Palazzone’s 2015 is ethereal and subtle in fragrances with pretty blossoms, herbs and wafts of tea. Midweight, it exhibits Sangiovese’s delightful ability to remain buoyant. Orange and pomegranate grace the palate, which is sprinkled with powdery tannins, while a crunchy, mouth-cleansing cranberry note brings this to a close. It isn’t necessarily the most profound Riserva but it's very easy to like and sports a refreshingly balanced 13.5% alcohol. It begs for pappardelle with duck ragù."

Alistair Cooper MW Jancisrobinson.com 18.5/20 "Cask samples tasted at the domaine. Foudre sample 1: Nose is crackling with energy. A yeasty dark-fruit core with strawberry, liquorice and mouth-watering freshness. There is minerality here alongside an elegant and beautifully rounded palate. Foudre sample 2: A spice-led nose, with a hint of reduction. Beautiful purity and vibrancy with a fine peppery streak – so much energy and refined tannins. This is already absolutely delicious. Foudre sample 3: Dark chocolate and forest fruits on the nose. Marked firm and fine tannins – this shows real richness and weight as well as beautiful spice."

"Decanter 97/100 "The archetype of a great wine, having gone through a soft, long ageing: spicy complexity, undergrowth tones, a caramel touch. Suave, light but stylish, velvety, smoky subtle finish. A great experience, with a long life ahead." Robertparker.com 97/100 "1995 was an excellent and early harvest, the grapes achieved full ripeness and were harvested under the sun during two weeks starting October 9. The wine, which exceptionally achieved 13% alcohol, is the usual blend, 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacho, 5% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo (Cariñena). Like all their wines, it fermented with indigenous yeasts in old oak vats and as a Gran Reserva it matured in old American oak barrels for ten years! Yes, it was bottled in November 2006 and launched in 2015, a full 20 years after the harvest. This light-colored, ethereal 1995 is the essence of Viña Tondonia. It has developed aromas and complexity gained with the time in bottle, of incense, leather, cured meat, cherries in liqueur, cold bonfire and spices. The palate is super-tasty, with fully-resolved tannins and very good acidity. The texture is super-fine, sophisticated and ethereal with gob-smacking balance. Intense, powerful and elegant, too. Hard to believe, but this red feels too young and while approachable, I'd wait a couple of years or more because it will be much better. The profile follows the style of the great classics of the 1950s and 60s. Bottles like this are the ones that created the López de Heredia myth. This could be lighter than the 1994, but in the long run I believe the 1995 will be the better bottle.

Vega Sicilia's 'entry-level' wine, if it makes sense to talk about such a thing from Spain's most famous wine producer. Aged for five years before release. 96/100 from RobertParker.com; 18/20 - JancisRobinson.com

"2006 had been a hot year with harvest beginning as early as 13 August in the Côte des Bar. Chardonnay underwent two different stages of maturation with an average maturity of 10.3 % potential alcohol, resulting in a small yield of intense and opulent wines. Disgorged in March last year, the 2006 Blanc des Millénaires is pale gold in colour with fresh, light toasty aromatic notes and a delicate vanilla and almond undertone, followed by generously rich and toasty fruit, whose opulence is sliced through by a trenchant blade of acidity, a honeycomb note contrasting with a refreshing twist of lively austerity, and finishing with a saliva-inducing mineral dry finish. This will continue to age and develop happily over the next 10 years. 95 / 100" Anthony Rose The idea behind Blanc des Millénaires is to show first of all the ultimate expression of the Chardonnay grape from a single vintage, and, equally, how the individual components of 20% each from the five Côte des Blanc crus of Cramant, Avize, Le Mesnil, Oger and Vertus meld together to make a sum that’s greater than the parts. What does each part bring? Broadly speaking, as winemaker Cyril Brun explains, Cramant, facing east, adds a floral finesse, higher Avize brings exotic fruit notes, Oger opulence and Le Mesnil tension and minerality. Aftre the four grands crus, Vertus, the only premier cru, adds roundness of texture. This is only the sixth time that this cuvee has been made.