Berene Sauls has a very unique story. Growing up in a small village in the Overberg, Berene admits that she came from a beer-drinking community, and wine was never really on her radar. Her first exposure was at the age of 19, when she began working for the trailblazing Hamilton Russell family as an au pair. Lasting only a month, her talents at childcare aside, Anthony Hamilton Russell recognised her drive and thought a job working in the winery office would better suit her. Thrown in at the deep end knowing really nothing about wine, she was soon exposed to every side of the business - assisting with exports, bottling and labelling, driving forklifts and picking during harvest too, as well as on the side, "growing and developing a palate that wasn't there!" Her curiosity kept her rising through the ranks, and fifteen years after starting her career, Anthony offered her the opportunity to make her first wine, aided by proficient head winemaker Emul Ross. She leapt at the opportunity, and the rest is history. She named her business Tesselaarsdal for the small village that she grew up in, and if you look closely at the label, you can make out two people walking across the mountain. This is Berene and her grandmother. From unirrigated vineyards on the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, and this is just her third release! Crisp acidity and lean minerality underpin notes of melon and tangerine fruit and accents of lime blossom. A triumphant expression of terroir, this medium-bodied, cool climate wine is both silky and fresh and boasts a long, elegant finish.

Not only is the magnificent Gigondas estate 500 years old, it's owned by Daniel and Frédéric Brunier. Know the name? They are behind Châteauneuf's leading estate, Vieux Télégraphe. Meting out the same care, they produce this rich, old-vine Gigondas. And Daniel reckons that 2019 is his best vintage to date. A perfectly balanced wine, finely poised and with great length.

The 2018 hits a new high for Palazzone's Brunello di Montalcino DOCG bottling. Piercing, pure, bright and energetic yet with real complexity even at this young stage. These guys are working so well. There has been some very impressive press for the 2018 also: On jancisrobinson.com Walter Speller wrote the below whilst awarding the wine 17.5/20 "Mid ruby with orange tinges. Firm, savoury and minerally nose with dark spice hints. Lively sour-cherry fruit on the palate and quite pure. Elegant, long, perfumed and juicy finish. Really fine and intriguing. Gorgeous". And in Decanter Magazine Michaela Morris included Palazzone's Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2018 in the "Top-value Brunello di Montalcino 2018: the 10 to buy" article published earlier in 2023. "This brings together fruit from cool northwest-facing plots, at 540 metres near the town of Montalcino, with warmer, lower-lying vineyards in the region’s southeast. The 2018 saw a slightly shorter maceration – just two weeks as opposed to three. Taking time to come into focus, the nose suggests attractive strawberry blossom, cinnamon and rosehip. The palate is lean and clear fruited with red currants and lots of mineral nuance packed in. The tannins are tightly wound and sinewy, giving texture and backbone, and the sappy acidity is positively scrumptious. Beautifully balanced in its proportions". 92/100 Vinous Media 93/100, October 2022 "....the 2018 Brunello di Montalcino lifts from the glass with a menagerie of foreign spices, wild herbs and dried fruits. This is elegant and finessed, with vibrant acidity enlivening its tart wild berry fruits, and pretty inner rose tones that evolve toward the close. Nuances of licorice and sour cherry linger on, as the 2018 finishes light on structure but big on character. This is so enjoyable already that it’s hard to imagine waiting, but do make sure to cellar for at least a year or two for the full effect".

This famous Port house's best vineyard makes great wines with distinctive aromas of mint and violet with intense concentration and fine peppery tannins. Dow's is owned by the Symington family, Port producers for five generations since 1882,

Smells like LUXURY! Super-low yield Barbera from the best sunny spots, some serious winemaking and a lick of posh new oak. What a beauty. What a bargain. Dark, silky, last time I had a Barbera this rich and lush was in California, and it cost 3 tines as much! Nizza is a new top-end DOCG created to separate the best plots of Barbera - great success.

El Porvenir's march into the future continues with the Pequenas Fermentaciones range of small, experimental wines. This is a vibrant unoaked Garnacha from Cafayate. Delightfully fresh, light and juicy, a perfect summer red.

96 Pts - Tim Atkin This wine has an intense red-violet colour. The nose is delicate, with aromas of violet flowers, menthol, spices and black fruits. In the mouth, ripe and structured tannins, and liquorice notes. Long and persistent finish. Exceptional specimen! In 2008, Fabian Valenzuela – chief oenologist at bodega Tapiz – was selecting the components of Tapiz Seleccion de Barricas. This consisted on tasting the contents of the oak barles (225 lts capacity each) where the wines harvested in 2006 from the best plots of land were being aged for almost two years by then. This is done every year, and Seleccion de Barricas is a blend of the barriques selected in this process. That particular year, when he tasted one of the Malbec barrels, he was in awe with the deep dark colour of the wine, and the amazing concentration of flavours it presented. When pouring it in a glass and swirling it a direct image came to his mind with the drops of wines that were produced: black tears (lágrimas negras). It was at that point that he decided to make a single variety top end wine from this wine. He identified the plot of land the grapes came from, and created a new product which became iconic: Black tears Malbec

A full-bodied, textural style reminiscent of Southern Rhône whites. Aromatic and intense, with crystalline white fruits and spice with a long finish. Intruiging and very impressive.