There 19 products in this category
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Antinori
The Pian delle Vigne estate, represents Marchesi Antinori’s deeply personal interpretation of a prestigious and traditional wine such as Brunello di Montalcino. The Antinori family acquired the estate in 1995, the same year the first Brunello Pian delle Vigne was harvested. 65 hectares are planted with vineyards that grow at an altitude of approximately 130 meters above sea level and enjoy a southwestern exposure. Pian delle Vigne has adopted the philosophy of aging in large casks that preserve the exceptional integrity of the Sangiovese berry and impart the characteristic vibrant elegance of Brunello to the wine. Winter and spring 2018 saw slightly lower than average temperatures and repeated rain showers. These climatic conditions provided excellent groundwater reserves in the vineyards ensuring normal bud break and optimal fruit set. Selective leaf removal in the month of June and cluster thinning between the end of July and the beginning of August guaranteed excellent vine balance and an optimal ripening phase. The grape harvest took place slightly later than average beginning on September 21st and was completed the first week of October with berries that were in perfect health and aromatic.
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Ornellaia
The desire to nurture the Estate’s exceptional qualities has shaped Ornellaia’s philosophy since the beginning. Ornellaia is a cuvée of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc & Petit Verdot and the faithful expression of unique terroir developed in harmony with nature. ““With its usual deep ruby red colour, Ornellaia 2020 stands out on the nose with ripe red fruits and delicate vanilla and gentle tobacco notes. Upon tasting, the wine reveals itself to be rounded and velvety, making an enjoyable and engaging first impression that entices for a second sip. The tannins are dense yet elegant and the finish proves to be savoury and enduring.” Olga Fusari – Winemaker Press “This is a beauty, so generous and opulent with fully seamless transitions. The wine’s traditional blend is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot with tiny percentages of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, although this warm vintage makes due with a pinch less of the Cabernet Sauvignon. […] This broad and generous expression has a beautiful quality of fruit and oak that speaks to the very best of Italian winemaking.” 95-97 Points – Wine Advocate, Monica Larner
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San Leonardo
60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Carmenère, 10% Merlot. This wine is likely to have the broadest drinking window of any modern San Leonardo. Despite the deep purple colour, it is already open and generous on the nose, with vivid ripe morello cherry fruit. The gentle extraction has imbued the wine with a cashmere texture even at this young stage, while the palate is lifted by the leafy, currant-bud notes that are San Leonardo’s signature, reflecting as they do the influence of cool air flowing down from the Dolomites. Balance, charm, and great ageing potential, this San Leonardo has it all. Ideal weather conditions and a strict selection from older vines have yielded a classic San Leonardo of sublime balance. After the numerous challenges affecting the vineyards in 2017, the San Leonardo team hoped for an easier ride the following year. Their prayers were answered at every stage of the growing season, starting with a prolonged cold winter that killed off bugs which would otherwise attack leaves, flowers and grapes later in the year. There was also copious snow, turning to rain throughout spring, which replenished missing ground water. Flowering was perfect, and summer passed with much more sunlight than 2017, but without any extremes of temperature. Then September saw very large thermal differences between day and night – “the secret to incredible perfume” according to owner Anselmo Guerrieri Gonzaga. The grapes were harvested in the cold of October, further enhancing the aromatic freshness as well as helping fix a beautiful colour. Balance-wise, the result harks back to pre-climate change vintages, with all the flavour benefits of a lengthy growing season but still just 13% alcohol. Despite the propitious weather, the quantity made remains below average, due to recent replantings being excluded from the blend. Harvest began on October 1st and finished on October 18th with the last of the pergola-trained Carmenère.
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Allegrini
The controlled drying (appassimento) of the harvested grapes, which lasts for a about one hundred days, brings with it the great aromatic intensity of dark fruit and undergrowth, together with spicy and tobacco notes. The impact on the palate is powerful and vigorous, with the wine gradually tapering on the acidic and savoury momentum, extending gently with a clean, dry finish.
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Tommasi
One of the top handful of Amarone. Dry, drinkable style, all spice and leather, very impressive
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Il Palazzone
Generally regarded by all at CWM as one of the very best wines that we import. Truly wonderful old school, fine, vibrant and utterly extraordinary Brunello di Montalcino from a wonderful single site. "Balsamic, subtly perfumed nose with a hint of eucalyptus. Vibrant, crushed red-fruit palate that is super-elegant. Long, grainy tannins. Vibrant and with lots of filigree acidity". 17.5/20 Walter Speller on jancisrobinson.com "The bouquet on the 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Le Due Porte is simply stunning....a cru bottling from Il Palazzone’s highest-elevation vineyard, shows tremendous potential". Drink 2024-2032. 94+/100 points Vinous Media, Dec 2021 From Il Palazzone - 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.
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Fantini
The idea of this ??wine came out during a curious meeting between “wine experts”: Valentino Sciotti, today CEO of the “Farnese Group”, Filippo Baccalaro, chief winemaker of the same group and third generation of Piedmontese winemakers, Hugh Johnson, the most famous wine journalist in the world, and Jean Marc Sauboua of the third generation of Bordeaux winemakers. During that particular meeting, 18 years ago, Hugh Johnson launched a challenge to the two young winemakers: that of creating a “great wine” with the character of “Southern Italy”, forged with the best varietals of that territory; a wine with the modest name of “table wine”, but with the soul of “a great wine”, that stands out for its ability to be unique and extraordinarily superior to what the market offers. Montepulciano, Primitivo, Negroamaro, Sangiovese & Malvasia Nera. Astonishing 3-time winner of 99/100 Luca Maroni "Best Italian Red 2018". Previous IWC Abruzzo Trophy. Grower voted best in Italy 3 times. Massive, Epic wine. 100% new oak (60% American 40% French)
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Il Palazzone
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".
