Chile does Provence minus the £££'s!

Refreshing and delicious predominantly from Emiliana's organic vineyards in Colchagua and Cachoploal valleys.

Tasting Notes

A lovely pale and delicate rosé.

Colour 

Pale almost Provencal-pink in colour.

Nose

Gentle strawberry and red cherry aromas.

Palate

The palate is medium in weight with fresh summer fruits and a silky yet refreshing finish. Delicate and easy to drink.

Production

The Rapel Valley lies with the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Andes Mountains to the east, and the province of Curicó to the south. This area is particularly well suited for growing Carmenère, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon. This is a transversal valley of Chile’s central zone with unique climatic conditions, including four clearly defined seasons and a unique blend of maritime breezes and Andean winds. The hand-picked grapes were transported to the winery and selected from a conveyor belt to ensure maximum quality. Vinification took place in stainless steel tanks for 3 months with selected yeasts. The finished wine was fined using bentonite and cold stabilized to prevent the formation of tartrate crystals and 1 and 0.45 micron cartridge filters were used at the time of bottling.

Producers

Voted by Wines of Chile as "Winery of the Year 2016", Emiliana is one of Chile's most exciting producers and pioneers in organic and biodynamic winemaking. Since 1998, this Chilean winery has been producing award-winning wines from almost 1,000 hectares of vineyards in prime sites including Casablanca, Maipo, Cachapoal, Colchagua and Bio Bio.

Its spectacular biodynamic vineyard and winery at Los Robles is a model that attracts visiting viticulturalists and winemakers from across the world. Emiliana's innovative and natural-leaning wines are made with great care and attention and the results are inspiring.

Sustainability

Emiliana began its conversion to organic production in 1998, and today 100% of its properties are organically managed. It is the world’s largest organic winery. It holds organic certifications in accordance with the standards of the United States, Canada (NOP), Brazil, Chile, Japan, South Korea, China, and Europe. In 2006, Emiliana was the first winery in Latin America to produce a wine with biodynamic certification. Since then, the use of biodynamic practices at its farms and cellars has been accredited and today 100% of its properties are certified. Emiliana received its Fairtrade and Fair For Life certifications in 2011 and 2017, and has been selling fair trade wines since 2012.

Emiliana was a pioneer in the implementation of the Wine of Chile Sustainability Code certification in 2012. This standard was developed for the Chilean wine sector to support the implementation of sustainable practices at a national level, as well as social and environmental responsibility at Emiliana.

Emiliana is certified to use the Vegan Society trademark, which attests that its wines are produced without any animal-derived products.

Emiliana also produces an annual sustainability report.

Specifications

Vibrant and fresh, a perfect Picpoul!

Tasting Notes

Gently perfumed ripe melon fruit on the nose. The palate is ripe but retains excellent freshness, balanced by a touch of white pepper spice that is very typical of its grape variety. Deliciously long, the finish shows bright fruit and a clean, saline/mineral edge.

Production

Producer

Cave de l'Ormarine is an award-winning co-operative which produces wines from the tiny Pinet de Picpoul appellation in the Hérault. The l'Ormarine cellar was established in 1922 when vignerons from Pinet joined forces and formed a winegrowers' association.

Today, the Cave de l'Ormarine is a conglomeration of five separate co-operatives from across the Hérault, each with their own specific terroirs and styles of wine. It is proud to have 470 members farming more than 2,500 hectares of vines.Its flagship Picpoul wines are fresh and terroir-driven, and hugely influenced by both the Mediterranean Sea and the Etang de Thau, which act as a thermal regulator for the vineyards. In fact, it is said of Picpoul that, "Son terroir, c'est la mer (Its terroir is the sea)."Cave de l'Ormarine has made significant investment in its winery, and prides itself on the high-quality standard and traceability of its grapes.

Alan's Personal Tasting Notes

"Spot on - clean, fresh as a daisy, lovely melon fruit titillated with a touch of pepper and a delightful, saline finish. Perfectly balanced and great for salads, shellfish, and chicken dishes. A bottle of this and a dozen oysters s’il vous plait. Bang on for a tenner - great value - over delivers and proves that coming off the well-worn path pays dividends." September 2022

Specifications

"Amazingly delicious organic Riesling from Chile. Fresh limes with a mineral and saline undertones with a hint of developed Riesling kerosene - stunningly complex and a real steal at this price!" Alan's personal notes.

