Jaime Quendera, our favourite Portuguese winemaker, has made a juicy, fruit-forward red, aged in a very special cask. Enjoy Alicante Bouschet’s smooth texture in this red from rare, ancient vines that oozes rich flavours of black cherry and pepper.
Can you imagine buying 1,008 bottles of wine in one year? That’s 200 gallons to be exact – the same amount that each American household was allowed to make for ‘personal use’ during Prohibition. And the go-to grape during this DIY time wasn’t Cabernet or Merlot, it was the bold and juicy Alicante Bouschet - widely planted in California but originally from Portugal. Today, award-winning winemaker Jamie Quendera has crafted a mighty, Reserva-quality red, from rare 100-year-old vines. And the unique twist? Jamie aged the wine for 12 months in custom double casks. The top and bottom are French oak (imparting subtle spice) while the long side planks are American (for vanilla notes). The result is an ultra-smooth, cherry-ripe, well-spiced drop!
From a winery and winemaker that bring you Stones & Bones, one of our top-scoring Portuguese reds, this is a fabulous, one-off, premium release. It’s a red with two years’ maturity – delicious drinking now, but one with the richness, depth and structure for ageing, too.
It’s made by Vasco Martins at the fifth-generation family cellar, Casa Santos Lima, a terrific blend of 40% Syrah, with portions of Alicante, Touriga Nacional and Aragonez, all aged in French and American oak barriques, to lend layers of toasty vanilla spice to the dense black fruit. A sensational red with amazing depth of flavour. Best to open early and decant, if you can, so all the flavours open out. A great wine to serve with roast lamb, rich casseroles or at a barbecue.
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Bordeaux-born Jean-Marc Sauboua has been our Trophy-winning winemaker at Bordeaux’s Château La Clarière for many years. In 2006, he decided to start a winery of his own and, with Spanish blood, decided Rioja was his destination. His aim: to make a Grand Cru of Rioja. He has no vineyards but works with the same growers he has since the start. The mature vines lie above 700 metres, the highest in Rioja, to ensure an elegant, modern style. He's won well 300 Golds since 2006, as well as Trophies for Winery of the Year, Rioja of the Year and Best Spanish Red over £10. 2021 was classed a very good vintage. High up where Altos lies, it's always cool, so ripening is slow, and wines are fresh. Aged a year in oak, this elegant red is best decanted.
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However, a down draught from the Andes and the Pacific’s Humboldt Current both help to moderate temperatures by day and ensure very cold nights.
In addition, the sunlight is exceptionally bright and snowmelt from the Andes provides all the irrigation water required.
Viña Falernia, one of only two wineries in the valley, was built in the late 1990s by Italian Giorgio Flessati and won a Trophy with its first vintage. Elqui produces “some particularly gutsy Syrah at altitudes of over 2,000 metres” (World Atlas of Wine), and the Carmenère is equally robust.
Deep bramble, cassis and spice character, it's great with lamb. Best decanted.
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Antonio Federici is a small, 3rd-generation cellar in Lazio, just south of Rome. As you'll taste here, its wines are both authentic and delicious. Normally, they only supply their meagre output to top restaurants in Rome.
But with most shut in 2020, we managed to gain a small allocation of this superb, cherry-scented red. And again, the following year. On fine limestone soils (the rocks of which were used to build some of Rome's most famous buildings) they grow some of Italy's most characterful native grapes.
From these they make a small range of award-winning wines. No doubt the skill of top Italian consultant Franco and Matteo Bernabei comes into play, as well as the commitment and passion of the family.
A silky, smooth, easy red.
From a fourth-generation-owned Pauillac cellar, B de Fonbadet may fall under the humble Bordeaux label, but it’s intensity and complexity leave no doubt about its high-end quality. This 2019 has even won the Decanter’s esteemed Platinum medal.
If you enjoy the food-friendly reds of northern Italy, especially the Valpolicella Ripasso style, you'll love this. We have worked with Italian Winery of the Year Cantina di Negrar for years. They own a vineyard in the Marano Valley and they’ve offered us a deal on their Rosso Veronese – a wine usually reserved for their Italian fans. It’s named after Bartolomeo Lorenzi, whose epic 18th-century poem of rural life made Valpolicella wines famous the world over.
The Marano Valley is especially cool, so grapes take longer to ripen, which adds depth, character and freshness to the wines. Also included is a dash of dark Amarone. With black cherry fruit and Christmas cake spice, it’s hard to imagine a more appealing Veronese red. Great with game.
Let’s go back in time! To the 1st century AD and vineyards planted to serve the ruling elite at the thriving Roman port of Troia. Here, on Portugal’s windswept Atlantic coast, the only grape that thrives in the dry, sandy soils and super-hot sun is local star Castelão. This small, dark-skinned grape boasts fathomless depths of flavour – if you know how to unlock it. Back to today and enter Gold-medal maestro Jaime Quendera at Portugal’s most awarded winery, Casa Ermelinda Freitas. Only made in the best years, this Black Red flies of our shelves as soon as it's in stock. So our advice is: if you see it, buy it! Rippling with ripe plums, black fruits and laced with chocolate, with a spicy oak finish. At 14.5% it’s got power, so sip slowly.