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Giulio Cocchi
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Gian Luca Colombo
After Gian Luca completed his Masters in Viticulture and Oenology after 11 years of study and worked as a wine consultant across Italy in 2011 he started his own small winery in the heart of his native Langhe. Within 3 years he won the Gambelli award for Young Winemaker of the Year. His small Segni di Langa estate is located in Roddi in Barolo country and working sustainably he takes a very minimal interventionist approach allowing each vintage to showcase itself. Making his wines in the 'garage' beneath his house he typifies the small scale, high quality, personal style of winemaking. Magliano Alfieri village, 290m, 88y-old vines. Roddi village 200-250m, 45 to 60y-old vines. Part of this wonderful Barbera d'Alba comes from a vineyard by Gian Luca's house. The wines has so much lovely fruit and richness with such vibrant freshness. It isn't in the least bit 'blockbuster'. No heaviness, no 'make up'. Simply a beautiful drink that delivers sheer class and great pleasure. Not blockbuster, but it is knock-out good.
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Gian Luca Colombo
After Gian Luca completed his Masters in Viticulture and Oenology after 11 years of study and worked as a wine consultant across Italy in 2011 he started his own small winery in the heart of his native Langhe. Within 3 years he won the Gambelli award for Young Winemaker of the Year. His small Segni di Langa estate is located in Roddi in Barolo country and working sustainably he takes a very minimal interventionist approach allowing each vintage to showcase itself. Making his wines in the 'garage' beneath his house he typifies the small scale, high quality, personal style of winemaking. 60% Barolo village, 370m. 40% Dogliani Village, 350 to 550m. North / North-East facing. From north facing vineyards that are well-protected from the hot sun. After fermentation with only natural, wild yeasts the wine is then aged in amphora and large Stockinger barrels. Gian Luca is a bit a dab hand with Pinot Nero, having started producing it prior to turning his hand to Nebbiolo and the rest. Truffley, with the scents of sous bois and woodland earth. Leading to spicy cinnamon and clove and piercing fruit - cherries, redcurrants and pomegranate. Fine, long, pure and vibrant Pinot Nero.
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Antinori
Since the 2011 vintage the historical label Marchese Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva is made only with fruit sourced from the Tignanello estate, making it the perfect introduction to the flagship wine. It’s made almost entirely with Sangiovese with a small percentage of other complementary varieties. A wine that fully expresses the quality and elegance of Sangiovese grapes grown in this area
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Ricossa
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.
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Il Palazzone
A great vintage here in 2016. The wine is really hitting its stride in what shall be our final shipment (Autumn 2023). In March 2021 Michaela Morris wrote in Decanter Magazine: "With a strong commitment to the environment, the estate’s practises extend beyond the vineyard to include rainwater recovery, lighter-weight glass bottles, recycled packaging, and complete avoidance of single-use plastic. Intense spiced cherry aromas are lifted by aromatic herbs like sage, tarragon and fennel. There's a polished sheen to this, with the palate offering lovely purity, sneaky depth and fine tannins. It finishes with tart, tangy red berries. Very light on its feet and will be approachable soon". 92/100 Drinking Window: 2022 - 2032 In Vinous Media, Nov 2020, the wine was awarded 93/100 "A dusting of exotic spice, incense, sage, dried roses, black cherries and currants can all be found in the bouquet of the 2016 Brunello di Montalcino. It’s silky in feel with a density of primary fruit mixed with stimulating acids and minerality that the young 2016s are becoming known for. Cooling herbal tones and hints of licorice add further depths, as a coating of fine tannin slowly settles in. This is classically structured and full of potential for the cellar, tapering off to purple-tinged inner florals over a hint of sour citrus and savory spice. Very nice. Drinking window 2024 - 2036". Monica Larner in The Wine Advocate Nov 2020, 92/100 "Il Palazzone's 2016 Brunello di Montalcino unfolds to light and crisp fruit with lots of wild cherry, rose and blue flower. This is a silky and medium-bodied red with lots of lifted energy and zest. This is a very lively wine. That lighter approach gives this wine a more immediate and accessible approach, and it would pair well with pork or lamb chops. It represents a blend of fruit from three vineyard sites. Production is exactly 12,692 bottles. Drinking window 2023 - 2038".
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Carpano
Well-rounded, rich vanilla on the nose and palate, this vermouth also shows bitter orange, dates, cocoa beans and saffron flavours. Makes for a mean Negroni. Also available as a half-bottle.
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Cà dei Frati
Way, way out of its class - no other Laguna matches this for complexity. Chablis-like in its bracing stony frame but layered with waves of white peach, ripe lime, tarragon, hints of chilli or ginger. A slightly eccentric but 100% gorgeous wine that really commands attention.
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Carpano
Well-rounded, rich vanilla on the nose and palate, this vermouth also shows bitter orange, dates, cocoa beans and saffron flavours. Makes for a mean Negroni.
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Bartenura
Best-selling Kosher wine. Light and frothy. Non-mevushal.
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Paololeo
Beautiful deep purple garnet. Nose of chocolate, cherry, violet and vanilla. Some liquorice. . Bitter chocolate, liquorice and vanilla. Some plum, blackcurrant and black cherry. The tannins are balanced yet well pronounced. It’s a proper Primitivo.