Tasting Notes

Expressive Chilean Riesling with a broad appeal.

Nose

Quietly complex on the nose with fresh lime notes combining with a steely minerality and gentle honeysuckle flora.

Palate

The palate is mid-weight and off-dry with persistent flavours of lime, there is a natural salinity which gives contrast yet lovely balance. It finishes clean with a lingering flinty character.

Production

Vines were planted in 1993 at the Fundo Quitralman, Mulchén vineyard in the Bio-Bio Valley, 500km south of Santiago. Grapes are handpicked then placed in a pneumatic press to obtain the different musts, which were kept separate. Once ferment was complete, the wine was left in contact with its fine lees in stainless steel tanks for 5 months, with periodic stirring (batonnage) before being fined and bottled.

Producers

Voted by Wines of Chile as "Winery of the Year 2016", Emiliana is one of Chile's most exciting producers and pioneers in organic and biodynamic winemaking. Since 1998, this Chilean winery has been producing award-winning wines from almost 1,000 hectares of vineyards in prime sites including Casablanca, Maipo, Cachapoal, Colchagua and Bio Bio.

Its spectacular biodynamic vineyard and winery at Los Robles is a model that attracts visiting viticulturalists and winemakers from across the world. Emiliana's innovative and natural-leaning wines are made with great care and attention and the results are inspiring.

Sustainable

Emiliana began its conversion to organic production in 1998, and today 100% of its properties are organically managed. It is the world’s largest organic winery. It holds organic certifications in accordance with the standards of the United States, Canada (NOP), Brazil, Chile, Japan, South Korea, China, and Europe. In 2006, Emiliana was the first winery in Latin America to produce a wine with biodynamic certification. Since then, the use of biodynamic practices at its farms and cellars has been accredited and today 100% of its properties are certified. Emiliana received its Fairtrade and Fair For Life certifications in 2011 and 2017 and has been selling fair trade wines since 2012.

Emiliana was a pioneer in the implementation of the Wine of Chile Sustainability Code certification in 2012. This standard was developed for the Chilean wine sector to support the implementation of sustainable practices at a national level, as well as social and environmental responsibility at Emiliana.

Emiliana is certified to use the Vegan Society trademark, which attests that its wines are produced without any animal-derived products.

Emiliana also produces an annual sustainability report.

Awards

• Bronze - Sommelier Wine Awards 2018 (2016 vintage)

Specifications

An appealing appassimento style red from the Veneto - produced from classic Amarone and Valpolicella grapes.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Bright berry and black cherry aromas, and a touch of spice.

Palate

The palate has all of Valpolicella's appealing fresh cherry and ripe bramble fruit, along with added weight and complexity from maturation in oak. Supple tannins lead to a finish of delicate sweetness, offset by fresh acidity.

Producer

The illustrious Montresor family moved from France to Italy at the start of the 19th Century and settled in the Veneto region near Lake Garda. In 1892 Cantina Giacomo Montresor was established in Verona, and remains family-owned to this day.

Giorgio Montresor produces a portfolio of wines which increasingly rival the offerings of the region's more fashionable names - harnessing modern technology to craft the best wines from each site, across their 100ha of vineyard, in Valpolicella and Garda.

Production Method

Produced from Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella grapes harvested from hillside vineyards north of Verona. 'Appassimento' refers to the process by which the grapes are dried for a few months before being pressed and vinified - this technique is more common in the Veneto than elsewhere in Italy. In this instance the grapes are dried for 30 days before vinification, and the wine spends 6 months in oak. The resulting red is rich with some residual sweetness.

A Note on Sustainability

At the end of 2019, Montresor received its organic certification. Some of its wines are already bottled in a lighter weight glass bottle (less than 420g) to reduce carbon dioxide emissions during transport, with the added benefit of reducing the amount of glass to be manufactured.

Over the next two years, solar panels will be installed at the winery to provide some of the electricity required in the production process. Alongside this, Montresor is about to install a water purification system to recover and recycle the water used at the winery.

Specifications

A really pretty and perfumed example of the Frappato grape from south-eastern Sicily.

Tasting Notes

This organic red has delicious floral and red berry characters and is surprisingly fresh and delicate given the hot climate.

Nose

Delicate and lightly floral aromas of strawberry, redcurrant and wild berries, with hints of aromatic herbs.

Palate

The palate has vibrant red berry characters balancing fresh acidity.

Producer

Is there a more dynamic place to make wine in Italy than on Mount Etna in Sicily? Cantine Nicosia is based at the foot of Etna, on the east coast of Sicily, where Carmelo Nicosia, along with his sons Franceso and Graziano (5th generation), have developed their family business into one of the area's most important wine producers. Their Trecastagni winery is where tradition meets ultra-modern technology.

Trecastagni, at the base of one of the extinguished craters dotting Mount Etna and at an altitude of around 700m, is home to the ancient vineyards of Monte Gorna, with their distinctive lava terraces. The vineyards have been completely restructured and replanted, focusing on the native varieties used for Etna DOC wines: Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio for the red, and Catarratto and Carricante for the whites. The extraordinary wealth of minerals found in Etna's volcanic soils can be credited with the very rich flavour and unique character of the wines produced here.

Just a few miles from the southernmost tip of the Italian peninsula is the lively agricultural center of Vittoria and the Contrada Bonincontro district - home to the large and impeccably groomed Cerasuolo di Vittoria vineyards planted exclusively with Nero d’Avola, Frappato and Syrah.

Production Method

Frappato grapes are grown on sandy soil situated at approximately 200m above sea level. Grapes are hand-picked in September. The grapes undergo maceration and fermentation for approximately 10-15 at a controlled temperature of between 22-24°C. The wine is aged in stainless steel vats and 2 months in the bottle.

A Note on Sustainability

A proportion of Cantine Nicosia’s vineyards are certified organic by SIDEL, and its wines are certified as vegan by the Istituto Certificazione Etica e Ambiente.

Specifications

Fresh, zippy with apricot aromas and a saline finish. Drink this and imagine you’re by the sea….

Tasting Notes

Nose

This delicious Picpoul has classic aromas of white flowers and stone fruit. 

Palate

Producer

Domaine de Guillemarine has been in the same family for generations and has recently undergone extensive renovations, with an increasing emphasis on lutte raisonnée farming practices. The local speciality Picpoul de Pinet is considered the 'Muscadet' of the south and is produced just metres away from the oyster beds of the Bassin de Thau. 

Alan's Personal Tasting Notes

"Picpoul is the Muscadet of the South and this one is made just metres from the oyster beds of the  Bassin de Thau. This is rapidly becoming my fave white - zippy, racy, refreshing with lots of stone fruit flavours and a delightfully refreshing lemon acidity - would love to try this with a plate of oysters." December 2021

Specifications

"Lively, fresh and zingy - the type of wine to awaken your tastebuds and senses on a lazy Sunday afternoon!" Alan's personal notes.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Fresh citrus nose, vibrantly aromatic with lemon zest, sherbert, and grapefruit. 

Palate

The palate is bright with incisive citrus and stone fruit characters balanced by taut acidity - giving an appealing texture and clean, crisp finish.

Production

The Passerina grapes are sourced from vines grown on chalky clay soils at Silvi (on the Adriatic coast) and a little inland at Moscufo. The grapes are softly pressed and macerated on skins, at low temperature, for 8 hours. Fermentation is in stainless steel.

Producers

Rocco Pasetti's superbly sited, 30-hectare estate lies in the heart of the Collecorvino district in the hills northwest of Pescara, recognised as one of the best vineyard zones in Abruzzo.

Surrounding the winery, the south-facing slopes of clay-chalk soils, at around 250m altitude, are ideal for the cultivation of Montepulciano, with Pecorino grown on the lower slopes. The cellar was completed in 2004 - carved into the hillside. Rocco's son, Franco Pasetti, is also a winemaker and now works alongside him at the estate.

The Contesa wines are impeccably-made expressions of Abruzzo's local grapes - modern and easy to drink, yet wines of real substance.

Sustainable

Contesa is committed to its sustainability programme and practices an integrated crop management system that is certified under the EU-recognised Sistema Di Qualità Nazionale Di Produzione Integrata (SQNPI) scheme. The Pasetti family is considering a move towards full organic certification.

Specifications

Juicy, organic Merlot with fruit and freshness in abundance.

Tasting Notes

Colour 

Bright ruby-red colour

Nose

Plum and red cherry aromas and subtle black pepper notes.

Palate

The palate is juicy with ample fruit character. Supported by gently wooded influence giving good structure and rounded tannins. It has a soft palate and a fruity finish.

Production

Rapel Valley is located on the 6th Region, 160 kms south to Santiago. This zone has good drainage, excellent fertility and great characteristics for agriculture, especially for red varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère and Merlot. This valley has a Mediterranean climate, it has coastal influence because it limits with the Cordillera de la Costa, which is low. There’s a great concentration of rain during winter (710 mm average) and in summer this valley receives southern winds with morning mist. Summers are very hot and have big temperature fluctuation. The grapes were manually harvested in mid April. Vinification begins with a prefermentation cold soak at 8°C for a week in order to extract the fruit. Alcoholic fermentation takes place between 25°C and 28°C with a pumpover program determined by daily tasting. Malolactic fermentation takes place naturally in stainless steel tanks and 20% of the wine was aged in barrels for 6 months; after this the wine blended in order to obtain a more complex character.

Producers

Voted by Wines of Chile as "Winery of the Year 2016", Emiliana is one of Chile's most exciting producers and pioneers in organic and biodynamic winemaking. Since 1998, this Chilean winery has been producing award-winning wines from almost 1,000 hectares of vineyards in prime sites including Casablanca, Maipo, Cachapoal, Colchagua and Bio Bio.

Its spectacular biodynamic vineyard and winery at Los Robles is a model that attracts visiting viticulturalists and winemakers from across the world. Emiliana's innovative and natural-leaning wines are made with great care and attention and the results are inspiring.

Sustainable

Emiliana began its conversion to organic production in 1998, and today 100% of its properties are organically managed. It is the world’s largest organic winery. It holds organic certifications in accordance with the standards of the United States, Canada (NOP), Brazil, Chile, Japan, South Korea, China, and Europe. In 2006, Emiliana was the first winery in Latin America to produce a wine with biodynamic certification. Since then, the use of biodynamic practices at its farms and cellars has been accredited and today 100% of its properties are certified. Emiliana received its Fairtrade and Fair For Life certifications in 2011 and 2017, and has been selling fair trade wines since 2012.

Emiliana was a pioneer in the implementation of the Wine of Chile Sustainability Code certification in 2012. This standard was developed for the Chilean wine sector to support the implementation of sustainable practices at a national level, as well as social and environmental responsibility at Emiliana.

Emiliana is certified to use the Vegan Society trademark, which attests that its wines are produced without any animal-derived products.

Emiliana also produces an annual sustainability report.

Specifications

Utterly luscious - fine, balanced and exceptional value

Tasting Notes

A fabulous dessert wine, sweet and luscious with a great backbone of fine acidity for a clean finish. The nose is fresh with classic botrytis marmalade and ripe nectarine. Flavours on the palate are richer: honey with a finishing twist of bitter orange.

Production

Vineyards are based in the heart of Perigord, near Bergerac along the valley of the Dordogne river. Here, on the river slopes, there is a particular micro-climate which favours the development of the botrytis necessary to make this style of sweet wine. Vines average 25 years of age. Grapes are hand harvested at a very late stage of maturity, in three successive 'triage', to ensure that only the most mature grapes are picked. Grapes are harvested in October and November. Grapes are gently put into a pneumatic press and the juice is transferred to temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. After fermentation, the wine is matured for 24 months.

Producer

Located in Pomport near Bergerac, in the heart of Périgord, Domaine de Grange Neuve belongs to the Pichon and Castaing families, and it has grown from being a small farm with just 4 hectares of vines in 1898 to a vineyard of 70 hectares today. Dedicated to making wine that respects tradition while not neglecting technological advances, both in the cultivation of vines and in winemaking techniques, today the property is still run by three generations of the same family. The vineyard consists of approximately 26 hectares of red grape vines (Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon), and 44 hectares of white (Sémillon, Muscadelle and Sauvignon Blanc), the average age of which is 25 years.

Sustainability

Domaine de Grange Neuve is constantly working to implement practices that preserve the environment and have a positive impact on climate change, and sustainable development is one of their major concerns. The estate has been certified HVE Level 3 since 2012, regarding this course of action to be wider reaching and of greater impact than “mere” organic practices as it evaluates their impact upon a broader range of environmental issues.

Grange Neuve goes much further than required by the HVE certification, having its own biological water treatment facility, a machinery hangar with a roof covered in solar panels to generate its own clean electricity and a comprehensive waste management strategy - it is a member of the Adelphe programme, it uses eco-packaging and recycles as much of its waste packaging as possible, it uses a minimum amount of consumables, and it uses eco-friendly cleaning products.

Specifications

The hills are alive with the sound of music!

Tasting Notes

Aromatic and ripe on the nose. This is a delicious and complete white blend with rounded orchard fruit and green apples, plenty of fleshy texture and a racy, refreshing acidity.

Production

Pneumatic pressing, temperature-controlled fermentation, no finings and minimal filtration all help to preserve pure varietal character of the wine. Here classic varieties Pinot Blanc and Riesling have been blended with the less well-known Sylvaner grape which brings delicacy and satisfying acidity.

Producer

Widely regarded as one of the best co-operatives in the world, Cave de Turckheim lies at the mouth of the Munster Valley. Working closely with 180 partners, its vineyards span the full breadth of Alsatian terroir and grape varieties. Cave de Turckheim only produces wine from the grapes of its member growers, it is a récoltant not a négociant.

Substantial investment in the winery has enabled the team to vinify many parcels of grapes separately, offering Michel Lihrmann (senior winemaker for 25 years) the chance to highlight each wine's nuances in his signature dry, yet fruit forward, style.

Committed to producing the highest quality wines, growers are encouraged to keep yields low - for example, Cave de Turckheim voluntarily caps yields for its Grands Crus vineyards at 45hl/ha rather than the permitted 55hl/ha - and to pick the grapes by hand. This is part of a long term and innovative strategy of sustainability that includes developing the largest holdings of organic vineyards in Alsace, using natural alternatives to chemical treatments, and a green overview of all vineyard practices. Alongside some great organic wines, the extensive range runs from the excellent value Tradition wines right through to individual Grand Cru bottlings, plus fantastic Crémants d’Alsace and Vendange Tardive dessert wines.

Sustainability

An awareness of social and environmental concerns has always been high on the agenda for the Cave de Turckheim’s growers. They were among the first in France to practice integrated agriculture, an approach that combines the best of modern tools and technologies with traditional practices, lowering the consumption of energy and other resources, reducing environmental pollution, conserving biodiversity and promoting sustainability. In 2014, all the members of the co-operative obtained Agri Confiance Volet Vert (Green Section) certification and in 2015, they all obtained High Environmental Value Level 2 certification. The growers are aiming for HVE Level 3 certification in late 2019.

In 2008, a number of growers decided to commit to the rigorous standards of organic viticulture. As part of Alliance Alsace, approximately 70 hectares of vines are now cultivated organically, having obtained organic certification in 2011, with a further 30 hectares in transition. These vignerons have revived ancestral practices, tilling the soil and undertaking work that facilitates the elimination of weeds and the combat against the two major diseases: powdery mildew which is tackled with sulphur and mildew which is treated with copper sulphate. Natural fertilisers are also used (nettle, horsetail, comfrey, and dandelion), fortifying the vines and increasing their natural resistance. Organic winegrowers meticulously observe their vines, enabling them to intervene in the right place and at the right time, rather than treating the plants systematically.

Turckheim’s commitment to the environment extends to the winery where it strives to conserve natural resources. Sorting waste for recycling, reducing its carbon footprint, using solar panels, and preventing pollution are just some examples of how environmental considerations are present in every aspect of its daily work. Committed to both the environment and its customers, Cave de Turckheim also plays an important role in the local economy.

Specifications